The Edmonton Oilers may have bowed out of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they’ve been hogging the headlines ever since.
Kris Knoblauch paid the price for their first-round exit at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, and all signs point to Bruce Cassidy being the Oilers’ favored candidate to take over.
However, Cassidy is still technically under contract with the Vegas Golden Knights, and the franchise has not granted Edmonton or the Los Angeles Kings permission to interview Cassidy, leaving his future in limbo. This week, Cassidy took matters into his own hands to air his grievances about Vegas holding things up.
Bruce Cassidy Goes On the Offensive Vs. Golden Knights as Oilers Wait on HC
Cassidy made an appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast on Thursday, May 28, and didn’t waste a second making his feelings clear over Vegas withholding permission from Edmonton and Los Angeles.
“It’s upsetting, I’m gonna be honest. Because once you’re fired, your contract’s basically terminated. One thing people don’t realize is that you have non-compete clauses, so I can’t resign today and go work for someone tomorrow. I can’t work until Vegas gives me permission until this contract’s up, which is at the end of next season. So if I resign, all I do is not get paid,” Cassidy said.
“In this case, yes, there were two teams that asked; that’s public knowledge now. And I’d like to talk to them. I wanna go to work; I’m a hockey coach.”
“It’s upsetting…There was two teams that asked it’s public knowledge now, and I would like to talk to them. I want to go to work. I’m a hockey coach.”
Bruce Cassidy speaks on Vegas not allowing him to interview for other teams. pic.twitter.com/cXx4ijCKZS
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) May 28, 2026
Cassidy’s words made it clear that he sees a fair bit of injustice being meted out to him.
All the reporting coming out of Vegas indicates that the Golden Knights have no plans to allow the Oilers or the Kings to interview Cassidy until their season draws to a close, which, clearly, will take some time.
The Golden Knights themselves haven’t sorted out their own head coaching situation. John Tortorella, the man who has breathed new life into the franchise since Cassidy’s exit, has marshalled his troops right up to the Stanley Cup Final, but his contract is up at the end of their run.
The Golden Knights are 19-4-1 under Tortorella heading into the Cup Final, so the smart money’s on Vegas handing him a longer contract, but his coaching style is known to grate on players and, therefore, is not expected to last in the long term.
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NHL insider John Shannon expects Vegas to ease up on Cassidy sooner rather than later, but as things stand, the Oilers, Golden Knights, and LA Kings are all involved in a standoff to see who blinks first.
Bruce Cassidy, however, just wants to go to work.
