The NHL coaching carousel has been spinning this week, and that continued on Wednesday with the Toronto Maple Leafs firing Craig Berube after just two seasons on the job.
That now makes for two head coaching openings around the league—Toronto and Los Angeles—with a third expected soon in Edmonton, as Kris Knoblauch is reportedly set to be let go in short order.
New GM John Chayka will exhaust all options in what he said will be a wide-ranging search for the next bench boss of the Maple Leafs. Plenty of candidates have already been floated, though given Chayka’s comments about experience coaching in a major NHL market being an asset, it begs the question: could Knoblauch be an option in Toronto?
Chayka said during his media availability on Wednesday afternoon:
“So yeah, I think we’re going to start very wide and talk to as many people as we can with varying backgrounds. As a general point, yeah, I think experience—certainly experience in the NHL in larger markets—could be an asset and will be weighed, but I wouldn’t discount anything at this time,”
The 47-year-old Knoblauch has spent parts of the last three seasons as head coach of the Oilers, where he’s gone 135-77-21 during the regular season and 31-22 in the postseason, including back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Knoblauch’s falling out in Edmonton has been rather messy, though through no fault of his own, especially after signing a three-year extension with the team back in October.
Assuming the reports are accurate and he does hit the open market, you have to imagine Chayka and company will at least give him a call and gauge whether there could be a fit in Toronto.
After all, he just spent three years coaching an Oilers team led by prime Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, where expectations were nothing short of a Stanley Cup. He knows exactly what it’s like to operate in a high-pressure environment.
Next: Analyst Rips Oilers for Handling of Bruce Cassidy-Kris Knoblauch Situation
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