Report: Oilers Denied Permission To Talk to Top Head Coaching Candidate

The indications of Kris Knoblauch's impending demise as Edmonton Oilers head coach have reached another level, as a report on Tuesday suggests that the Oilers have asked the Vegas Golden Knights for permission to speak to their ex-head coach Bruce Cassidy. Vegas has denied permission for Edmonton, however.

League sources say #Oilers have sought permission to interview Bruce Cassidy as they contemplate significant coaching staff changes.

To this point, sources say @GoldenKnights have withheld permission from division rival.

Gamesmanship? Perhaps. Mostly unprecedented for role.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 12, 2026

Teams still need to seek permission to speak with Cassidy about a coaching job because he has one year remaining on his contract, despite being fired near the end of the regular season.

Interestingly, as insider Elliotte Friedman notes, the LA Kings have also asked for and apparently received permission.

"I heard LA was definitely interested in Cassidy. And I don't know that they've prevented the Kings from talking to him," said Friedman on The Fan Hockey Show today.

Could the Golden Knights be trying to keep Cassidy from joining only the Oilers, a team much closer to the Stanley Cup, and a much bigger rival for them in the Pacific Division, than the Kings?

"There's definitely some gamesmanship there from Vegas, no question about that... It would be new levels of petty if they deny the Oilers and not the Kings," said Friedman.

The other major complication here at this point, as Friedman says, is that Kris Knoblauch is still, as far as anyone knows, still the head coach of the Oilers.

"It puts Edmonton in a really tough spot. Because if you're Kris Knoblauch and you're hearing this... they've actively gone out and asked for permission to speak to somebody... If they can't get permission or they can't work it out, can they still keep Knoblauch?"

The Oilers, after two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, had a mediocre season and were eliminated in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks.