The NHL coaching carousel completed two full rotations on Thursday. The Edmonton Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch hours after TSN’s Ryan Rishaug confirmed the move, ending a tenure that included back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2024 and 2025, a 135-77-21 regular season record, and a playoff mark of 31-22.
Across the country, the Toronto Maple Leafs were already one day into their own coaching search after parting ways with Craig Berube on May 13. Two major market vacancies, and one of the most credentialed coaches in the game is suddenly on the open market.
It did not take long for the dots to get connected.
Could Kris Knoblauch Be the Next Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach?
Jimmy Murphy, the veteran NHL reporter and broadcaster with 24 years of experience covering the league, did not wait long to float the idea. Murphy, who co-hosts The Eye Test podcast alongside Pierre McGuire and serves as an NHL insider at RG Media, posted on X within hours of the Knoblauch news breaking.
“Gut feeling (not based on intel or fact): Kris Knoblauch will be the next head coach of the #LeafsForever.”
Gut feeling (not based on intel or fact):
Kris Knoblauch will be the next head coach of the #LeafsForever.
— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) May 14, 2026
Notably, Murphy was clear that this was instinct, not a report. But gut feelings from experienced hockey insiders rarely arrive in a vacuum, and the logic behind the connection is straightforward enough that it did not need sources to make people pay attention.
Chayka said during his media availability on May 13 that Toronto’s coaching search would cast a deliberately wide net. “I think we’re going to start very wide and talk to as many people as we can with varying backgrounds,” Chayka told reporters.
He also said experience coaching in a high-pressure NHL market would be an asset for any candidate. Knoblauch spent three seasons coaching Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl under nothing but Stanley Cup pressure and handled it with enough professionalism to reach the Final twice. By Chayka’s own stated criteria, Knoblauch checks every box.
Sportsnet named Knoblauch among the seven candidates to watch for the Maple Leafs position, alongside Bruce Cassidy, Manny Malhotra, Peter Laviolette, and Denver Pioneers coach David Carle.
The list reflects how quickly the landscape shifted once Knoblauch became available. Before Thursday morning, most of the Toronto conversation centred on Cassidy. By the afternoon, Knoblauch had entered that conversation at full volume.
The fit makes intuitive sense beyond the credentials. Toronto under Chayka is a team with a No. 1 overall pick, a roster still led by Auston Matthews, and an urgent need to convince their franchise player that the front office is serious about winning.
Knoblauch is not a reclamation project or an unproven name. He is a coach who took a struggling team, steadied it, and delivered consecutive deep playoff runs before the season beneath him fell short.
In his three seasons at the helm, the Oilers played the most playoff games of any team (53). Edmonton only played 49 playoff games in 17 seasons before Knoblauch’s reign.
Berube, meanwhile, left Toronto with an 84-62-18 record after two seasons. Knoblauch’s .624 points percentage in Edmonton was the second-highest of any Oilers coach in the modern era.
The Los Angeles Kings are also searching for a head coach, and Knoblauch has been linked to them as well, meaning Toronto would not be operating in a vacuum if they pursue him. The market for his services will be real.
Murphy’s gut feeling may not have intel behind it. But in a week that has already produced more movement than most entire offseasons, it is the kind of instinct that deserves to be taken seriously.
