Where Edmonton Oilers sit in Bruce Cassidy sweepstakes
The Edmonton Oilers have reported interest in Bruce Cassidy, but do they stand a chance at hiring him?
There is no doubt that Cassidy is the top head coach available this offseason, and he will have no shortage of options for his next job. The Oilers are now expected to hire a new coach this summer, but so are the Toronto Maple Leafs and the LA Kings.
Who’s to say that either of those teams can’t swoop in and steal Cassidy out from under Edmonton’s nose? Those are two bigger markets that are widely seen as more desirable places to live than the Alberta capital. It feels more than possible that the veteran coach spurns Edmonton for a more glamorous, high-profile job in L.A. or Toronto.
Yet, it seems like that may not be at the top of Cassidy’s priority list when looking at his head coaching job.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman pondered about Cassidy’s future on Wednesday’s edition of Sportsnet Today, and said that he believes the veteran coach is in “win-now” mode. That means that any team he joins would likely have to be a Stanley Cup threat.
Friedman said if that’s the most important factor, Edmonton may be his top choice.
“I think [Cassidy] will have his pick of jobs,” Friedman said. “If you were gonna rank the situations about where you have the best chance to win now, I think Edmonton has gotta be ahead of both Toronto and LA.
“If Cassidy has the choice, I’d say it’s probably Edmonton.”
The Oilers had a disappointing 2025-26 season that saw them bow out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2021. It was very close to the worst-case scenario for this club, and both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were very blunt about this team needing to improve next season.
Despite that, the Oilers are in a better position to succeed than either the Maple Leafs or the Kings right now. Edmonton still has the two best players in the world in McDavid and Draisaitl, a franchise defenceman in Evan Bouchard, and a decent supporting cast of Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, and Matt Savoie.
That could give Cassidy a lot to work with, and it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that a good offseason could help return the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final as soon as next season.
But would Cassidy want to work in Canada? He is Canadian himself, being born in Ottawa, but the pressure of coaching in the country can scare off potential candidates.
Well, he helped coach McDavid as an assistant on Canada’s Olympic squad last season, and he recently said in an interview with LeafsNation that he’d be more than open to the challenge.
“It’d be kind of cool to [coach in Canada],” Cassidy said. “I’d tell you it’d be cool to win a Stanley Cup in a Canadian city right now.”
Nobody can say for sure how this situation will play out. There are a lot of moving parts and a few things that need to happen for Cassidy to come to Edmonton, and Kris Knoblauch still needs to be fired to open up a spot.
One thing is for sure, however, and that is the Oilers have a legitimate chance to scoop up the top coach on the market this summer.