Kelly McCrimmon Drawing Interest From Edmonton, Seattle

The Edmonton Oilers find themselves without a captain to lead the ship at the moment, instead handing off daily GM duties to the rest of the front office including Keith Gretzky and CEO Bob Nicholson himself. Firing Peter Chiarelli was a move many saw coming from a mile away, but it now leaves Edmonton in a midseason search for his replacement. Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun spoke to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug about who might be of interest to the Oilers management group, and Kelly McCrimmon’s name came up once again.

McCrimmon, currently the assistant GM of the Vegas Golden Knights, is a rising star in the NHL. After spending 28 years with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL as owner, GM and coach for various periods, McCrimmon joined George McPhee to build a winner right from day one in Vegas. He did just that, helping craft an expansion draft strategy that saw the Golden Knights put together a team that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year as an organization. That obviously turned some heads, but it’s tough to believe at this point that the Golden Knights would let him walk out the door in an unfinished second season.

LeBrun notes that McPhee previously told him that he would not stand in McCrimmon’s way, but that was in response to an inquiry about the opportunity that the new Seattle franchise might bring. In fact, LeBrun states that McCrimmon is indeed on Seattle’s short list for potential general managers though that process is still in its infancy. Edmonton obviously has a little more urgency, but there are obstacles in the way.

First and foremost is that the Golden Knights and Oilers are in the same division, fighting for the same playoff spots. Vegas sits 13 points ahead of the Oilers in the Pacific Division, but the two teams will battle twice more in the second half this season. They also aren’t scheduled to be split up anytime soon, given that the Seattle team is meant to push the Arizona Coyotes out of the Pacific when they enter the league. It’s going to be hard for McPhee to watch his right-hand man go to a division rival, and even harder to see it happen during the season.