Best Oilers GM Contender Deserves More Buzz
With all of the Stan Bowman talk around the virtual water coolers, one obvious candidate for the Edmonton Oilers GM vacancy is flying under the radar.
Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images - Best Oilers GM Contender Deserves More BuzzEDMONTON -- Jeff Jackson is the man with the plan.
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A plan to create the Edmonton Oilers into the best organization that it can be. Part of having a winning organization is having the right fit for a General Manager.
Ken Holland's contract expired on June 30th and the Oilers are searching for his successor. The recently reinstated Stan Bowman has popped up as a potential frontrunner for the job.
The hiring of Rick Pracey and Kris Knoblauch occurred with no leak into the media. That leads me to believe that all of the talk about Bowman is smoke without fire.
Laurence Gilman strikes me as one of the best candidates for the position. He has an impressive resume despite never being a General Manager. In total he has 22 years of management experience in the NHL.
Gilman spent six years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, seven with the Vancouver Canucks and nine years with the Arizona Coyotes (when they were called the Phoenix Coyotes).
He was with the Canucks from 2008-2015. He primarily ran their amateur scouting department and managed the team's salary cap situation. During his tenure the team was one of the most fiscally-responsible teams in the league.
In 2018 Gilman joined the Maple Leafs organization. He first was brought on to fulfill multiple responsibilities. Managing the club's player development department, player personnel and managing the AHL affiliate all fell under his scope of work.
Over the next week or so Oil Country should have an answer for who the next GM of the Oilers will be. Gilman stands out as a top candidate in the eyes of this writer.
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