The Edmonton Oilers confirmed the inevitable on Thursday, May 14, by firing their head coach, Kris Knoblauch, after a disappointing 2025-26 season. Following their back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances, the Oilers were eliminated in the first round of the NHL Playoffs in 2026 by the Anaheim Ducks.

After hearing about Knoblauch’s firing, Jason Demers, the ex-Oilers defenseman, took to the social media platform X to criticize the decision from his former team.

“Fresh off the heels of McDavid and Draisaitl being candid, vulnerable, and honest about the direction of the team and the organization, you have the complete mishandling of this Knoblauch situation. It’s inexcusable!”

He called out the Edmonton management for “mishandling” the Knoblauch situation while talking about their attempts to hire Bruce Cassidy in his place in recent days.

“Why the h*** are you interviewing Cassidy?? Why not let go of Kris Knoblauch first? I am at a loss with this… to embarrass your coach that went to two Stanley Cup Finals. Anyway, that’s business. Not good business, just business,” he concluded.

Notably, under Knoblauch in the 2025-26 season, the Oilers finished with 93 points and a 41-30-11 record in the Pacific Division, for a 0.567 PPG. It is much lower than the previous two seasons, in which they accumulated 0.703 (2023-24) and 0.616 (2024-25) before reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

It was under Knoblauch that the Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup finals twice in a row, in 2024 and 2025, losing out to the Florida Panthers both times.

Not only was defensive stability missing for Edmonton this season, but they also found it tough to close out games despite being one of the best offensive teams in the NHL.

The Oilers haven't named a replacement for Kris Knoblauch

The Edmonton Oilers made the call to fire Kris Knoblauch on Thursday, but they didn’t name his replacement in their announcement.

While they are heavily linked with the ex-head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy, management might be looking at other options as well.

Despite a disappointing final season, Knoblauch maintained a strong overall record with the Oilers (135-77-21) across three seasons. He replaced Jay Woodcroft on November 12, 2023, and went on to help Edmonton finish the 2023-24 season with a 49-27-6 record after inheriting a 3-9-1 start.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs during 2024 and 2025, Knoblauch had an impressive 31-22 record despite not taking the Oilers past the finish line, losing to the Florida Panthers twice in the finals.

Oilers GM Stan Bowman alluded to the contract extension signed with Knoblauch last year, before their performances dipped and his future came into doubt.

“This was a tough decision, no question. Looking back at the way we ended the previous season, falling just short of the Stanley Cup and the (first) two seasons that Kris had with the team, it was the decision we made that we felt he had earned that contract extension.”

Knoblauch’s firing came just a day after another Canadian franchise, the Toronto Maple Leafs, parted ways with their head coach, Craig Berube.

Who do you think the Edmonton Oilers will hire as their new head coach this season? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray