EDMONTON — For good reason, the go-to question at a time like this has always been, “So, that’s how many coaches for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins…?”

The answer, as the Edmonton Oilers mercifully relieved Kris Knoblauch of his duties late last night, is that the next one will be No. 10 for the longest-serving Oiler.

That’s right, folks: Nugent-Hopkins’ next game will be career regular-season game No. 1,032, and his 10th coach will be sending him over the boards.

In lighter times, it has become a quiz we’ve challenged Nugent-Hopkins to partake in. He eventually names them all, but it is not without some serious recall.

At a time like this — with another solid man pushed under Edmonton’s coaching carousel — it’s really not very funny at all.

A 100-games-and-change shelf life. That’s what a coach gets here in Northern Alberta, a number skewed somewhat by temp gigs handed to Todd Nelson and Ken Hitchcock over the years.

It may end with a Zoom call for Ralph Krueger, or perhaps when a young........

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