Kris Knoblauch to take over as Edmonton Oilers’ head coach

Following the dismissal of Jay Woodcroft as Edmonton Oilers’ head coach, the franchise announced on Sunday that Kris Knoblauch will assume head coaching duties.

Oilers’ senior advisor Paul Coffey is also stepping behind the bench as an assistant coach, as former assistant Dave Manson was also let go by the club.

Knoblauch, 45, was previously the head coach of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, the minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers. He was hired by the Rangers in July 2019 after spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Knoblauch takes over for an Oilers team that’s off to a 3-9-1 start, sitting 31st out of 32 teams in the NHL’s overall standings. Much of the team’s struggles could be attributed to poor defense and goaltending, with the team’s goal differential at minus-16 and the combined save percentage under .870, which led to goaltender Jack Campbell being sent down to the minors.

Reigning-Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid is also off to a sluggish start, scoring only two goals in his first 11 games. The new Oilers’ head coach needs no introduction to the Oilers’ captain, whom he coached for all three of McDavid’s OHL seasons with the Erie Otters. The pair made it to the OHL Championship Final in 2014-15, losing to the Oshawa Generals in five games.

Knoblauch’s Otters became the first team in CHL history to post four-consecutive 50-win seasons, between 2013-14 and 2016-17, capping it off with an OHL Championship and a Memorial Cup birth in 2017.

As noted by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Oilers’ CEO Jeff Jackson has a big belief in Knoblauch. When Jackson was an NHL agent, many of his clients played for the new head coach, including McDavid, Connor Brown, Alex DeBrincat, both Taylor and Darren Raddysh, Travis Dermott and Ben Harpur.

Before joining the Otters, Knoblauch won a WHL Championship with the Kootenay Ice in 2010-11, his first season with the club. After losing in the first round the following season, he was relieved of his duties.

In seven years as a junior head coach, Knoblauch compiled a record of 298-130-16-13.