The Edmonton Oilers are having an incredible offseason so far with President Jeff Jackson at the helm, but according to Jason Gregor, the Oilers will hire a new GM by next week.
When the Oilers officially let Ken Holland go at the end of the season, Jeff Jackson stressed that the team's two biggest offseason priorities are re-signing Leon Draisaitl and hiring a General Manager - and the two go hand in hand. Jackson wants an Oilers GM as soon as possible to begin extension talks with Draisaitl.
The Oilers have been connected to a slew of candidates for the GM position, most recently being Bill Scott, Keith Gretzky, and Stan Bowman.
Bill Scott, Keith Gretzky, and Brad Holland have been within the Oilers organization for some time now for a number of roles, and would be solid candidates for an internal hire. Jeff Jackson would likely have a strong influence on any moves made by a rookie GM, and after his free agency period, fans would welcome Jackson's input. Across the NHL, Mathieu Darche and Shawn Horcoff have also been linked to the Oilers job.
On the other hand, hiring the disgraced former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman would be an inexcusable and baffling decision, and would alienate a good portion of hockey fans. Oilers fans have been extremely vocal in their wishes to not hire Stan Bowman.
Jeff Jackson's moves so far show an incredible mind for business and for hockey, so Oilers fans should be able to trust his hire for a General Manager. As long as it isn't Stan Bowman, Oilers fans should have great confidence in the direction of the team.
