05/14/26 09:48:00
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05/14 09:46 CDT Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch after 1st-round playoff exit that
followed 2 Stanley Cup Final trips
Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch after 1st-round playoff exit that followed 2 Stanley
Cup Final trips
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) --- The Edmonton Oilers fired coach Kris Knoblauch on
Thursday, dismissing him after a first-round exit followed him guiding the team
to consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
Knoblauch coached the Oilers to the playoffs three times since taking over as a
midseason replacement when Jay Woodcroft was fired following a bad start in
November 2023. They won 166 of their 286 total games behind the bench, and
Knoblauch's .623 regular-season points percentage ranks sixth among active NHL
coaches.
The Oilers are now set for their sixth coach since Connor McDavid entered the
NHL in 2015 and became the best player in the world, skating alongside fellow
MVP Leon Draisaitl. The two still have not won a championship, now going into
their 12th season together.
Moving on from Knoblauch comes in the aftermath of a report earlier this week
that Edmonton had sought and were denied permission from the Vegas Golden
Knights to speak to Bruce Cassidy, whom they fired as coach in late March but
is still under contract. Teams making offseason changes typically wait until
there is a vacancy before reaching out about prospective candidates.
General manager Stan Bowman getting to make this move seems to indicate he will
keep his job, along with president of hockey operations Jeff Jackson, who
joined the organization in August 2023. Jackson took over control of hockey
operations following the team's first trip to the final in 2024 and hired
Bowman as GM that summer. Assistant coach Mark Stuart was also fired.
"Following a thorough review of this past season, we believe these changes are
needed," Bowman said. "We are grateful for the contributions both Kris and Mark
have made to our organization and we wish them the best moving forward."
The Oilers fell behind 3-0 in their first final matchup against Florida before
pushing the Panthers to a Game 7 and losing by a goal. They made it back the
following year and had home-ice advantage but seemed to regress in a six-game
series defeat that could be blamed on poor defense and goaltending.
Those problems continued this season, before and after Bowman made a goalie
swap to get Tristan Jarry and send Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh. It made the
situation worse, as Edmonton ranked 29th out of 32 teams in the league in save
percentage at .883.
McDavid late in the season heaped praise upon Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper after
the Lightning beat the Oilers 5-2. Even if it was not meant as criticism of
Knoblauch, it stood out from a player who usually speaks more about taking
responsibility for losses.
Edmonton was eliminated by the less-experienced Anaheim Ducks, when he was
unable to find someone to stop the puck between Jarry and backup-turned-starter
Connor Ingram. They combined for an .880 save percentage, worst in the
playoffs, and the Oilers' 4.33 goals allowed also ranked last.
The three-year contract extension the Oilers signed Knoblauch to in October
kicks in next season and runs through 2028-29. They are obligated to pay him
until another team hires him and would be on the hook for any differential in
salary over that time.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
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