Potential Oilers GM candidate Hunter expected to return to NHL: report
The Edmonton Oilers might be in the market for a new GM this summer and one potential candidate could be eyeing a return to the NHL.
Mark Hunter, who is currently the owner and GM of the OHL’s London Knights, has been out of the NHL since parting ways with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018, where had been acting as an assistant GM.
A new report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on today’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast says that the 61-year-old executive is expected to make his way back to the NHL in time for next season.
“There has been buzz around the Ontario Hockey League for some time now that Mark Hunter will be leaving for an NHL team this offseason,” reported Friedman.
Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek initially mused about whether or not the Columbus Blue Jackets would be the team that eventually hires Hunter, but the Oilers were again brought up as a possibility.
“There have been some guestimating it’s Columbus and there [are] other people who have guestimated it could be Edmonton, assuming that Ken Holland is not back,” Friedman explained.
This all hinges on whether or not Holland decides he is done being a GM in the NHL. The 68-year-old is in the final year of his contract with the Oilers since taking over the GM role back in 2019. The team has improved leaps and bounds with him at the helm, making the playoffs every season and going as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
New CEO Jeff Jackson was hired by Edmonton over the summer to oversee hockey operations and he will likely have a big part in the GM search if Holland does not return.
There is a thread that vaguely connects Jackson to Hunter as both are former AGMs in Toronto, though the two never worked for the Leafs at the same time. Another connection between Hunter and Edmonton is that he is brothers with longtime 80s Oiler Dave Hunter, who won three Stanley Cups in the Alberta capital.
Fans shouldn’t expect news on this to develop any time soon. The Oilers are squarely focused on the postseason with Holland in charge and the Blue Jackets will most likely wait until the regular season ends to make any moves in the GM spot.
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