Collegiate Knuble was drafted in the fourth round, 76th overall, by the
Detroit Red Wings in the
1991 NHL entry draft. He played the next four years at the
University of Michigan and was given Second Team
CCHA All-Star honors in 1994 and 1995 and
NCAA West All-American Team honors in 1995. Following his collegiate career, he made his professional debut in the 1995
Calder Cup playoffs with the
Adirondack Red Wings of the
American Hockey League (AHL).
Professional Knuble spent the entire 1995–96 season and most of the 1996–97 season with the
Adirondack Red Wings in the AHL before making his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings on March 26, 1997. His debut came against the
Colorado Avalanche in the famous "
Fight Night at the Joe" match. He played a total of nine regular season games in
1996–97 and none in the
1997 Stanley Cup playoffs. Detroit won the
Stanley Cup that season, but Knuble's name was not engraved on the Cup since he had not played enough games. However, Detroit
swept the
Washington Capitals, a team Knuble eventually joined, to repeat as Cup Champions in
1997–98, his first full season in the NHL, and though he only played three playoff games, he met the necessary requirements to have his name engraved on the Cup. Knuble was included on both Stanley Cup winning team pictures in 1997 and 1998. Prior to the
1998–99 season, Detroit traded Knuble to the
New York Rangers for a 2000 second-round draft choice (
Tomáš Kopecký). Knuble played in all 82 games with the Rangers that season, recording 15 goals and 20 assists. With a month to go in the
1999–2000 season, the Rangers traded him to the
Boston Bruins in exchange for
Rob DiMaio. After posting 20 points in 82 games in
2000–01 and 14 points in 54 games in
2001–02, Knuble found himself playing left wing on a line with
Joe Thornton and
Glen Murray beginning in
2002–03. He scored 30 goals and 29 assists in 75 games, good for third on the Bruins. Knuble enjoyed another solid season in
2003–04, 21 goals and 25 assists in 82 games with the Bruins. During which, he set the NHL record for the fastest two goals to start a game by one player on February 14 against the Florida Panthers. He scored a goal ten seconds into the first period and followed it up with another just 27 seconds into the game. After the season, Knuble signed a three-year contract with the
Philadelphia Flyers in the off-season. He then played for
Linköpings HC of the Swedish
Elitserien during the
2004–05 NHL lockout, scoring 26 goals and assisting on 13 others in 49 games. battling with
Kris Versteeg and
Nikolai Khabibulin in December 2008. When the lockout came to an end, Knuble was slotted to play right wing on a line with
Simon Gagné and
Peter Forsberg, a line which was later nicknamed the "Deuces Wild Line." He responded with his best season as a professional in 2005–06, recording career highs in goals (34), assists (31) and points (65). On pace to duplicate his numbers despite his team's poor season in 2006–07, Knuble's season was nearly cut short after a collision with Rangers forward and former Red Wings teammate
Brendan Shanahan. After missing a month of action, he returned to the ice and finished with 24 goals and 30 assists in 64 games and brought his
plus-minus rating to +2, Knuble being one of two Flyers (Gagné being the other) to finish with a plus rating for the season. Knuble recorded his first career
hat trick on February 2, 2008, scoring all the goals in a 3–0 Flyers win over the
Anaheim Ducks. He netted his first career playoff overtime goal (and fifth-to-last goal as a Flyer) on April 17, 2008, to eliminate the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the first round of the
2008 Stanley Cup playoffs on the road, 4–3, preventing them from completing a 3–1 series comeback. He has traveled to schools in New Jersey and Philadelphia teaching kids about hockey in his free time. On July 1, 2009, Knuble signed a two-year deal worth $2.8 million a season with the Washington Capitals, whom he had eliminated twice in his playoff career. On November 13, 2009, in a game against the
Minnesota Wild, Knuble broke a finger in the first period and did not finish the game. He returned on December 11 after missing four weeks of action. Later that season, Knuble scored the game-winning goal in both home games against the
rival and defending Stanley Cup champion
Pittsburgh Penguins after regulation, a 5–4 come-from-behind OT win on February 7, 2010, during a
power play and a 4–3
shootout win on March 24, 2010, in which he scored his first career shootout goal to give Washington its second-ever shootout win against Pittsburgh. Knuble scored Washington's first goal in the second period of the
2011 NHL Winter Classic against Penguins' goaltender
Marc-André Fleury. On April 11, 2011, Knuble was re-signed to a one-year, $2 million contract extension with the Capitals. During the
2011–12 season, on December 20, 2011, Knuble played in his 1,000th NHL game. At that time, Knuble had scored 221 NHL goals since turning age 30. On January 24, 2013, Knuble signed a one-year deal to return to the
Philadelphia Flyers. During the
lockout-shortened 2012–13 NHL season, Knuble wanted to play near his hometown and sought to play for the
Chicago Blackhawks or even the Red Wings again, but neither team had room for him. Thus, he contemplated leaving the league for the AHL's
Grand Rapids Griffins, which he ultimately did. ==Coaching==