The Edmonton Oilers may be poking around a coaching change.
But their Pacific Division rival appears to have a say in the matter.
The Vegas Golden Knights withheld permission for the Edmonton Oilers to interview former head coach Bruce Cassidy, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported on Tuesday.
Cassidy was shockingly fired by the Golden Knights in late March, just weeks before the playoffs, and replaced by John Tortorella.
Vegas is now tied 2-2 in its second-round series with the Anaheim Ducks, who eliminated the Oilers in six games in the first round.
The loss left Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch on the hot seat despite reaching the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two seasons at the helm.
Cassidy, a 60-year-old Ottawa native, led the Golden Knights to the Cup in 2023. He was the longest-tenured coach in Vegas history, going 178-99-43 over four seasons.
"I would've liked to see it through... We'd won once before, so we knew what it looked like to win," Cassidy said in April. "We were a first or second-place team most of the year — I felt we would've got in (to playoffs). I don't know where we would've finished at the end, that's speculation, but yes, I would've loved to have had the opportunity. But didn't work out that way, so you start thinking about your next challenge."
