Oilers move on from Kris Knoblauch amidst uncertainty on and off the ice
There may be no position in the world with shakier job security than NHL head coach, as the Edmonton Oilers showed once again by firing Kris Knoblauch on Thursday. Knoblauch, who was hired by the Oilers in November of 2023, led the team to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances in his first two years on the job, losing to the Florida Panthers on both occasions.
In most cases, back-to-back finals appearances would afford a coach more than a season’s worth of job security, but when you have the Best Player in the World approaching his thirties, the pressure to win now is sky high. After an underwhelming regular season and a first-round playoff loss to the Anaheim Ducks, Knoblauch has been shown the door, meaning Connor McDavid will play under his sixth head coach in Edmonton.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed the Oilers’ decision to move on from Knoblauch after three seasons on the job.
Tyler Yaremchuk: What do you make of the Oilers’ decision to move on from Knoblauch?
Carter Hutton: I think he did a good job with what he had this year. This was a team that could never really get it going, get it headed in the right direction. You look at back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, but I feel like that is something on you resume that’s great for him moving forward, but it doesn’t really hold anyone accountable in Edmonton, because the fact is they should be there. They needed to be there. Whoever was at the helm, pretty much getting to the game on time was your biggest task with the group that they had.
But they have a lot of work to do in this offseason, whether it’s their goaltending, their defense, and where they need to go. In years past things were really good, but as of this year it was tough. This was a team that could never really find their rhythm throughout the year, and Knoblauch is a product of that. I think they’re going to have to find something that can get through to this group and try to push them over the top, because just like they stated and Leon (Draisaitl) said it, they’ve got a short window here with Connor McDavid’s contract.
You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…