The Edmonton Oilers have sought permission to interview Bruce Cassidy as they contemplate significant changes to their coaching staff. To this point, the Vegas Golden Knights have withheld permission from their division rival, multiple league sources told Hockey 24/7.
Cassidy, 60, was fired by the Golden Knights on March 29 with eight games remaining in the regular season after leading Vegas to their first Stanley Cup in 2023. He has at least one season remaining on his contract.
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. Cassidy is also a target of the Los Angeles Kings' vacancy.
It's possible the Golden Knights' answer is that Edmonton is seeking permission for a vacancy that does not yet exist. But they also hired John Tortorella while Cassidy was still actively coaching - it's part of the game. To be sure, withholding permission is a move that undoubtedly fits the ruthless front office reputation that the Golden Knights earned over their first eight years in the league.
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. Just last year, the Pittsburgh Penguins granted two-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Sullivan permission to leave for the New York Rangers. Teams typically welcome the move as the salary they're responsible to pay is offset by the next team and everyone wins. Instead, Vegas demurring has raised the ire of coaches around the NHL, who view the gamesmanship as one step too far - potentially boxing a coach out of a quality opportunity.
"It's ridiculous that we even need to ask for permission," one current NHL head coach told Hockey 24/7 on Tuesday. "It should be a formality, written into the deal that we're free to seek employment anywhere, and should just be a formality that teams call to give a courtesy heads up."
The trade-off, of course, for coaches is that few are fired without term remaining on their deal - providing a soft landing in a volatile industry where the average head coaching tenure is down to 2.3 years. For proof: the 10th-highest ranked coach on the seniority list in a 32-team league was hired in 2024. The salary offset factor is one reason why teams feel comfortable extending coaches contracts, knowing that if they feel the need to make the change that the next team will at least foot part of the bill.
That brings us to current Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch, whose fate has all but seemingly formally been decided. Yes, Knoblauch has a three-year contract extension with the Oilers through the 2028-29 season that does not kick in until July 1. But this is not a shock; the writing was on the wall when both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl publicly criticized the coaching this season. They then doubled down in their season postmortem, saying the Oilers' organization has "taken big steps backward." Knoblauch, 47, guided the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in his first two seasons as an NHL head coach.
McDavid played for Cassidy, a Team Canada assistant coach, at the Milan Olympics in February. As he contemplates his future in Edmonton, set to embark on a two-year contract that has put the Oilers on notice, perhaps that is part of the Golden Knights' game plan. They know that Cassidy is unquestionably one of the best coaches in the league; his name is one of the first etched with them on Lord Stanley's chalice. But if they can prevent Cassidy from succeeding in Edmonton, it might not only boost the Golden Knights' fortunes, but just might get McDavid out of their division once and for all.