The Edmonton Oilers are officially without a head coach after firing Kris Knoblauch on Thursday.
The process played out in a strange manner, considering the Oilers reportedly tried to speak to Bruce Cassidy, the top available coach, earlier this week while still employing Knoblauch.
It's a big move by general manager Stan Bowman, as Knoblauch's three-year extension had yet to kick in. Connor McDavid's two-year timeline is worth consideration as well.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are also in the hunt for a new head coach, which could create competition for the top names available.
Here are eight candidates to be Edmonton's next bench boss, led by the obvious choice in Cassidy.
Bruce Cassidy
The former Vegas Golden Knights bench boss is the Oilers' clear No. 1 candidate. To this point, Vegas has prevented Edmonton from contacting Cassidy, who must get permission to speak with interested teams while he remains under contract. However, with Knoblauch now officially out the door, it will be harder for the Golden Knights to stop the Oilers from pursuing Cassidy if he's truly their guy.
Cassidy's resume is very strong. He guided Vegas to its Stanley Cup title in 2023 and won the Jack Adams in 2020 while with the Boston Bruins. The 60-year-old has made the playoffs every year since 2016-17. He was also on Canada's staff at the Olympics.
The Oilers' biggest issues have consistently been goaltending and defense. The Golden Knights actually had elite defensive metrics despite goaltending being one of the biggest reasons Cassidy was canned. He can't magically make Tristan Jarry a great goaltender, but he can implement his sturdy defensive structure to insulate Edmonton's weakness in net.
It's fair to point out that Cassidy has been fired by both the Bruins and Golden Knights after years of success. He's a coach who wears thin quickly but gets the most out of his group early on; Cassidy won the Cup in his first year with Vegas. Scotty Bowman is the most recent head coach to win the Stanley Cup with a second team, having done so with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 before going on to win three more with a third club, the Detroit Red Wings.
Given Edmonton's limited runway with McDavid, it's clear that Cassidy is the strongest fit on account of his ability to immediately elevate teams.
Peter Laviolette
This season sure made it seem like Laviolette wasn't the problem for the New York Rangers.
Laviolette had success in his first season with New York, winning the Presidents' Trophy with 114 points and going all the way to the Eastern Conference Final in 2024. Of course, the Rangers then tumbled 29 points down the standings to miss the playoffs the following season, and they subsequently fired Laviolette.
New York fared even worse this season under Mike Sullivan, which makes Laviolette's short tenure look a bit better. The 61-year-old has a ton of experience with multiple franchises and is easily the best option if the Oilers can't reel in Cassidy.
Craig Berube
The Maple Leafs fired Berube on Wednesday after an abysmal season. Still, he's a well-respected coach who got Toronto to Game 7 against the eventual champion Florida Panthers in his first season with the team. His Stanley Cup ring earned with the St. Louis Blues holds weight too.
Berube's dump-and-chase, gritty style doesn't exactly fit with what has made the Oilers successful, and his prosperity has largely come alongside excellent goaltending. He seems to be a poor fit, but if Stan Bowman wants a different feel behind the bench, Berube could be in the running.
Manny Malhotra
Malhotra won the AHL's Calder Cup in his first year as head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks. Prior to that, he spent seven years as an assistant with the Canucks and then the Maple Leafs. The 45-year-old is regarded as a top up-and-comer and could be in line for an NHL gig in Vancouver or Toronto. The Oilers' last two head coaches were rookies at the NHL level, so Edmonton may prefer experience this time around.
Paul Coffey
The Hall of Famer rejoined the Oilers' bench in February. Coffey previously led Edmonton's defense corps for two seasons but had moved into an advisory role last offseason. He's consistently gotten the most out of the Oilers' defensemen while on staff. Coffey may not want the significant workload that comes with being a head coach, though, considering he chose to step back from the bench less than a year ago, and he might simply be best suited as a defense coach regardless.
Todd Nelson
Remember Nelson, Oilers fans? He served as Edmonton's interim coach for its dreadful 2014-15 campaign, which culminated in the Oilers landing McDavid. He's far from the same coach he was then, though.
Nelson has since won three Calder Cup championships in the AHL with two teams (2017, 2023, and 2024). He's also gained additional NHL experience as an assistant with the Dallas Stars from 2018-22 and Pittsburgh, where he remains on staff. The 56-year-old is likely to be a future NHL bench boss somewhere, but his ties to Edmonton could be a negative for this specific role.
Jeff Halpern
McDavid praised the Tampa Bay Lightning's coaching in March, and while Jon Cooper surely isn't an option, an assistant in Halpern would be. The 50-year-old has worked on Cooper's staff since 2018, and he's assumed the interim role when Cooper has been unavailable.
Halpern has no head coaching experience at any level, but his extended time on the Lightning bench makes him an intriguing name.
Jussi Ahokas
Ahokas is an out-of-the-box candidate. His Kitchener Rangers are in the Memorial Cup after a stellar run through the OHL playoffs. The Rangers went 16-2 en route to the league title, including a sweep in the final. Ahokas has won Coach of the Year in both the OHL (2025) and Finland's Liiga (2020). He's also won gold as Finland's head coach at the world juniors and Under-18s. A jump straight to the Oilers' bench with no NHL experience is a tough sell, but the 45-year-old is certainly a name to know.
