Kris Knoblauch coached McDavid the way Auston Matthews has been begging to be coached
Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Kris Knoblauch went to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals while also coaching Connor McDavid. Toronto needs him more than ever though they have to act quickly.
When the Edmonton Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion for the head coach. After back-to-back losses in the Stanley Cup Finals he was shown the door and is now the hottest free agent coach on the market. Toronto has a chance to bring him in and give Auston Matthews a coach who knows how to properly deploy a superstar.
Knoblauch was great in his time, but much like Craig Berube in Toronto; a new voice is going to come in. Compiling a 135-77-21 record in the regular season and a 31-22 record in the postseason, for a guy who was relatively unknown a few years ago - he's certainly made a name for himself.
But with ownership pretty incensed that they couldn't get a Cup in potentially one of their last years of Connor McDavid, Knoblauch was on the chopping block:
Knoblauch coached the exact style of hockey Matthews has been begging Toronto to play for years
But with him now on the outs and a free agent, Toronto would love to have the guy who just went to the Finals twice in a row and coached two superstars in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Toronto needs Knoblauch though because he might be the best way to rekindle the Auston Matthews magic. Look at his implementation of McDavid offensively, where he made sure he never gave him a lot of defensive responsibility. He only lined up for 38.6% of defensive zone starts in 2023-24 and an even lower 35% in 2024-25.
Compare that with Matthews who started a staggering 46.1% of the defensive zone starts in 2024-25 and 42.2% this year. Craig Berube never gave him an opportunity to really be an offensive force like he was.
Sheldon Keefe deployed him 33.7% of the time in 2023-24 and only 25% in 2022-23 - he had 109 goals those two seasons so clearly the less defensive burden, the more offence he brings; McDavid had 58 goals during the 23-24 and 24-25 seasons combined and he's nowhere near the scorer Matthews is but thrived because Knoblauch put him in a spot to.
The Oilers wrote about Knoblauch's ability to stay calm under pressure and adapt to situations in games that will benefit the team, with Warren Foegele giving him very high praise:
I think the thing that sticks out is just how calm he is and his approach to handling players. He's very easy to communicate with. Everyone knows their role. He's got such a calm presence. He's a great communicator. I'm fortunate enough that I played with him in Erie, so I've seen what he can do.
That's exactly the type of coach Auston Matthews needs, because having someone bark instructions like a drill sergeant really didn't work out that well for the Maple Leafs.
Chayka is interviewing safe candidates while the best available coach in the NHL just walked out of Edmonton
Right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs front office is making sure they do an extensive and deep search where experience is an asset but not necessarily a deal-breaker.
But there's a guy who just coached the best player in the world to two back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances and was on pace to do so this season before getting knocked out just sitting there.
It would be foolish for Toronto to ignore him and while there's a lot of hoopla around names like Bruce Cassidy, Jay Woodcroft and even Peter Laviolette; you are sitting on a gold mine with Knoblauch able to come in.
Auston Matthews could feel a lot more confident in the team's direction knowing that they hired Connor McDavid's head coach and brings the exact style of up-tempo and exciting hockey to make fans happy once again.
Chayka is a very analytical mind and someone who treasures the data-driven numbers behind his decision-making. Knoblauch is a guy who is great with adapting the numbers into a translatable and accessible game plan for his players.
That's a match made in heaven and Toronto has to act with urgency before they lose out on the chance to make Auston Matthews into a star - and stop him from leaving.
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