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Oilers rumors: Kris Knoblauch’s job status ‘under review’ after playoff failure
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- Oilers rumors: Kris Knoblauch’s job status ‘under review’ after playoff failure
Oilers rumors: Kris Knoblauch’s job status ‘under review’ after playoff failure appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Kris Knoblauch was named the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers during the 2023-24 season, when Jay Woodcroft was fired. Woodcroft has led the Oilers to the playoffs two straight years and one conference finals, but after a 3-9-1 start, the Oilers moved on. Knoblauch led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season and again the next year. This season, the Oilers fell to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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With another year of failing to win the Cup, the future of Knoblauch is now being questioned , according to hockey insider Frank Seravalli.
“Kris Knoblauch’s future is under review internally this week in Edmonton,” Servalli wrote.
The team underperformed this year. At 41-30-11, the team finished second in the Pacific Division but with the fifth-best record in the Western Conference. After falling in six games to the Ducks, Connor McDavid called the team average, a sentiment that GM Stan Bowman agreed with. Bowman, the son of legendary coach Scotty Bowman, is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion.
He won his three Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks . Bowman joined the organization in 2000 and became the GM in July 2009. They went on to win the Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015, all under Joel Quenneville. Still, when things started going south under Quenneville, Bowman pulled the plug and moved on to Jeremy Colliton.
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Bowman then joined the Oilers before the 2024-25 season, inheriting Knoblauch as a coach. Knoblauch is 135-77-21 as the head coach of the Oilers. He has done this with one of the best players in the league, Connor McDavid . McDavid, along with Zach Hyman , has just two years left on their contracts. McDavid may not be interested in extending if the Oilers cannot win.
With the fact that the Oilers are still looking for their first Stanley Cup since 1990, even while having a roster including McDavid, Hyman, Leon Draisaitl , Ryan Nugent-Hopkins , and Evan Bouchard , Knoblauch’s leash may be short under Bowman.
Related: 2 early Oilers trade targets after 1st-round loss to Ducks
