Did Kris Knoblauch lose the Oilers’ room last year?

A lot more was going on with the Edmonton Oilers last season than we were led to believe.

The team fired head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart on May 14, and it was GM Stan Bowman who announced the firing: “Following a thorough review of this past season, we believe these changes are needed,” said Bowman. “We are grateful for the contributions both Kris and Mark have made to our organization, and we wish them the best moving forward.”

The Oilers’ former head coach was a sought-after coach when he was hired. He was coaching the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL,  the New York Rangers’ farm team. His relationship with the players in Edmonton started well, and he had history coaching Connor McDavid in the OHL.

Knoblauch is an introverted, calm individual. He’s not an old-school coach; he doesn’t get overly emotional and maintains an even keel. Together, he and the Oilers’ players had success and reached back-to-back Stanley Cup finals and in 233 regular-season games, the Oilers went 135-77-21 under Knoblauch. However, his relationship with the team leaders looks like it deteriorated behind the scenes. Over the last year or so, several revealing quotes have come from the Oilers’ leadership group. Let’s take a look at what players have said publicly.

Connor McDavid after second loss in finals to Florida – June 17, 2025

“Their forecheck was great. They tilted the rink and were able to stay on top of us all over the place,” McDavid said. “We were never really able to generate any momentum up the ice. We kept trying the same thing over and over again, just banging our heads against the wall. Credit to them, they played well.”

The player-coach relationship began to head south a while ago. McDavid was unhappy about coaching decisions in the loss to the Panthers. He was frustrated that their coaches continued to use the same tactics. However, management remained patient and went into the next season with Knoblauch at the helm.

Leon Draisaitl following an embarrassing loss to the Calgary Flames – Feb. 5, 2026

“We’re not consistent enough, and this league’s too hard to just lollygag through games and try to get winning streaks going.” He added, “You need everybody. It starts with the coaches — like, everybody.”

Draisaitl bluntly calls out the team and specifically the coaching staff. This was the boldest quote from any player since Knoblauch was hired. NHL players rarely call out their own coach in the locker room. The Oiler’s assistant captain was sending a loud message to management and ownership.

Connor McDavid after a bad loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning – March 12, 2026

“They have a great system, they’re perfectly coached,” he said. “They all know what they’re doing all over the ice. It’s impressive. They’re a great team. They’re extremely well-coached, they’re extremely well-organized. They’re very rehearsed in everything they do.”

McDavid seemed to be comparing Tampa’s coach Jon Cooper to Knoblauch. No. 97 had just been coached by Cooper at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

However, McDavid followed up those comments on March 23rd, 2026, saying, “No, I’m not taking shots. It’s just everybody can be better, myself included. Everybody can be better,” he told reporters. “It was more just complimentary of a great team in this league that came in and played a good game. Nothing more than that.”

Looking back, the Oilers’ captain’s follow-up comments don’t really jibe. He said “they’re perfectly coached”, “they’re extremely well-coached”, and “they’re well-organized”. That sounds like a direct criticism of Knoblauch.

Connor McDavid after Babcock was hired – June 24, 2026

In an exclusive interview with Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, he said, “We brought Babs in to be hard on me. And Leon. The top guys — that’s who we want to point the finger at,” 

The team captain wants a coach who really pushes the players to be better, especially the team’s leadership group. That points to a player who doesn’t feel his former coach was tough enough on him and the other leaders.

Leon Draisaitl after Babcock was hired – June 25, 2026

“I think right now for us, where we’re at as a group, as a team, what we’ve gone through. I think that Babs will be great for us. I think he’s going to have us really dialled in, and he’s going to make everyone feel a part of it. Really, that’s the most important thing when you want to be a really good hockey team.”

It sounds like Draisaitl didn’t feel the Oilers were all on the same page and didn’t have clear roles under Knoblauch.

“We want to be coached. I want to get better. I need to get better, and there are a lot of things in my game that I didn’t like last season.”

This is a pretty direct critique. Draisaitl says he wants to be coached, so what exactly was going on last year? He seems frustrated that he wasn’t pushed hard enough.

“To me, it seems like everyone is excited. Everyone’s looking forward to knowing that it will be a challenge. Babs will challenge us, Babs will demand the most out of us, but at the end of the day, I think when you want to get to where we want to get to, you need to demand the most out of every single player, out of every single coach, out of our management group.”

“Babs will be hard on us, but I want that,” he said. “I’m looking for that. I want to get better. I want to become a better hockey player all around, and I want to help our team win in even more ways than I have.”

The German superstar appears to allude to the fact that Knoblauch didn’t demand enough from the players. Draisaitl wants to be challenged directly by his coach. Once again, this sounds like there was a clash of personalities.

Draisaitl during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour this summer

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Draisaitl stated:

“I think he’s really eager to prove to people that he’s still a brilliant hockey mind and he still knows how to coach good hockey teams,” Draisaitl said. “It’s been a while for him. For us, I think it may be a change in tone, a change in demand a little bit. We’ve had some coaches that are very player-friendly, I would say, and at the time that was needed and that was great for us, but teams go through different phases, right?”

Here’s another revealing quote from the Oilers’ assistant captain. He feels that an old-school approach is needed after several “player-friendly” coaches have been at the helm. Just like McDavid, it seems he didn’t feel he was being pushed hard enough by Knoblauch.

Connor McDavid just before training camp opened – Sept. 9, 2026

“I think this year we would like a bit more stability, if that’s possible. But that being said, we understand that it’s always kind of a moving target throughout the year, and different situations require different lineups and different formations. But that’s a coaching question.”

The Oilers’ captain felt there should have been more consistency with line combinations under their previous coach.

“I think we’ve asked for that for a long time is some consistency throughout the lines and building chemistry,” continued McDavid. “It’s not easy to jump around from spot to spot, guys switching positions, guys playing up the lineup, down the lineup. It’s hard mentally.”

This might be the most revealing quote of all. McDavid says the team leadership has been asking for more stable lines “for a long time”.

“It’s hard to understand what your job is, so I think we’re looking for some consistency throughout the lineup in terms of where guys are playing.”

Once again, No. 97 mentions consistent line combinations. He seems pretty frustrated that players couldn’t take ownership of their roles.

“The comfort in the room seems good,” said McDavid. “I don’t know how else to say it. Guys have really put their egos aside and guys are here to win. That’s what we want. We want a coach that matches our intensity and our energy and we feel Babs does that.”

McDavid says that Knoblauch’s style wasn’t intense enough. That sounds like a clash of personalities.

Leon Draisaitl just before training camp opened – Sept. 10, 2026

“He’s just so clear. He knows what this team needs, and he doesn’t shy away from telling you straight to your face. He’s a real man about it, and we’re all men in here, and we all want to win. We’re all here for the same reason. I think he’s going to be great for us.”

Draisaitl has repeated this line about Babcock “being a man” several times. This is a strong criticism of his former coach. Clearly Knoblauch is a man too, but it seems the former coach’s leadership style rubbed the team’s leaders the wrong way.

Evan Bouchard on the day training camp opened – Sept. 16, 2026

“You know what you’re getting with Babs. He’s very direct. We’re going to be very organized. He doesn’t beat around the bush either. So I think that’s a good thing to have in a coach.”

It sounds like the elite defenseman didn’t feel Knoblauch was direct enough. Bouchard values the upfront style of Babcock, and today his new coach made him an assistant captain.

Bouchard also commented about the new associate coach, D.J. Smith, “Yeah, I’m excited for D.J. like you said. I had him at Worlds. He was a very good coach, very open, very vocal. He told you what he thought. If he thinks you’ve got to improve in this area he’ll help you do that. He gives you a sense of comfort back there. He’s always going to have your back. But he expects a lot out of you, which is a good thing.”

Bouchard says he wants a coach that is very transparent. He must not have felt comfortable with Knoblauch’s more introverted style.

Leon Draisaitl on Day 1 of training camp – September 17th, 2026

“Yeah, that’s your everyday right? Your everyday is the practices, the details, the little things that I think have gotten away from us a little bit over the last couple of years. Now is the time to dial these back in.”

No. 29 repeats the theme we’ve heard all summer. He wants a coach that focuses on the small details in practice and the team’s preparation. We can deduce that Knoblauch didn’t attend to the details in a fashion the team’s leaders wanted.

The coaching change was inevitable

After reading all those quotes, it appears that Knoblauch lost the dressing room a while ago. He was considered an up-and-coming coach, and many praised his hiring. He obviously did something right in leading the team to consecutive Stanley Cup finals. For a couple of years, the team and coach appeared to get along well.

However, relationships evolve, and sometimes personalities clash. It seems that for at least a year, the team leaders began to lose faith in their coach. Maybe it was as simple as a difference in styles, as introverts like Knoblauch are often misunderstood. North America is a culture dominated by extroverts, especially in sports. It is possible to be quiet and strong, and there are examples of successful coaches who had such a temperament. Hopefully, Knoblauch finds another team where his style meshes well with his players. Mike Babcock is a very different coach, and it will be fascinating to see how the players perform under his leadership.

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