Oilers' Sudden Dismissal of Knoblauch Could Be Tied to Maple Leafs

The Edmonton Oilers' firing of head coach Kris Knoblauch on Thursday came as a bit of a surprise, especially when you view the situation from a much wider lens beyond just this season.

The Oilers had been a formidable team over the last few post-season run prior to this most recent 1st round disaster. Back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances, though, were not enough to buy Knoblauch any good faith with the organization, and his firing on Thursday read much like a "what have you done for me lately?" situation.

"Following a thorough review of this past season, we believe these changes are needed." These were the words of Oilers GM Stan Bowman, who was not willing to accept an early exit for his club, even with the injuries that Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard and others had battled through during Round 1 against the Anaheim Ducks.

Did Knoblauch's Firing Happen Because of the Maple Leafs?

The decision to drop Knoblauch does seem like a bit of a head-scratcher, but perhaps the move could be a reactionary play after another Canadian NHL club, the Toronto Maple Leafs, parted ways with a pretty good coach in Craig Berube, who just one season ago coached the Maple Leafs to their first Atlantic Division title before bowing out early in the post-season once again.

When Bowman announced the firings of Knoblauch and assistant coach Mark Stuart, he did not identify who the leading candidates to replace them might be, but you have to believe that Berube will be among those interested in coaching the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman.

The timing of Knoblauch's dismissal seems very convenient. The Oilers were bounced from the playoffs on April 30th. Two weeks have elapsed since the end of their season, and Knoblauch's firing coming a day after Berube was sent packing by the Maple Leafs seems a little too convenient to be a coincidence.

Knoblauch,135-77-21 behind the bench in Edmonton during the regular-season, has also recorded a 31-22 playoff record, which is nothing to scoff at. He gave his club two very good chances to win a Stanley Cup. However, with Berube having a Stanley Cup ring of his own, perhaps the organization views him as the man who can step in and put this team over the top.

Is Berube a Fit for the Oilers?

The question that needs to be asked here is whether or not Berube is actually the right fit in Edmonton. We saw what happened over the past two seasons in Toronto with Auston Matthews. Berube took a two-time 60-goal scorer and began using him as more of a Swiss Army Knife than what he actually was, which is a bona fide elite sniper. The proof is in the pudding:

If the Oilers do indeed pursue Craig Berube and land the ex-Leafs coach, should we be concerned about a similar drop off from McDavid and/or Draisaitl? The thought is not a pleasant one.

There are other potential candidates available as well, such as Ottawa native Bruce Cassidy, who may be contemplating a return to Canada after his recent comments about how it "would be cool is to win a Stanley Cup in a Canadian city."

Of course, there's no guarantee that the Oilers go after either Cassidy or Berube, but they are certainly two of the top names out there following the Knoblauch news. It wouldn't be shocking to see either one end up behind the bench in Edmonton.