Oilers fire Kris Knoblauch, raising questions about GM Stan Bowman's disastrous roster decisions
Firing Knoblauch, who led Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025, is a Band-Aid over much deeper issues
The Edmonton Oilers have fired coach Kris Knoblauch after just three seasons, the team announced Thursday. Knoblauch led Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two years, but a disappointing 2025-26 campaign was capped by a first-round loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Edmonton hired Knoblauch to replace Jay Woodcroft just 13 games into the 2023-24 season, and he helped the team dig out of an early 3-9-1 hole. The Oilers finished the regular season with a 49-27-6 record, and they fell one win short of the Stanley Cup, losing to the Florida Panthers in seven games.
The following season, Knoblauch led the team to a 48-29-5 record before another deep playoff run that culminated in a Stanley Cup Final appearance. This time, the Oilers came up two wins short of the Cup, falling to the Panthers in six games.
On the heels of back-to-back Final appearances, the Oilers were plagued by miserable goaltending, leaky defense and injuries in 2025-26. Still, Edmonton finished second in the Pacific Division and was just two points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. In Game 2 of their first-round series against the Ducks, superstar Connor McDavid suffered a fractured ankle, and the rest of the team wasn't able to pick up the slack as the Oilers lost in six games.
For most teams, consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances would buy a coach some goodwill, but the Oilers are racing against the clock. McDavid's two-year contract extension kicks in this year, and that's Edmonton's window to compete for a Stanley Cup and convince its captain to stay long-term.
But how does firing Knoblauch accomplish that goal? Knoblauch didn't put together an incredibly flawed roster around McDavid and fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl. That was general manager Stan Bowman, who remains in charge and must be aggressive in solving problems of his own creation this summer.
Coaching change is a Band-Aid over bigger issues
Knoblauch was far from perfect throughout the 2025-26 season, and there seemed to be a disconnect between him and the players at various points. That tends to happen when the same issues keep popping up over and over, but the blame for those issues lies mainly at the feet of Bowman.
In 2024, the Oilers hired Bowman to be their general manager shortly after the NHL cleared him to sign with teams in the wake of the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal that took place during his tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks. Almost immediately, Bowman made some moves that harmed his team in the short- and long-term.
Edmonton signed veteran forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner for a combined $7 million per season. When the St. Louis Blues signed young defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway to offer sheets totaling $6.87 million per season, the Oilers were unable to match them due to salary cap constraints.
Despite Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Final, neither Arvidsson nor Skinner was a major factor. The latter was even a healthy scratch for most games. Meanwhile, Holloway and Broberg had tremendous debut seasons with the Blues. Holloway, just 24, has notched 48 goals and 114 points in two seasons with St. Louis.
That was just the first in a series of missteps from Bowman over the last two years:
- Signed bottom-six F Trent Frederic to an eight-year, $30.8 million deal with a no-movement clause.
- Signed veteran F Andrew Mangiapane for $3.6 million per season.
- Signed D Jake Walman to a seven-year, $49 million extension.
- Acquired G Tristan Jarry while sending G Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak to the Penguins.
- Acquired F Jason Dickinson and F Colton Dach for a first-round pick while dumping Mangiapane's salary.
Frederic tallied seven points in 74 games this past season. The Oilers had to include a first-round pick in the trade for Dickinson, a bottom-six defensive forward, just to dump Mangiapane's salary. Walman is now 30 years old and coming off a disastrous season. Jarry allowed 15.7 goals above average with Edmonton and started just one playoff game. Meanwhile, Kulak just scored the overtime winner for the Colorado Avalanche to send them to the Western Conference Final.
While so many other good teams around the NHL -- like the Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars -- take big swings in pursuit of a Stanley Cup, the Oilers are content to tinker around the edges. Maybe that would be fine if they made the right moves while tinkering. Instead, Bowman has created salary cap problems for himself without upgrading the roster in any meaningful way -- the worst of both worlds.
Even the decision to fire Knoblauch now is a showcase of the muddled vision the front office has for this team. Knoblauch's three-year extension hasn't even kicked in yet, so Edmonton will be paying two coaches for the next three seasons.
As the clock ticks toward the summer of 2028, when McDavid is set to become a free agent, Bowman and the rest of Edmonton's front office must take drastic steps toward correcting their own mistakes, although history suggests Oilers fans shouldn't hold their breath.
