An insider just revealed the Oilers have already contacted a major coaching candidate
Connor McDavid and Stan Bowman now have Craig Berube firmly in Edmonton's coaching picture after at least one phone call already took place.
That detail matters because it moves this from loose speculation into an actual search step.
Chris Johnston's report was simple and strong. There has already been at least one phone conversation between Bowman and Berube.
That means Edmonton is not only admiring Berube from afar. The Oilers are doing real work on him.
And that makes sense.
Berube fits the type of coach Edmonton keeps getting linked to since Kris Knoblauch was let go. He brings a harder edge, more structure, and a bench presence that does not leave much room for drift.
For a team sitting under McDavid pressure, that profile is always going to get serious attention.
This is also why the call matters more than a random name drop. You do not get on the phone with a coach like Berube unless you are weighing him as a real option, not just filling out the list.
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The Oilers may already be deep into talks with a huge coaching name
For days, so much of this search has felt tied to Bruce Cassidy and whether the Oilers can actually get where they want to go there.
But Edmonton cannot freeze while waiting on one scenario.
That is where Berube comes in.
If Bowman has already spoken with him, then the Oilers are making sure they have another serious path open. That is smart management, and it also says something about urgency inside the organization.
This team does not have time for a lazy search.
McDavid's window hangs over every decision. Leon Draisaitl hangs over every decision too. The next coach is not being hired for a soft reset. He is being hired to push a roster that still believes it should be chasing the Stanley Cup right now.
Berube fits that kind of moment better than a lot of names out there.
He is direct. He is demanding. He has enough résumé behind him that players would know exactly what kind of bench voice is walking into the room.
That does not mean he is the favorite.
It does mean he is clearly in play now.
And once a first call happens, the next question comes fast. Does Edmonton bring him in deeper, and does Berube feel this is the right roster for the kind of rebound he would want?
That is why this story matters today.
The Oilers are not only waiting around anymore. They have already started speaking to one of the biggest names on the board, and that makes Craig Berube a real part of Edmonton's next move.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 21, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||