Six candidates who could replace Kris Knoblauch as the Edmonton Oilers’ next head coach

The worst kept secret in ‘Oil Country’ is out.

A day after the Toronto Maple Leafs fired their head coach, the Edmonton Oilers followed suit and announced on Thursday that they have fired head coach Kris Knoblauch ahead a three-year contract extension set to kick in next season.

With a long list of veteran free agent NHL head coaches available, let’s go over some potential Knoblauch replacements in Edmonton.

You can also see our list of head coaching candidates in Toronto here.

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Bruce Cassidy

The firestorm in Edmonton started when it was leaked the Oilers were trying to get permission from the Vegas Golden Knights to talk to Bruce Cassidy. When that broke, Knoblauch’s fate was sealed. Cassidy makes a lot of sense for the Oilers. He’s smart and tough with a Stanley Cup ring and he’s the kind of coach a general manager brings in to get a team over the finish line. With Edmonton reportedly being Cassidy’s top choice, this will likely come down to Vegas’ willingness to allow their former head coach to join a division rival.

Peter Laviolette

Pete Laviolette has seen and done it all in the NHL. With 1,594 games coached between the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, Laviolette is ninth all-time in games coached and he is one of only four coaches in NHL history to take three different franchises to the Stanley Cup Final, winning in 2006 with the Hurricanes.

Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Boudreau has coached over 1,000 games in the NHL and he’s improved every team he’s been at the helm of. Boudreau is one of the winningest coaches in NHL history in terms of points percentage, but the playoff success hasn’t been there and he’s never reached the Stanley Cup Final. While I’d love to hear the chants of ‘Bruce, there it is’ again, I don’t see it happening in Edmonton with an Oilers team on the Connor McDavid win-now clock.

Gerard Gallant

Gerard Gallant’s trajectory is fascinating. He’s been a Jack Adams finalist three times, winning once, and he took the Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, but he seems to wear out his welcome quickly and he’s never lasted three full seasons in an organization. However, a nice coach isn’t what Edmonton needs right now, so Gallant might actually be a solid option with McDavid under contract for just two more seasons.

David Carle

NHL teams have been trying to pluck David Carle away from the University of Denver for a few years now, but the three-time national championship-winning coach has been waiting for the right opportunity. I would argue Carle won’t find a much better opportunity than coaching McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their prime on a Stanley Cup-or-bust team.

Mark Letestu

Mark Letestu is only six years removed from his playing days, but he’s an up-and-comer who should be in line for an NHL head coaching job in the future. Letestu received his first head coaching gig with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles this year, leading them to a 41-20-6-5 record in the regular season and a 5-1 record in the playoffs, so far. He has experience in the Oilers organization after playing with them from 2015 to 2018 and even if he’s a bit too inexperienced to get the job as head coach, Edmonton would be smart to look at him as an assistant.