EDMONTON, Alberta – The Edmonton Oilers have secured the continuity of their coach, Kris Knoblauch, with a three-year contract extension, which will keep him at the helm of the team until the 2028-29 season.
Knoblauch has proven his worth by leading the Oilers to the Stanley Cup finals consecutively, since taking over on November 12, 2023, replacing Jay Woodcroft.
After a complicated start to the 2023-24 season, with a 3-9-1 record under Woodcroft’s direction, the Oilers experienced a notable improvement under Knoblauch, achieving an impressive 48-16-5 record before reaching the final, where they fell in seven games to the Florida Panthers.
In his first full season as coach, the 47-year-old coach, originally from Imperial, Saskatchewan, recorded a 48-29-5 record. The Oilers successfully advanced through three rounds of playoffs, with a score of 12-4, but were again outmatched by Florida in the final, this time in six games.
Before his arrival with the Oilers, Knoblauch was in his fifth season as a coach with the Hartford Wolf Pack, an affiliate of the New York Rangers in the American Hockey League.
Previously, Knoblauch worked as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers between 2017 and 2019. In addition, he had the opportunity to coach the Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, for three seasons in the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.
Knoblauch also had experience as a junior hockey player with the Edmonton Ice of the Western Hockey League and spent five years playing for the University of Alberta.
