David Staples

The 13 reasons that Kris Knoblauch was doomed this year and fired today: 1. The St. Louis offer sheet and heist of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. 2. Bowman's summer signings of Frederic and Mangiapane. 3. Physical and mental fatigue from two long playoff runs. 4. Knoblauch's coaching staff hiring cock-up of last summer. 5. Bowman and Knoblauch conflict over which players to play. 6. Way too many new players this year, all year. 7. Knoblauch himself at times failed to reward players who had done well. 8. Crazy busy travel in October and November. 9. Team's inconsistency in finding their "A" defensive and puck possession game. 10. Same old, over-reliance on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 11. Edmonton's goalies simply failed to get the job done. 12. Cascading chaos bubbled up and never went away, as seen by Draisaitl, McDavid outbursts. 13. The final coach killer was injury.

'Daryl Katz is really unhappy': NHL insider spells out cause of Knoblauch's firing edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/… via @edmontonjournal

@easternrefugee @TheCultofHockey @edmontonjournal You never know. And he fits the Oil’s target profile

@TheCultofHockey @edmontonjournal I am not sure I understand the stats exactly. Trotz is supposedly retiring as GM of Nashville which Scott is interviewing for. Why would he want to go back to coaching now?? What motivation???

'Oilers don’t have a coaching replacement already lined up': NHL insider edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/… via @edmontonjournal

@KevinMcCurdy Carolina?

This can't be understated actually. You have room for one "Yamamoto" archetype on a modern roster, two is a stretch, 3 impossible, if you want to be competitive in the playoffs. Just my opinion.

@revingev This practice is so common and obvious it’s pathetic it has to be explained to folks. Also, one thing I have learned: there is no good and painless way to fire anyone. It is always a shit show.

@dstaples Thanks David. Took awhile but had to dig deeper and put them together but approx 26 examples this is simply a ‘shadow search’. Feel free to use anything if you’re wanting. It’s my own work. No credit needed .

the Oilers’ Cassidy Leak is Just Business People are losing it over the Oilers seeking permission to interview Bruce Cassidy while Kris Knoblauch was still in the seat. They call it "disrespectful." I call it the modern NHL Playbook. (If the leak never happened KK would have been given his notice and no one would care. Blame the one who leaked it.) In the high-stakes world of NHL management, GMs don’t fire a coach and then look for a replacement. They execute a "Shadow Search"—vetting and securing their next target while the current coach is still behind the bench most often. Examples of the "Shadow Search" in Action: NY Islanders (2026): Fired Patrick Roy and hired Pete DeBoer hours later. That’s not a quick decision; that deal was finalized while Roy was still coaching. Vegas Golden Knights (2026): Had John Tortorella lined up and ready to sign weeks before they officially let Bruce Cassidy go. (No! That can’t be true..haha) Minnesota Wild (2023): Dismissed Dean Evason on a Monday and had John Hynes at practice by Tuesday. The "successor" was already in the building. St. Louis Blues (2024): The second Jim Montgomery became available, the Blues moved. They fired Drew Bannister and had Montgomery signed to a 5-year deal within days. The "process" happened while Bannister was still coaching his final week. Nashville Predators (2023): John Hynes was fired on a Tuesday; Andrew Brunette was hired Wednesday morning. GM Barry Trotz had his man locked in weeks before the official pink slip was handed out. Toronto Maple Leafs (2024): Sheldon Keefe was let go after a playoff exit, but the "Berube to Toronto" noise had started weeks earlier. The Leafs moved on Craig Berube immediately because the vetting was already done behind the scenes. Buffalo Sabres (2024): Don Granato was fired the day after the season ended. Lindy Ruff was hired almost instantly. No wide search, no long interviews—the target was identified and secured long before the final buzzer. New Jersey Devils (2024): The Devils fired Lindy Ruff in March, but they didn't just "start a search." They already had eyes on Sheldon Keefe. The moment Keefe was let go by Toronto in May, the Devils moved instantly to secure him. The "fit" was identified months before the signature hit the paper. Columbus Blue Jackets (2026): In a move that shocked the room, the Jackets fired Dean Evason in January 2026.Within hours, they named veteran Rick Bowness as the replacement. You don't pull a coach of Bowness's stature out of "retirement" on a whim—that conversation was happening long before the pink slip was handed to Evason. LA Kings (March 2026): The Kings fired Jim Hiller and moved immediately to hire D.J. Smith. There was no "interim" period or long-term search—the Kings identified their man while Hiller was still on the bench and pulled the trigger the second they felt the season was slipping. NY Rangers (May 2026): The Rangers fired Peter Laviolette on April 19. By May 2, they had Mike Sullivan signed. You don’t pull a 2x Cup winner and the Team USA Olympic coach away from Pittsburgh in 13 days without months of back-channel vetting. The Rangers knew Sullivan was their target long before their season ended Ottawa Senators (2024): While Jacques Martin was finishing the 2023-24 season as the interim, the Senators were already deep in the vetting process for Travis Green. They didn't wait for the season to end to decide; they had Green locked in and ready to be announced the second the "interim" tag was cleared Detroit Red Wings (2024): On December 26, 2024, the Wings fired Derek Lalonde and immediately named Todd McLellan as the new head coach. Making a coaching change on Boxing Day tells you everything you need to know: the deal was done during the Christmas break while Lalonde was still technically the coach (NOTE: All these can vary slightly but the coach was already planned out the door and current coach did not know……Read comments for more)

@coopsie39 @PoolNuge3 @bcurlock reminds me of Mike York

@PoolNuge3 Rishaug doesn't watch the Condors, I do and @bcurlock do and I 100% think Howard is an NHL player (and likely to able to replace Roslovic's production and be no worse of a 2-way player). He's a hard worker, coachable and developed a ton this past year.I think Hutson is a tweener

DISGUSTING. Canada only gets a pipeline if the Net Zero insiders and carbon-credit billionaires get paid first. No Pathways Project? No pipeline. So let me get this straight… Canada sits on one of the largest energy reserves on Earth, but we’re only allowed to develop it if Mark Carney profits from it? This isn’t environmentalism. It’s a toll booth.

@connermcjesus97 @TopTierPucks Thanks

@dstaples @TopTierPucks Here is the VOD of their stream together kick.com/n3on/videos/19…

Evander Kane was on Neon’s stream, and he basically brought up Edmonton every chance he got. He said that it was his favorite team he ever played for and how he wished he was never traded. I would love him back with the Oilers on a $1-3M contract. We need gamers #LetsGoOilers

@NickSuave @KevinMcCurdy @50in39 Agreed. Great description.

@dstaples @KevinMcCurdy @50in39 Nurse is literally the Reverse-Kulak! We traded away the wrong one thinking Stastny is identical but younger/cheaper. Wrong!! 😠

I'm going to take some heat for this, but seriously, have a deeper look at Nurse's real world impact, it's not nearly as tragic as his reputation would have you believe. This sheet is @50in39's work, so he gets full credit. Bars in blue are the only ones he's finished outside the top 64 (32 teams x 2 defensemen) in his career. I certainly was more surprised by this than I expected, maybe you will be too. This isn't to say that there isn't development Nurse should be doing, and that he couldn't make smarter plays or whatever, but these results do say something valuable.

@TopTierPucks Searched site. Can’t find it. Any chance you have a link?

@dstaples He is a famous streamer on the website Kick

@TopTierPucks Thanks

@50in39 @KevinMcCurdy He has had endless partners, of course.

@dstaples @KevinMcCurdy Who have his partners been? No need to reply here. We can discuss one day…

Cassidy helped Vegas win a Stanley Cup. Then Vegas fired him. Now they are going to block him from choosing his next job? I don’t see it. What kind of person would want to invite that kind of wretched karma on themselves?

Cassidy-gate has been a weird story to follow. One expert says the onus is on Vegas to allow permission to other teams to talk to Cassidy. Another one says Vegas has every right to deny permission to a division rival. One insider reports the Oilers don't have a replacement candidate lined up. Another one reports they do. I'll go with Friedman on this particular point.

@RobbieMann77 @jmah1996 love ya, man

@dstaples @jmah1996 I’m surprised u still have a podcast no one cares about:- all the best

The 13 reasons that Kris Knoblauch was doomed this year and fired today: 1. The St. Louis offer sheet and heist of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. 2. Bowman's summer signings of Frederic and Mangiapane. 3. Physical and mental fatigue from two long playoff runs. 4. Knoblauch's coaching staff hiring cock-up of last summer. 5. Bowman and Knoblauch conflict over which players to play. 6. Way too many new players this year, all year. 7. Knoblauch himself at times failed to reward players who had done well. 8. Crazy busy travel in October and November. 9. Team's inconsistency in finding their "A" defensive and puck possession game. 10. Same old, over-reliance on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. 11. Edmonton's goalies simply failed to get the job done. 12. Cascading chaos bubbled up and never went away, as seen by Draisaitl, McDavid outbursts. 13. The final coach killer was injury.

@kaebly sigh

@dstaples Playing nurse 23 to 25 minutes a night is #1 reason

@Cmandev1977 google it

@dstaples What’s a cock-up? Sorry couldn’t get past that. Maybe I’m just immature but I could not figure out what you were trying to say.

Edmonton Oilers are locked on one prime candidate for new head coach, NHL insider says edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/… via @edmontonjournal