Kris Knoblauch hasn’t even been on the job for two full years, as Edmonton Oilers head coach. Yet there’s already a reasonable argument he’s one of the best coaches in franchise history, apart from Glen Sather. At minimum, Knoblauch is the best head coach of the Oilers since Craig MacTavish.
In his short time so far in the seat, Knoblauch has guided the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers, since being 3–9–2 at the time of Knoblauch’s hiring, have recorded back-to-back 100-point campaigns. His overall regular season record entering opening night last week? 94–47–10, a .660 winning percentage.
All of this makes one wonder, at what point does Knoblauch receive consideration for individual accolades? The Jack Adams Award is a difficult one to win, but if anybody deserves some consideration for it, it’s Knoblauch. So what needs to happen to make that a reality?
A slow start has to be avoided at all costs
The major blemish of recent Oilers seasons has been how they’ve come out of the gates to begin. A bad start to 2023–24 is a huge part of why Knoblauch is the coach right now to begin with. This trend continued last year, as the Oilers began 0–3 and looked very unconvincing in those three losses.
Slow starts not only hurt consideration for some players to win individual awards, but it also affects how the coach looks. It can be interpreted as a sign the coach didn’t have the team ready to play for the start of the new slate. That’s not necessarily what the case is, but it’s why the Jack Adams becomes out of reach.
Fortunately, the Oilers have banked three out of four points to start the season, and the only lost point was a bit fluky. The upcoming road trip out to the Northeastern United States will be a perfect barometer. If the Oilers crush it, Knoblauch’s case for the Jack Adams may be forming as we watch.
Continue working magic with lineup combinations
One thing Knoblauch has never shied away from is experimenting with different line combinations in the regular season. Sometimes, it’s out of necessity, to better balance the lineup. But sometimes, it ends up paying dividends come playoff time, when injuries or slumps occur.
If Knoblauch can find all the lines with the right chemistry throughout the regular season, his stock skyrockets. Lineup wizardry can be a fickle thing to manage, and so far nobody does it better than Knoblauch. And showing that you can successfully push all the right roster buttons bolsters your case to be Coach of the Year.
Ending the division-title drought would also help
The Oilers have not finished atop their division in the standings since 1987. It was still known as the Smythe Division back then. Paul Coffey was still an Oilers defenceman, Wayne Gretzky was still captain, the Oilers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three seasons.
This is the 39th season since then. The Oilers have gone through the remainder of the Smythe Division era, all of the Northwest Division era, and so far all of the Pacific Division era, to never raise a Division Champions banner. It is one of the longest active such droughts. With a roster this talented, it is one that should really end sometime soon.
The Jack Adams Award is based on regular season performance. It is not like the Jim Nill- er, sorry, the Jim Gregory- Award, that gets determined after the second round of the playoffs. For Knoblauch to win the Jack Adams, a good start is huge, but it isn’t all. Winning the Pacific Division, at long last, would be the major key to being a Jack Adams front-runner.
The Oilers have 80 games left on the season. Time will tell how well this team does, and if Knoblauch can check off all the boxes above. Should he succeed in all three categories, though, he should be the leading candidate, without question. One could argue he should have already won it, but better now than not at all.
Follow The Oil Rig on social media!
