The Vegas Golden Knights have still not given the Edmonton Oilers permission to interview Bruce Cassidy. As reports indicate Connor McDavid’s Oilers are completely blocked from reaching Cassidy, the NHL Coaches’ Association has stepped in and drawn a clear line. The Golden Knights may have gone too far.
Not only are the Golden Knights giving McDavid and the Oilers, a despised divisional foe, the short end of the stick, but they are also hurting Cassidy’s chances of landing another job. As a result, the Coaches’ Association (NHLCA) released a stern statement demanding action from the league.
“The NHLCA has been closely monitoring the situation involving Bruce Cassidy. While we respect the League’s rules and processes, it is our position that coaches who remain under contract, but are no longer working for their Club, should not be prevented from pursuing other employment opportunities,” the official statement read.
“It would be unprecedented at the head coaching level should multiple teams be denied permission to speak with Coach Cassidy. The situation is still unfolding, but our priority is to protect the interests of our members in this type of circumstance.”
Bruce Cassidy at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Cassidy is still on Vegas’ payroll
Though he was fired without cause, Cassidy is still set to earn $4.5 million from the Golden Knights during the 2026-27 NHL season. As the saying goes, he who pays the piper calls the tune, and Vegas is taking the idiom to the limit.
Because of league regulations, the Knights are not exactly in the wrong—breaching morality’s borders, perhaps, but not crossing any legal boundaries. As loud as the Coaches’ Association and the Oilers cry out, it may all fall on deaf ears.
NHL plans no sanction to Golden Knights
According to reports, the NHL is maintaining the $100,000 fine and stripping the Knights of a second-round pick for missing their media obligations after Game 6 of the series against the Anaheim Ducks, but there has been no punishment for their handling of Cassidy’s future. And it seems there will not be one in the future, either.
Still, the NHLCA’s statement may be an encouraging sign for McDavid and the Oilers that the battle is not lost yet. Perhaps the Coaches’ Association can force the league commissioner’s hand. It feels like a long shot, but Edmonton will hold on to any beacon of hope.
Oilers are to blame, too
Considering how Edmonton handled its own head coaching situation, the Oilers are no choir boys, either. With Knoblauch still under contract and set for a three-year extension to kick in next summer, they requested an interview with Cassidy.
Their plan blew up in their face once the interest was leaked. Left with no choice but to admit their mistake and relieve Knoblauch of his duties, the front office led by Stan Bowman now faces crucial hours. As everybody in Oil Country has been reminded, oil spills only make a bigger mess.
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