Thanks for the memories, Kris Knoblauch

After having a couple of days to think about the Oilers firing Kris Knoblauch, I don’t know that my opinion has changed much from where it started. I don’t think any of us were surprised that Knobby got gassed, but I also don’t think everything that went wrong during the 2025-26 season was his fault either.

At the end of the day, I understand why the Oilers made the move, and how ownership was pissed after getting bumped out so early, but it’s also way too easy to hang things on the coach. We’ve seen this movie before, you know? The truth is that this year’s failure wasn’t all Kris Knoblauch’s fault. The ending was ugly, the flaws were absolutely real, and losing in the first round to Anaheim was obviously the last thing anyone needed, but the Kris Knoblauch era also included two trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2.5 seasons. That’s pretty ridiculous.

When Knoblauch took over for Jay Woodcroft back in November of 2023, the Oilers were in total freefall. The season was sideways after a 2-9-1 start, the fanbase was losing its mind, and the vibes were swirling around the metaphorical toilet. But then Knoblauch came in and got the train back on the rails, settled things down with his calm demeanour, and helped drag the Oilers all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He was the perfect coach for that team at the time.

Then, despite plenty of ups and downs during the 2024-25 campaign, the boys went back again the next year. Back-to-back Cup Final appearances. Those two runs happened under Knoblauch’s watch, and it’s not like the guy forgot how to coach over an off-season. There were problems beyond his control that went into the way things ended. But in the cycle that is the NHL, it’s always the coach that gets gassed first because you can’t swap out 20 players.

Looking back, the numbers are pretty wild, too. In his first season, Knoblauch went 46-18-5 in 69 games for a .703 points percentage before the Oilers lost in 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. In 2024-25, he went 48-29-5 over a full season with a .616 points percentage, and we know how the story went when Edmonton met Florida in the SCF again. This season, despite the disappointment, the Oilers finished 41-30-11 with a .567 points percentage before getting bumped by the Ducks. All together, Knoblauch went 135-77-21 over 233 regular-season games with the Oilers.

That is a hell of a record for a guy who just got punted.

But that’s also how life works in the NHL when you’re coaching Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the prime of their career. Being good isn’t good enough anymore, and anything less than a Stanley Cup at this stage is a failure that deserves dissection. And from the sounds of it, there were questions about how things were going behind the scenes. David Pagnotta gave some pretty interesting context when he joined Tyler and Liam on Oilersnation Everyday this past week:

“There’s been frustration in the room with how his tactics have been implemented. I think some frustration in how some guys have been deployed. I don’t have a full scope of it, but from what I’ve heard from some people in that room, there’s been some head scratching and some second-guessing as to the decision process.

“When you’re loading up Leon [Draisaitl] and Connor [McDavid], and you’ve got [Kasperi] Kapanen on the other side, it raised some eyebrows there.”

It’s one thing for all of us to complain online about TOI, line combos, and whatever other dumpster fire moments have us yelling at the TV. We have a long and established history of complaining about the lines, which is basically part of the job at this point. But when those questions start coming from inside the room, the conversation changes from our complaints to the players not buying into the plan. I know it’s easy to bring these things up in hindsight, but usage was brought up when Connor and Leon spoke to the media at their season-ending pressers.

At the same time, not everything that went wrong hangs on him. The Oilers had injuries, the roster had holes, and the goaltending was inconsistent regardless of who was in the crease. He also didn’t trust the supporting cast enough, which meant way more minutes for the players we need to stay fresh. And when you mix in the run of games where the Oilers looked unprepared to play and unable to adjust, there are plenty of problems that fell under Knoblauch’s purview. Coaches get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when they don’t. That’s the job. That’s why they get paid the big bucks, and that’s why they’re usually the first ones out the door when things go sideways.

So here we are.

The Kris Knoblauch era is done, and the Oilers are looking for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ 10th NHL coach to be the one that gets this group over the hump. Maybe that’s the right call. Maybe a new voice was needed. Only time will tell for sure, but what we know is that Knoblauch wasn’t the first coach to get fired when there were just as many problems with the GM’s work as with his own. Pro sports are a cruel mistress, and Kris Knoblauch is the latest in a never-ending list of coaches who will learn that lesson. Now that he’s gone, there’s no one for the GM to hide behind. Bowman has played that card now, which only warms up his own seat.

But today’s article isn’t about what comes next for Stan Bowman, but rather what’s rolling around in my brain after a few days of thinking about it. And what I came up with after thinking about his time here is to wrap up the era with some thanks for the memories. Thanks for helping pull the 2023-24 season out of the ditch. Thanks for the two Cup runs because we all had a blast. Thanks for giving us a couple of springs where we were so close to the Oilers being the team we always hoped they could be. They didn’t finish the job, and that’s why we’re having this conversation, but those runs were some of the best memories of my life.

Now, with all of that said, can we talk about the timing of this whole thing? Because Kris Knoblauch just got fired right before a three-year contract extension worth a rumoured $9 million kicks in, and let me tell you, friends, that is the world’s greatest consolation prize. I mean, no one wants to get fired. We all get that. But if you are going to get clipped, losing your gig at the beginning of summer with the Oilers paying you millions to do nothing is about as good as it gets. Quite frankly, Knoblauch is getting one of the greatest parting gifts in human history. Again, I know he would rather be coaching and working, but I also can’t think of a better landing spot than this.

If he wanted to, Kris Knoblauch could spend the next three years living la vida loca on the Oilers’ dime, and laughing to himself every two weeks when the cheque lands. That’s the kind of firing you dream about. That’s the kind of corporate-sponsored lotto win that turns a bad personal/professional day into a “meh, it’s not so bad” pretty damned quickly. I just hope he suddenly starts up an Instagram account or something so we can follow along with his adventures. I want to see Knobby on beaches around the world, sipping Mai Tais with little umbrellas. I want to see him at Coachella next year. I want to see him spending the Oilers’ money recklessly and irresponsibly. The guy is living my dream right now, so we may as well get to be a fly on the wall while he does it.

So goodbye, Kris. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the Stanley Cup runs. Thanks for 2.5 years of the most eventful coaching I can remember around here. Enjoy the summer, sir. Starting July 1st, you’ve got a whole pile of Edmonton’s money to spend however and whenever you want.