Edmonton Oilers reach final decision on controversial head coach candidate
The Edmonton Oilers may be closing the door on Bruce Cassidy, and this Thursday morning, Elliotte Friedman is the one saying so.
Friedman, one of the most connected voices in the sport, signaled a real shift in direction.
"I thought that they were going to wait for Cassidy," he said. "I'm starting to get some signal that maybe they won't."
That's not a rumor. That's Friedman telling you the search just moved.
Edmonton has been without a head coach since the end of the regular season, with GM Stan Bowman leading the rebuild of the bench. The Oilers finished 41-30-11, good for 93 points and second in the Pacific Division.
That record looks respectable on paper. But this is a franchise built around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the best players alive, and 93 points did not get the job done.
Stan Bowman's next hire could define the McDavid era
McDavid finished the season with 138 points in 82 games, 48 goals and 90 assists, a cap hit of $12.5 million. Draisaitl added 97 points in 65 games despite missing time. You do not have a roster like that and spend the offseason stuck in coaching limbo.
Every week without a decision is a week those two players are watching.
Cassidy was a name that made sense on the surface, a proven coach, a Stanley Cup winner. But Vegas is blocking him from any interview and Oilers can't wait much longer.
If Friedman's read is right and Edmonton pivots, Bowman now has to produce a hire that actually holds up under playoff pressure.
This Oilers group went 6-2-2 over their last 10 regular-season games. The talent is real. The coaching vacancy is not a small detail.
Whoever Bowman lands next has to be someone the locker room buys into from day one, because there is no runway left for a patience period with this roster.
The search is live. The name everyone assumed was at the top of the list may no longer be there.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 4, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brett Howden | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mark Jankowski | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||