It has been a blood sport of Edmonton Oilers fans since Glen Sather left town.
Which General Manager’s picture goes up on the dart board next?
As Jeff Jackson narrows down his choices to one, we list the likely contenders to fill the shoes of Ken Holland.
But where Holland was able to name his price to come to Edmonton, Jackson in his present position is in a much stronger position to negotiate.
That and more in this edition of…
9 Things
9. Barring an injury, Connor McDavid is likely to pass Mark Messier and Jari Kurri for second overall in Points in Edmonton Oilers franchise history. McDavid sits at 982. Messier is 52 ahead of 97. Kurri is 61 ahead. Of course, Wayne Gretzky is the franchise leader at 1,669.
8. Edmonton born-and-raised hockey player Danielle Serdachny is joining the Oilers as an Ambassador to their Every Kid Deserves a Shot program. The goal is to growth and sustainability of girls’ hockey in Oil Country. Serdachny was on Team Canada at the 2024 Worlds. She is now with the PWHL’s Ottawa franchise.
7. If I had to pick a candidate for Breakout Player of the Year for the Oilers in 2024-25, I might just go with Dylan Holloway. The kid produced at a tantalizing rate given his relatively sparse amount of ice time. In the regular season he scored 6 goals in 11:22 ATOI (38GP). In the playoffs, he scored 5 in 11:30 (25GP). Holloway just needs a head coach that believes in him.
6. Both Holloway and Philip Broberg remain pending Restricted Free Agents. I am on record as believing that both will end up in the $1.1-$1.3m range. I live on the B.C. coast where the Canucks negotiated a 2-year, $2m contract for RFA Vasily Podkolzin. Nils Hoglander inked for 2 years and $2.2m. Based on NHL production, those are fairly comparable.
5. The Zach Hyman Celebrity Classic golf tournament this past Monday raised nearly $500K. Proceeds from it are divided up between a number of charities including The Stollery Children’s Hospital, Sick Kids, Colby’s Kidz (in memory of the late Colby Cave) and the UJA Foundation. What an addition to the Edmonton community Hyman has been on and off the ice.
4. Speaking of which, Hyman led the National Hockey League in high danger goals in 2023-24 with 44. That is the highest single-season total since NHL Edge began running these numbers in 2021. Hyman has also led the league in that statistic with 73 high-dangers since 2022. Brad Holland was a loud voice in his father’s ear where the Oilers signed the UFA. Ken’s son is a believer in analytics and felt Hyman’s net driving skills would be worth the money. And how.
3. Reid Wilkins has left the Edmonton Oilers broadcasts and 630 CHED. Wilkins had a particular knack for magazine-style journalism on radio, a skill that is all-too rare these days. And I always admired his patience on post-game shows. He was about all that stood between the club’s reputation and angry fans during the leaner years. Make no mistake about it, unless you have done it you may not appreciate just how tough the pre and postgame gig for a Host Broadcaster is. There are a lot of balls to juggle and interests to balance. It will be a particularly important one to fill, by a parent broadcaster facing significant headwinds just now. As for Reid, I wish him the best. My interactions with him were always professional and classy.
2. The Cult of Hockey reported on the Xavier Bourgault to Ottawa trade early in the week. You can read our assessment here. As the dust clears, we can sit back and assess the deal for Roby Jarventie within a broader context. The Senators roll the dice on whether Bourgault can benefit from a chance in scenery. That in itself is defensible enough. But is it not curious that Ottawa would also give up a draft pick (Fourth Round in 2025) for him, and on top of that take on the contract of “C” prospect in the person of Jake Chiasson from the Oilers? From a standpoint of draft position (Bourgault a twenty-second over-all, Jarventie a thirty-third), differences between the two are negligible. And Roby Jarventie has already played some NHL games. Seems to me the Senators paid a small premium. Yet another example of Jeff Jackson’s diligence.
1.Jackson’s next decision will almost certainly be to hire a General Manager. He telegraphed as much in an interview last week. It is a little unusual for any team considered a top contender for the Stanley Cup to be looking for a new G.M. But the retirement of Ken Holland has led to this. One would think Jackson can get his pick of the litter. There are many smart executives who would like to jump aboard this wagon and attempt to get the team that little bit further along they need to get in order to hoist the cup. And along the way, they would also be at the table for two of the most consequential free agent signings of the last two decades once the contracts of (first) Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid come up.
Of the names that have surfaced, few would come with a better hockey resume than Stan Bowman. Few would also come with the amount of baggage, given the suspension Bowman served over the Kyle Beach affair. Fans are entitled to their opinion on Bowman. I would encourage them to read in-depth about the Chicago incident so that they have all the facts. In the end, the organization will have to decide what community standards they need to meet.
Then there is Mark Hunter, who has built a sterling reputation as an OHL coach, GM and executive. His actual NHL experience falls quite a bit short of that. But then, so did Kelly McCrimmon’s in Las Vegas. And McCrimmon took a lesser roster (at the time) and turned it into a Stanley Cup.
I have written in the past about Keith Gretzky, who would be a solid choice. I am also partial to the cerebral and experienced Brian Lawton. Others have mentioned Jason Botterill and former Oilers Captain Shawn Horcoff. I think there should be more talk about Mathieu Darche.
In the end, Ken Holland certainly had his critics. He brought stability to a franchise that had none for a long damn time and took them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. No one else did that.
Now, the question becomes…who is best to hand that baton off to in order to finish the race?
Now on Threads @kleavins. Also, find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI generated.
Recently, at The Cult…
STAPLES: A deep and disturbing read into the controversy that led to Stan Bowman’s suspension
STAPLES: Digging into the Matthew Savoie trade for the Edmonton Oilers
LEAVINS: Edmonton Oilers move on from Xavier Bourgault
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