Knoblauch gets new contract with Oilers, hopes McDavid is next

EDMONTON -- Kris Knoblauch joked Wednesday that the Edmonton Oilers had "much more important" contracts to negotiate other than his own heading into the season.

The Oilers coach was referencing a new agreement for captain Connor McDavid, who is going into the final season of his eight-year, $100 million contract ($12.5 million average annual value) and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

McDavid is still unsigned beyond this season, but Knoblauch is now locked up, signing a three-year contract to remain the coach of the Oilers, which was announced Friday. His current deal was set to expire after the season.

"In the NHL, you never know what's going to happen, so it's nice to have it out of mind and it's done and now we're just worried about the regular season," Knoblauch said Friday, prior to the Oilers traveling to face the Vancouver Canucks in their final preseason game. "Whether it was happening or not, I would still be worrying about the regular season, but now that I have that security, it's nice and I don't have to worry about it and I can spend all my attention to our next game."

McDavid's new contract is still looming over Knoblauch and the Oilers as they head into the season opener against the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place on Oct. 8 (10 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS).

"Obviously there's other contracts that are much more important than mine with several players," Knoblauch said Wednesday. "Now as we're getting close to the regular season, things we'll assume will start to develop a little bit more."

Knoblauch credits much of his success in Edmonton to McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl and feels fortunate for the opportunity to coach two of the most dynamic players in the NHL.

Draisaitl is going into the first year of an eight-year, $112 million contract ($14 million AAV) and Knoblauch, along with all Oilers fans, hopes McDavid follows suit with a new contract.

"They're not only the best players but are high-character team players," Knoblauch said. "There are some good quality players out there, high-talent superstars, and to have two of the best on one team, yes, I feel very fortunate to have them. I feel even more fortunate of how high character they are, how much they want to win and how much they know the importance of the team environment and the contributions of others."

Knoblauch was hired by Edmonton on Nov. 12, 2023, when he replaced Jay Woodcroft as coach after the Oilers got off to a 3-9-1 start and were seventh in the Pacific Division.

The 47-year-old righted the ship immediately, leading the Oilers to the best record in the regular season after he was hired (46-18-5). They finished second in the Pacific before advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games.

Knoblauch is 94-47-10 in his two seasons with the Oilers and has guided them to the Cup Final in each, losing to the Panthers in six games last season. He is 29-18 in 47 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"Coming in here, I was just trying to adjust some things, adjust some attention to details on what could move the needle, what could be improved, and I think we responded really well," Knoblauch said. "It was always a good hockey team, it was always going to correct itself out sooner or later. Obviously, things changed quite quickly, but I don't want to say it was myself coming in that had that much of an impact."

Prior to being hired by Edmonton, Knoblauch was coach of Hartford, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Rangers, for four seasons from 2019-23, and an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2017-19.

He also coached Erie of the Ontario Hockey League for five seasons (2012-17), coaching McDavid for three (2012-15).

"He's brought a lot to our group, especially the calm and poise in pressure situations," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said of Knoblauch. "As a player you always know where you're at with him and he always brings a positive energy and emotion to the rink, and for us, it's good to see that he'll be around for a little longer."

Knoblauch was able to get the most of out of the Oilers the past two seasons, taking them where four previous coaches with McDavid and Draisaitl (Woodcroft, Dave Tippett, Ken Hitchcock, Todd McLellan) were unable to.

"Yeah, 100 percent and that's all you want in this league is honesty and to know day to day what's expected of you," Nurse said. "That's what he brings to our group: accountability. He's been great for our group in that regard too."

Knoblauch is hoping to guide the Oilers to a Stanley Cup championship during his tenure in Edmonton. His last championship was an OHL title with Erie in 2017, two seasons removed from McDavid.

"I think with any coaching situation, the most important thing is just being yourself and not trying to do something that would be out of character," Knoblauch said. "You might be able to pull it off for a little while, but the players pick up on that, it's phony and it's not genuine, it's not sincere and that won't go very far.

"Any coaching position I've had, whether it's junior, the American League or the NHL, I've tried to treat it the same. It's different players at different levels, but they're still hockey players and coaching hockey is still coaching hockey."