Oilers Should Be Hot Kris Knoblauch – Hockey Writers – Editor’s Pick

It will no longer be a conversation; the Edmonton Oilers should fire Kris Knoblauch.

After back-to-back seasons where he was behind the bench to make a run to the Stanley Cup Final, Knoblauch was the main reason why the Oilers couldn’t get out of the first round this season.

Others can be blamed on injuries, poor showings on defense, or a lack of production from their top guys, but at the end of the day, most of the blame should be placed on Knoblauch, and he needs to be relieved of his duties as a head coach.

Knoblauch Made Questionable Decisions

The Oilers were surprised by the Anaheim Ducks, who seemed to have their way with the Oilers throughout the series, and most of the blame should be placed on the coaches.

One of the biggest problems with Knoblauch is his inability to build a system properly. He doesn’t seem to know when to use players, and is overusing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, rather than trying to build confidence in his depth.

Although McDavid and Draisaitl played well together in Game 5 against the Ducks, resulting in a win, their track record together at equal strength is not good, and history shows that they are stronger when they are not on the same line, according to Natural Stat Trick, but Knoblauch chose to ignore that, saying that he was trying to minimize McDavid’s career, which failed.

Furthermore, the systems that Knoblauch has are not working. From the neutral zone to the defensive zone structure to the offensive front zone, all were well accounted for by the Ducks, and the Oilers were sent packing.

Another big issue for the Oilers this season has been their penalty kill, and it has been especially bad in the playoffs.

Penalty-killing problems could lead to absences, with Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark both dealing with injuries, but it comes down to overusing the same players, rather than relying on someone else. Knoblauch resorted to using McDavid on the penalty kill, increasing his ice time even more, and draining his energy.

At the end of the day, Knoblauch’s questionable decision-making cost the Oilers a chance at a deep playoff contender. From his consistently run lineup during the regular season to his inability to match the lineup, to his unwillingness to move on from what isn’t working, he needs to be let go.

Potential Candidates Available

Another big reason for Knoblauch to be fired is that there are few powerhouses available on the market.

David Carle and Misha Donskov are two coaches who deserve the position of head coach in the NHL, but Carle has refused to move to the NHL in recent seasons and seems to be committed to the University of Denver, while Donskov has recently accepted the position of leading the Team Canada World and World Junior Championship teams, so he probably won’t be interested.

Bruce Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights before the end of the regular season and replaced by John Tortorella, but he likely won’t be out of a job for long. There is speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs would consider bringing him in to replace Craig Berube, but the Oilers should consider bringing him in.

On top of them, Steve Ott, Gerard Gallant, and Claude Julien can all be chosen if they want to return to the position of head coach. A dark horse candidate is Florida Panthers assistant coach Sylvain Lefebvre.

Perhaps Paul Coffey is someone the organization is discussing giving him a role.

Either way, the Oilers need to make a change. It probably doesn’t matter who replaces Knoblauch, as long as it’s a different person leading the bench next season.

If Knoblauch returns next season, the Oilers won’t be taken seriously.

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