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........

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