The interim general manager tag didn’t weigh heavy on Keith Gretzky who loved the job for 74 days along with the responsibility of making trades and decisions.
But when Ken Holland came into the picture late in Bob Nicholson’s month-long search, Gretzky was pumped. He knew they had hit a home run.
“It’s a great thing for the Oilers,” said Gretzky. “They always talked if there was one guy to get he’d be the guy to get.
“It’s good to get somebody with experience in this situation.”
Truth be told, Gretzky probably wasn’t getting the Edmonton job even if Holland hadn’t had the fire in his belly to still be a general manager after Steve Yzerman got his post in Detroit. Gretzky was on the short list, but Mark Hunter might have been the front-runner after Kelly McCrimmon got the GM job in Vegas.
Gretzky is street smart and the lay of the land didn’t appear to have him on it.
His last name was not a help, it was more an impediment to a fan base that associated Wayne’s brother with the past glory days even though fired GM Peter Chiarelli brought him in from Boston in 2016. He’s Wayne Gretzky’s brother, but he’s been a working man in the NHL for almost two decades.
Gretzky doesn’t know if he’s back to being the assistant GM, but he’s still running the June draft along with Bob Green unless Holland says otherwise.
Holland made it clear Tuesday he wants to keep Gretzky in the organization even if they don’t have any real history, other than the fact both began their NHL management careers as amateur scouts.
Gretzky had a get-acquainted-with coffee with Holland in San Diego Wednesday as Bakersfield Condors prepared for Game 3 of their AHL playoff with the Gulls. But there’s been no sit-down with amateur and pro meetings coming up shortly here.
He’s seen Holland around rinks for years but just to say hello.
“It’s nice to hear what Ken said (keeping him the organization). I think I can help and bring something to the table,” said Gretzky, who if he stays on, would likely go back to being an assistant general manager, presumably in charge of amateur scouting. But he hasn’t been told anything.
Gretzky feels he would be on the same scouting page for the June draft as Holland in terms of players.
“They (Detroit) will be picking in about the same spot (No. 6 to No. 8). He’s been watching the same players; You’ve got the U.S national development team right there (Ann Arbor, Mich) and he would be scouting the OHL for their pick. Kind of in the same ballpark draft position. It’s not like Ken is coming from a team that would be picking in the 20s. We’re probably watching the same top 10 guys,” said Gretzky.
With Holland now running the store, maybe he gets an offer of Nikolaj Ehlers for the No. 8 pick because the Jets are in serious cap territory and they have no first-round pick.
“You prepare like you’re using the pick but you never know. You can trade up, trade down,” said Gretzky, knowing the club needs a forward way more than a defenceman. “A winger has to be over and above (a centre) though.”
Maybe Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Dylan Cozens, who had a lukewarm world under 18 according to scouts but was dynamite at the Hlinka-Gretzky last summer, might drop to them. Any of these U.S. development kids — Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras, Matthew Boldy and Cole Caufield — could go earlier.
Cozens is projected by NHL scouts to be a pro winger not a top-six centre because they need high hockey IQ. Many scouts feel Los Angeles is targeting Fort Saskatchewan forward Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades) at No. 5.
Gretzky hadn’t seen the U.S. national team for quite a while but got an eyeful in Sweden at the under 18 championship. Turcotte and Zegras are only almost every list to go in the top eight.
“Turcotte plays hard but he’s been injured this year and Zegras isn’t as good a skater, but his hockey sense is very, very good,” said Gretzky. He also saw the best pure scorer, 150-pound Caufield, who was the under 18 MVP with 14 goals
“He scores and scores,” said Gretzky, but while he’s got better hands than Kailer Yamamoto, the Oilers can’t have two skill forwards that size. Calgary has only one Johnny Gaudreau.
COACHING CANDIDATES YET TO BE CONTACTED
Three prime NHL assistant coach candidates for the Oilers head coaching job — Todd Nelson (Dallas), Todd Richards (Tampa) and Lane Lambert (New York Islanders) — haven’t been contacted yet by Holland. Richards, the former Minnesota head coach, went to Tampa to work on Jon Cooper’s staff, weighing that offer with one from Jeff Blashill in Detroit. Lambert, once a draft pick of Detroit, has been Barry Trotz’s assistant in Nashville, Washington and with Islanders, so Holland has a history with him, too. Nelson, the former Red Wings farm coach, was runner-up to Rick Tocchet in Arizona.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
