The Edmonton Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch on Thursday, cutting ties with the coach who led them to consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances before a disappointing 2025-26 season, a league source has confirmed to The Athletic. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug was the first to report Knoblauch’s firing.
Knoblauch, 47, was hired in November 2023 to replace Jay Woodcroft, and in his less than three full regular seasons, his Oilers posted a 135-77-21 record and won two Western Conference titles before twice falling short against the Florida Panthers — including a seven-game series in 2024 — despite the presence of future Hall of Famers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Those losses were a precursor to a lackluster 2025-26 season that ended with a first-round series loss to the Anaheim Ducks in six games. This season, Edmonton saw sustained greatness from McDavid and Draisaitl, along with poor goaltending, leaky defensive play and a group of depth forwards, assembled by general manager Stan Bowman, that failed to adequately support their superstar teammates.
The Oilers rounded into shape in Knoblauch’s first two seasons, finishing with 104 and 101 points, respectively. That wasn’t the case in 2025-26, in part because of a disastrous midseason goalie swap. The Oilers sent former starter Stuart Skinner — who was wobbly at various points in their postseason runs — to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry. Skinner stabilized in Pittsburgh while Jarry cratered in Edmonton, posting an .858 save percentage and eventually getting benched for the stretch run in favor of Connor Ingram. The Oilers finished with 93 points, second in a weak Pacific Division.
Though McDavid won his sixth Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer, he was clearly slowed in the playoffs by an apparent ankle injury. So while the Oilers managed to make the playoffs — which wasn’t always assured — their stay was ultimately too short and too uninspiring to earn Knoblauch another season in charge.
“(When you’re) an average team with high expectations, you’re gonna be disappointed,” said McDavid, who played most of the Anaheim series on a fracture in what Knoblauch called his “foot/ankle” area. “We just never found it.”
Whoever Edmonton hires as Knoblauch’s replacement will be McDavid’s sixth NHL coach. The firing comes before Knoblauch’s three-year contract extension officially kicked in. He signed that deal in October and is due to be paid by the Oilers through the 2028-29 season.
Now, the search is on for a coach capable of maximizing what could be the end of McDavid’s time in Edmonton. Last summer, the three-time MVP signed a contract extension through 2027-28 rather than another longer-term commitment. It was both a team-friendly move and one that signaled that the franchise was effectively on the clock.
