Who’s running the Edmonton Oilers? These days, it seems like nobody is exactly sure.
And after relieving former bench boss Jay Woodcroft of his duties over the weekend, their newest hire is only further fuelling speculation due to his history with Connor McDavid.
As it turns out, Edmonton’s new head coach Kris Knoblauch coached the Oilers captain in the OHL with the Eerie Otters for three seasons from 2012/13 to 2014/15.
When asked whether the players had any influence on the decision to give Knoblauch a shot in the NHL, General Manager Ken Holland and assistant GM Jeff Jackson had conflicting answers.
“Connor didn’t have anything to do with this decision, and neither did the other leadership group [of players],” Jackson said very shortly after Holland confirmed that “veteran” players had a say in the hire, which has led many to believe that McDavid was consulted.
Ken Holland & Jeff Jackson when asked if they consulted the players about the coaching decision.#Oilers pic.twitter.com/mSdAUfkPAz
— Woz (@itsWozzz) November 12, 2023
And because of the inconsistent answers and Knoblauch’s ties to McDavid, plenty of Oilers fans are now speculating that the 26-year-old is actually the one calling the shots in Edmonton, at least on some level.
Some have compared the situation to that of NBA star LeBron James, who has been rumoured to have a hand in recruiting players in trades or free agency signings on multiple occasions.
McDavid going full GM LeBron https://t.co/VHOzmp8omp
— Brent Gunning (@Gunning590) November 12, 2023
Meanwhile, other fans have popularized the term “McGM,” alluding to McDavid being the Oilers’ real general manager.
McGM is pretty funny
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 13, 2023
One X user jokingly referred to fellow star centre Leon Draisaitl as the Oilers’ assistant GM.
McDavid and the assistant GM Leon.
— Bob Lendrum (@Oldfivehole) November 13, 2023
All those Oilers fans who wanted Holland fired clearly got their wish: Connor McDavid is apparently now the GM in Edmonton.
— Mike Gould (@miketgould) November 12, 2023
So McDavid is just the Oilers GM, right?
The fact that all their free agent signings come from his favourite team plus hiring his old coach makes it pretty clear. https://t.co/LZeZBQYqOs
— Filipe Dimas (@FilipeDimas) November 12, 2023
He wasted… McDavid and Jackson Making the decisions now. Holland a retiring GM
— jake (@jakethesnail) November 12, 2023
Mcdavid is the gm now bro
— Ben Karleen (@karleen_ben) November 12, 2023
Connor McDavid new gm of the oilers https://t.co/9a3FcsGiGo
— ਜੋਵਨ (@15xjd) November 12, 2023
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman even acknowledged the idea on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast.
“The Oilers were meeting with a lot of players, saying ‘what are gonna have to do to make this better?'” Friedman explained.
Based on reports and rumblings from around the league, though, Friedman concluded that McDavid did not have a hand in the firing of Woodcroft or the hiring of Knoblauch.
“I don’t think the players overthrew Jay Woodcroft,” he said. “People are talking about this being a McDavid call? I don’t buy that.”
Whatever the case is, a new era begins in Edmonton on Monday night when the Oilers take on the New York Islanders at 6:30 MT.
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