After the Edmonton Oilers fired general manager Peter Chiarelli during the second intermission of a game in January 2019, Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson told the press that the organization would not rush to fill the position of GM.
“We are not in a rush, but as soon as we find a GM that we feel is right for the culture of the Oilers, we’ll name that person,” Nicholson said. “When that will be, there is no deadline on that. … We have to get the right one.”
But with the 2019 NHL Draft fast approaching and NHL free agency on the horizon, the Oilers need to make a decision soon. And, according to Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts column, one of the names being floated for the job is Capitals’ assistant GM Ross Mahoney.
Friedman writes that Mahoney is believed to have interviewed for the job, along with Mark Hunter (former Leafs assistant GM), Sean Burke (former GM of Team Canada), John Ferguson (Bruins executive director of player personnel), Mike Futa (Kings assistant GM), Scott Mellanby (Canadiens assistant GM), and Pat Verbeek (Lightning assistant GM).
Friedman expects that the Oilers are looking to make a decision soon, within the next seven to ten days, as the team is delaying scouting meetings until the new leader is hired.
Mahoney, who is a Western Canadian native, has long been part of the Capitals organization and had a key role in the scouting, drafting, and developing of players in the Capitals organization. Mahoney has been the Capitals’ assistant GM for five seasons and prior to that was the Capitals’ director of amateur scouting for 16 seasons. Twelve of the Capitals players in the lineup for the the 2018 Game Five Stanley Cup Final against Vegas were drafted during Mahoney’s tenure.
The Oilers finished the 2018-19 season at a disappointing 25th place in the league with a 35-38-9 record. This was in spite of having two players on the roster who scored over 100 points in the regular season, Connor McDavid (116) and Leon Draisaitl (105).
Headline photo: Capitals
