It appears that the Edmonton Oilers may have accidentally tipped their hand as to their intentions regarding their head coaching position.
In a summer where the Oilers and general manager Stan Bowman will need to be bold in order to take the club back to the Stanley Cup Finals.
According to a report from NHL insider, Frank Seravalli, the Vegas Golden Knights have withheld permission for the Oilers to speak with former head coach, Bruce Cassidy.
The 60 year old former head coach of the Golden Knights won a Stanley Cup with the club in 2023. After less than four seasons with the club, Cassidy was fired on March 29th, just weeks before the end of the regular seasons, being replaced by John Tortorella.
The wording of being 'withheld permission' is strange and caught many off-guard who initially thought that the Oilers were simply denied permission to speak with the former Golden Knights bench boss. It is also a strange move given the circumstances.
What is the difference?
Although it is semantics, withholding permission is different from flat out denying the Oilers the ability to speak with Cassidy. Specifically, it appears that the Golden Knights may grant them permission at a later date with them citing the current team position as a reason.
In Seravalli's piece he says; "Sources said Vegas had not outright denied permission for Edmonton to interview Cassidy, but had more so kept the Oilers waiting as they continue playing their second-round series against Anaheim."
If the Golden Knights do not grant the Oilers permission soon, Seravalli warns that they could be urged to by the NHL head office, saying; "It's also one that might produce a phone call from commissioner Gary Bettman to smooth over, as permission to hire a fired coach is customarily granted and not withheld for any reason, even competitive."
Either way, although on the outside it may seem like the door has closed, it is more likely than not that the Oilers will receive permission soon enough and will be able to speak with Cassidy. It is very strange that the Golden Knights would withhold permission aside from being petty and wanting to disadvantage a division rival.
However, it is not fair to their former coach to hold him back from opportunities, especially when they fired him mid-season.
Now, onto another issue; there is currently no coaching vacancy to speak of.
Kris Knoblauch is still the Oilers head coach
As of right now, the Oilers still employ Kris Knoblauch as the head coach of their hockey club. This has not changed, even with the recent reports surrounding Cassidy. It is no doubt going to make for an awkward situation internally for the Oilers now that their desire to meet with a coaching free agent has been revealed.
However, you cannot blame the Oilers for doing their due dilligence in wanting to speak with a potential replacement before jumping the gun and firing their head coach. The team will want to ensure a tangible upgrade behind the bench, especially with the high stakes given captain Connor McDavid and his contract situation.
This past year was difficult for the organization as a whole and Knoblauch was no exception as he lost a lot of fan fare due to his various decision making. On top of that, there were plenty of reported rifts and with the team having a fairly poor showing all things considered, it is understandable that the organization is not married to Knoblauch.
Either way, no parties involved are likely happy that this leaked. It does not paint anyone in a good light and as long as Knoblauch stays employed, this is destined to follow him around.
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