Oilers sign coach Kris Knoblauch to three-year extension

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger reported the extension earlier in the day.

Daily Faceoff host Tyler Yaremchuk reported Thursday on Daily Faceoff Live that fans should expect an extension to get done in the near future

The news comes less than a week before the Oilers host the Calgary Flames in the 2025-26 regular-season opener.

Since taking over for the Oilers in November 2023, Knoblauch has coached the group to a 94-47-10 record in 151 regular-season games, finishing second and third in the Pacific Division, respectively. He has also posted a 29-18 record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the group to back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances.

Knoblauch, 47, has found success at various levels in nearly 20 years of coaching. After several years as an assistant, he took over as bench boss for the WHL’s Kootenay Ice in 2010-11, posting a 36-21-5 record and leading the group to the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Knoblauch went on to coach the Erie Otters for five seasons, which cultivated in an OHL Championship in 2016-17. In 2015-16, he won the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year. He also coached Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid for three seasons between 2012-13 and 2014-15.

After two seasons as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers, Knoblauch moved on to the Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate. Through parts of five seasons, he led the team to a 112-87-31 record in 230 regular-season games with one Calder Cup Playoff appearance in 2023.

As a player, Knoblauch spent parts of five seasons in the WHL with the Edmonton/Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels, finishing with 36 goals and 47 assists for 83 points and 331 penalty minutes in 161 regular-season games.

He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the seventh round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.