Pump the Brakes on Craig Berube to the Edmonton Oilers?

There have already been plenty of twists and turns in the Edmonton Oilers’ search for a new head coach, and the continued denial from the Vegas Golden Knights to speak with Bruce Cassidy has played a major part in it.

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With Cassidy seemingly not an option—for now, at least—a lot of buzz has shifted towards another veteran in Craig Berube. However, while he remains in the running for the job, according to insider Chris Johnston, a different veteran might be ahead of him in the pecking order, and that’s Peter Laviolette.

Johnston said:

“Well, I’d put him below Laviolette right now. If we’re just sort of assembling this as a list, but you know they’re still talking to him. If that conversation hasn’t formally happened yet, it’s happening at some point in these couple of days. I was told that he was going to have a discussion with Stan Bowman about the job and, you know, I think you do have to consider your options… He’s certainly a candidate in the sense that he fits what they’re looking for. I just don’t see him as the top-of-the-list kind of guy based on especially what happened this season. It was a really tough year for him in Toronto,”

The 60-year-old Berube was recently fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs after just two seasons behind the bench, where he went 84-62-18 in the regular season and 7-6 in the playoffs. Laviolette, 61, on the other hand, was let go by the New York Rangers last April after two seasons in charge, in which he posted a 94-59-11 regular-season record and a 10-6 playoff record.

Given that Edmonton is looking for an immediate coaching bump, Laviolette would make sense as a backup plan to Cassidy, having had similar success upon arriving to a new team when first hired.

You could argue Berube has done some of the same, though, as of right now, it appears he may not be as high on the Oilers wishlist as some rumors were suggesting.

Next: William Nylander Makes His Desire to Stay in Toronto Clear