General manager Stan Bowman did his best to clean off the Edmonton Oilers logo Thursday, well aware that the organization's reputation got dragged through the mud the last few days.
A sixth coach in the last 12 years. Trying to interview a new coach before telling the old coach he was fired. Canning a guy who took them to two Stanley Cup Finals in three years. Signing a guy to a three-year deal and then canning him before the deal even kicks in.
There is no way to come out of this looking good. It's tough to even come out of this looking like they know what the plan is.
But Bowman stood in there on a 30-minute Zoom call with reporters, doing his best to rationalize the Kris Knoblauch fiasco. He wasn't particularly effective, dodging the issue of why the Oilers didn't tell Knoblauch he wasn't coming back before asking permission to interview Bruce Cassidy, but he did try and shed some light on the process that led to the embarrassment.
Why Fire a Coach After a Contract Extension?
Starting with how do you give a coach a three-year extension and then pull the rug out before the deal even begins? "This was a tough decision, no question," began Bowman. "Falling just short of a Stanley Cup in the two seasons Kris had with the team, we felt he'd earned that contract extension."
But that perspective changed just seven months later, after a 93-point campaign, in which the Oilers managed to win three games in a row just twice, followed by a first-round playoff exit at the hands of upstart Anaheim.
"If you take the season as a whole, we were never able to get going," explained Bowman. "So, when we performed our analysis, we just felt we needed a different voice to lead us to where we wanted to get to. Difficult decision, without a doubt, but it was based on how this entire year played out."
"This was not all on Kris Knoblauch and Mark Stuart (assistant who was also let go), that's not the case, but we believe there can be some better performances from players here and we need that from our team to be successful."
A Regression After Deep Playoff Runs
The Oilers regressed, no question about it, but most everyone acknowledges that was largely due to a team being burned out mentally and physically after two long runs and short summers, not to mention having four injured centres in the playoffs. Tossing aside a two-time Western Conference champion coach after one average season seems capricious, but Bowman went back to wanting a different voice.
"When Kris came into the Oilers he was the perfect coach at that time, he was exactly what that team needed to take them almost to the Stanley Cup. As time passes, things change. They change for the coach himself, the players change, players evolve and get older, maybe need different things."
"So what worked one year, or a couple of years, if it doesn't continue to work... we're in the results business. In this moment in time we made the decision that we think a different voice can help us get to that next level."
The Oilers now face another coaching search, adding to a turbulent offseason. The organization's handling of the situation has drawn criticism, but Bowman remains steadfast that the move was necessary for the team's future success.
