It might not be the contract news Edmonton Oilers fans want most right now, but it’s contract news they need.
No, Connor McDavid hasn’t re-upped with the club, and is still entering his contract year without any sign of an extension to be had.
But general manager Stan Bowman crossed another important line off his to-do list with a three-year extension of head coach Kris Knoblauch through to the end of the 2028-29 season.
The 47-year-old native of Imperial, Sask., replaced Jay Woodcroft behind the bench on Nov. 13, 2023, taking over a team that started out 3-9-1 and guiding them all the way to the Stanley Cup Final — the first of two consecutive appearances.
In 151 regular season games, his record of 94-47-10 is the second most wins in the NHL in that span.
In January 2024, Knoblauch became the first head coach in NHL history to record two winning streaks of at least eight games before the 25-game mark of their coaching career and also helped the Oilers to a 16-game win streak, tied with the 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets for the second longest win streak in NHL history, from Dec. 21, 2023, to Jan. 27, 2024.
More to come.
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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