After two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final and losing both times to the Florida Panthers, the Edmonton Oilers were bounced in the first round of the postseason this year by the Anaheim Ducks. Last week, rumors began to swirl that Edmonton requested permission to speak to former Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
There are conflicting reports as to what the answer from Vegas is and whether or not permission will be granted, but one thing is for sure: they still had Kris Knoblauch under contract. Not a great if we're being honest. Anyway, the organization fired Knoblauch in a move that needed to be done.
There are questions surrounding the future of Connor McDavid. It's not a guarantee that he'll be an Oiler for his whole career. It feels like they need to nail this hire, and two former Bruins coaches were tabbed as coaches who could convince McDavid to remain in Edmonton.
2 former Bruins coach listed as candidates who could be hired and convince Connor McDavid to stay in Edmonton
Lyle Fitzsimmons of Bleacher Report tabbed four candidates to be the next Oilers head coach, and ones who can convince the superstar to stay for a long time in Edmonton. Those coaches? Cassidy and Peter Laviolette. You know how good a coach Cassidy was with the Black and Gold, but Laviolette spent time as an assistant coach in Boston before branching off and running his own teams.
If we had to pick one to be the best hire for McDavid and the Oilers, it's Cassidy. Nothing against Laviolette, but Cassidy has a better track record behind the bench and one that could really get them over the top. The problem is Vegas. They can block him to some extent from interviewing for the job, which is well within their right with him still under contract, but it's wild that they have some power to say.
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see who Edmonton ends up hiring, as it is one that can be franchise-altering.
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