Kris Knoblauch has been fired as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. It’s a decision that stings more than most because he is the coach who took them to two consecutive Stanley Cup finals for the first time in four decades. But for a franchise that has cycled through nine coaches since 2011, it’s a familiar story as they now hunt for a 10th hire in 15 years.

The news was confirmed via an official press release on the Oilers’ official website, with assistant coach Mark Stuart also leaving.

“The Edmonton Oilers announced today that head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant coach Mark Stuart have been relieved of their duties,” read the statement.

It marks yet another moment for the NHL side that has maintained a constant revolving door for the last decade and a half. So much so that nine coaches have sat in the hot seat since Pat Quinn was fired in 2010. Out of those nine, only six stayed for multiple seasons, with Knoblauch’s three-season tenure the longest. And they’re not the only team that has struggled with coaching turmoil.

The Buffalo Sabres are prime on that list, as since Lindy Ruff left in 2013, they’ve had seven coaches. Out of those seven, only one coach has remained at the helm beyond the two-season mark before Ruff returned in 2024. The Philadelphia Flyers echo the Oilers as they’ve had nine coaches in the last 15 years, although that figure does include three interim coaches.

It’s a sign of the times in the NHL, with results the key focus for many GMs and organizations. That’s even if Knoblauch’s firing comes on the back of the team’s most successful spell in years. They’d reached two consecutive Stanley Cup finals for the first time in forty years, even if they did end up losing both. The margins were close, but the drought for their first Stanley Cup since the 1989/90 season continues into yet another season.

It’s likely why General Manager Stan Bowman took his time and then made the decision, as Bowman attested.

“I think what I can say is we didn’t rush through this,” Bowman said, as per the Edmonton Journal. “We did an analysis, and as I said at the outset, Kris is a tremendous guy.”

He added, “So that’s unfortunate, but there was certainly no disrespect intended. We, we did a long review, and we didn’t come to this decision until very recently.”

The decision comes despite the Edmonton Oilers handing the 47-year-old Knoblauch a three-year contract extension in October. However, for Bowman, that represented what the former winger earned based on his previous season’s performances, not for the future.

“Looking back at the way we ended the previous season, you know, falling just short of the Stanley Cup and the two seasons that Kris had with the team,” Bowman added. “It was a decision we made that we felt that he had earned that contract extension.

“And then, as this season went on, at the end of the year, when I met with the group in the media, I mentioned that we were going to do a thorough review to try to understand, you know, how we got to this point?”

By that, Bowman meant the fact that the Oilers’ season ended with a first-round playoff defeat to the Anaheim Ducks. It’s the first time since the 2020/21 season that this happened, but it echoed much of what occurred during the regular season. While they finished second, the Oilers posted their worst 82-game record since 2018/19, with a 41-30-11 mark.

It marked the first time in four seasons that they hadn’t crossed the 100-point mark, finishing with 93. That put pressure on the board and GM Bowman, who eventually decided to sack Knoblauch. However, the question remains, who’s up next in the Oilers’ hot seat?

Bruce Cassidy is the favorite to be the Oilers’ next head coach

Aside from their regression on the ice this season, reports indicate that a major reason Stan Bowman decided to fire Kris Knoblauch was Connor McDavid. The future Hall of Famer has been a standout superstar for the Edmonton Oilers. Yet despite that, he has endured coaching instability since he signed. For the unversed, the center arrived in 2015 and has seen six coaches come and go in that period.

Of the six, Knoblauch was the most successful, but their postseason failures exposed problems the team didn’t fix, which piled on the pressure. Especially as superstar McDavid only signed a short-term extension. It does mean that Bowman and company want to take advantage of that, and are now on the hunt.

The rumour mill is fired up, and Bruce Cassidy is currently the front-runner to be their 10th hire in 15 years. A former Stanley Cup winner, Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this season. Yet despite that, he is Stan Bowman’s favorite for the job. So much so that Sportsnet has reported the Oilers have already tried to get permission from the Knights to talk to him.

That’s because, despite being fired, Cassidy is still being paid by the NHL team. Beyond Cassidy, Yahoo Sports has reported that Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, and Craig Berube are also in consideration. Yet, nothing has been finalised just yet as Bowman refuses to rush the process, although time is against him.

“What worked before doesn’t always keep working,” Bowman added. “At this moment, we believe a new voice can help us get to the next level.”

For an organization chasing stability, the Oilers now find themselves searching for another voice behind the bench. As Leon Draisaitl once admitted, “It starts with the coaches,” and Edmonton is once again hoping its next hire finally gets them over the line.