Bowman just talked to a coaching heavyweight and big news could land soon
The Edmonton Oilers have fired Kris Knoblauch, and GM Stan Bowman is already working the phones. Chris Johnston reported Friday that Bowman has spoken with Craig Berube about the opening.
That's a big swing, and it's the kind of name that tells you exactly how Bowman is thinking. He doesn't want a project. He wants a finisher.
Edmonton finished the year 41-30-11 for 93 points, second in the Pacific. On paper, that's a playoff push. In Edmonton, with this roster, it was a disaster.
A goal differential of +13 with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice should embarrass anyone signing the cheques. The GA column tells the real story. 269 goals against. For a team built to chase Cups.
The home/road splits don't help. 22-14-5 at Rogers Place. 19-16-6 on the road. Average across the board, and average doesn't cut it when your two best players are in their prime.
Bowman picks his moment to swing big on a bench boss
Knoblauch went 6-2-2 in his final ten games and still got the call. That's the part that should send a message to the room. Hot finish, cold result.
The Oilers closed the year with a 6-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Knoblauch's last bench. A win, and a goodbye in the same week.
Reporting a Bowman-Berube phone call doesn't mean a hire. Permission, tampering rules, contractual reality, all of that lives between the lines of a Chris Johnston scoop. But the call happened.
The eye test on the report itself was simple. Johnston laid it out plainly on his podcast, no hedging, no maybe.
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If you're an Oilers fan, the takeaway isn't the name. It's the level. Bowman didn't reach for an assistant or a recycled retread on the first call. He went for a Cup winner.
The McDavid clock is ticking louder than ever. Whoever takes this bench inherits a contract countdown, a fan base out of patience, and a GM who just proved he'll move fast.
The next move tells us everything.
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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 | ||||