The Edmonton Oilers are without a head coach after they fired Kris Knoblauch, following the leak that the Vegas Golden Knights had withheld permission from the Oilers to speak with former head coach Bruce Cassidy.
You would think that would be the end of it but it is not. The Golden Knights continue to withhold permission and the NHL does not seem keen to step in, at least for now. This means that general manager Stan Bowman and the Oilers brass must pivot and start the process on interviewing other potential hires.
The Oilers need to make the right call
The outside noise is getting louder, especially with captain Connor McDavid having only two years remaining on his current contract. This means that the Oilers have very little wiggle room to get this choice right.
The pressure is even more amplified with multiple other teams choosing to part ways with their head coaches. There are a number of teams with vacancies, which both adds to the list of available candidates but also creates a game of muscial chairs.
One coach that has recently shaken loose that made many question if the Oilers should pursue him is former Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Craig Berube. I believe he would be a mistake for the Oilers to hire because he has shown time and time again that his systems would not be conducive to success for a team like the Oilers with high end offensive pieces.
Bruce Cassidy
The most obvious choice for the Oilers to pursue is Cassidy, there is a reason that the club attempted to gain permission to speak with him. Not only does he rank fourth amongst all active coaches in points percentage, he is also ninth amongst active coaches in playoff win/loss percentage.
Cassidy has had multiple recent and successful stops in the NHL with both the Boston Bruins and Golden Knights with two Stanley Cup Finals appearances and one Stanley Cup victory. Over the past decade, he has made the postseason nine times and would have this season as well had the Golden Knights not chosen to let him go in late March.
His recent success, understanding of analytics, and ability as an effective communicator gives him a huge edge in the race. If the Oilers can somehow get permission to speak with him, he would undoubtedly be their top candidate -- but that is likely the same for many other teams.
Peter Laviolette
Peter Laviolette is one of those coaches who almost always finds his name on candidacy lists when he is available and for good reason. The NHL is notorious for retread hires but Laviolette has the track record, making him an appealing candidate for the Oilers. He ranks ninth in games behind the bench amongst NHL head coaches all-time. He also sits seventh in all-time wins and 12th in playoff wins.
He has an impressive .589 points percentage in the regular season and .518 win/loss record in the postseason. In terms of accolades, he has one Stanley Cup ring and in total three Stanley Cup Finals appearances, most recently with the Nashville Predators in 2016-17. He is more of an 'old school' type of coach who can be demanding of his players, something that can be grating on some but could benefit a team like the Oilers who might need a stronger presence behind the bench.
He has not coached at all this past season but is certainly a coach worthy of kicking tires on. In addition to his Cup Finals appearances and Cup ring, Laviolette has also helped lead two teams to recent President's Trophy wins with the Nashville Predators in 2018 and the New York Rangers in 2024.
Dan Bylsma
Dan Bylsma started off his NHL coaching career as good as you could have wanted, capturing a Stanley Cup in just his first season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008-09. Although he never came close to reaching that height again, Bylsma has been behind the bench for two NHL teams since with the Buffalo Sabres and Seattle Kraken. Both of those gigs went pretty poorly with him having a sub-.500 points percentage and has not coached a playoff game since being fired from the Penguins in 2014.
Despite this, Bylsma presents an intriguing resume having coached the previous generations top player that has knocked on the door but failed to capture a cup. The parallels are there with the Penguins and Oilers -- although it is tough to argue the strength of the Penguins is much greater than the Oilers of current day. As well, his two stops since Pittsburgh have been for two bottom-feeder teams both before and after his tenure.
He may not be the sexiest name but Bylsma could be an interesting outside-the-box sort of hire. It is notable that he has shown openness to analytics from a coaching standpoint. A quality that the next Oilers coach should possess.
Misha Donskov
One of the up-and-coming names in the sport, Misha Donskov brings a lot of interesting experience to the table, something that could make him a good candidate for the Oilers. He has mainly served as an assistant coach throughout his career at the Junior level as well as on the International stage, filling plenty of roles and wearing different hats.
He has been a team consultant, video coach, development coach, assistant coach, and has experience as a manager with experience in analytics and as a director of hockey operations. Donskov has gained popularity in recent seasons, especially online for his unique roles and for his wide ranging experience on the bench with some very successful clubs like the Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in recent years.
In some cases, there are people who gain a reputation as 'good assistant coaches' but poor head coaches. It is unclear if Donskov fits the bill but his lack of experience leading a bench does set off some slight red flags. However, it would be interesting given his wealth of knowledge if he could use that to find success and steer the Oilers towards a Stanley Cup victory.
Todd Nelson
Todd Nelson fits the bill of an experienced head coach with a track record of success and to boot, he has experience with the Oilers organization. Nelson served as the interim head coach in 2014-15 after five years as the head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate.
He brings a long track record of success with four Calder Cup Trophies and an AHL coach of the year award. Heis relatively unproven at the NHL level aside from assistant coaching stints with the Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, and now Pittsburgh Penguins.
He would be a good example of a coaching hire that goes against the grain a little bit, having little experience at the NHL level as a bench boss. But his experience and success in developmental leagues bodes well for the Oilers as they try to integrate younger players into their lineup and get the most out of them.
Oilers brass and specifically GM Stan Bowman will have a very important decision on their hands, one that is bound to have major implications for his and the club's future. He will need to get this right in order to not only bring a Stanley Cup back to Edmonton but to convince McDavid to stay.
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