The Vegas Golden Knights made headlines last week after reportedly withholding permission from the Edmonton Oilers to speak with former head coach Bruce Cassidy. What first seemed like a run-of-the-mill offseason issue has since snowballed into a bigger story, especially given Vegas’s ongoing litany of controversies.
Now, one insider believes the situation could eventually draw the attention of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
NHL Could Step Into Oilers’ Sticky Bruce Cassidy Situation
Per Frank Seravalli’s report, Edmonton requested permission to interview Cassidy after deciding to move on from head coach Kris Knoblauch, who was fired last week. Elliotte Friedman reported that as of Sunday, May 17, Vegas still hadn’t given Edmonton permission to go ahead.
Although Cassidy was fired on March 30, 2026, he remains under contract through the 2026-27 season on a deal worth $4.5 million a year, meaning the Golden Knights still control his coaching rights.
At the time of Edmonton’s request, Vegas was in the middle of a second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, which may have contributed to the delay. At the same time, there’s also speculation that the organization simply has no interest in helping a Pacific Division rival solve its coaching problem.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently suggested the issue could become part of a broader discussion between Vegas and the league office.
“If it is not sorted out by the time Vegas meets with the league, a few people just said, they wonder if it becomes part of the conversation, or maybe does [Gary] Bettman say to them, look, there’s a lot of noise around you guys right now. What are you doing here with Bruce Cassidy?” Friedman said.
In Friedman’s view, if Vegas does not resolve the Bruce Cassidy situation before meeting with the NHL amid its recent controversies, Commissioner Gary Bettman could end up stepping in.
And Cassidy isn’t the only issue Vegas is currently dealing with.
On Friday, the NHL announced that the Golden Knights would forfeit their 2026 second-round draft pick, while head coach John Tortorella was fined $100,000 for skipping the mandatory postgame media session after the team’s series-clinching victory.
The controversy intensified when Vegas also restricted locker-room access and limited player availability, actions that violated NHL playoff media policies. The protest reportedly stemmed from the league’s suspension of Brayden McNabb, a decision the organization viewed as a major setback before the game.
The NHL later confirmed Vegas had already received previous warnings earlier in the postseason regarding media-access violations. The organization still has the option to appeal the punishment to the Commissioner’s Office next week, and as Friedman noted, Bettman will likely address the Cassidy situation if it gets to that.
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For now, the standoff between the Oilers and Golden Knights remains unresolved.
