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Golden Knights promote McCrimmon to GM; McPhee stays as president of hockey ops

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Kelly McCrimmon will not be taking on the general manager’s job with Edmonton Oilers, despite rumors that he was in the mix.

The reason why he’s staying in Vegas is because the Golden Knights have named him as the team’s new GM, effective Sept. 1, with current GM George McPhee retaining the role of President of Hockey Operations. McCrimmon will report to McPhee, who offered up the position last week before getting the move approved by ownership.

“This is a very exciting announcement for our club and Vegas Golden Knights fans around the world,” said Golden Knights Chairman and CEO Bill Foley in a statement. “George and Kelly are a fantastic team. From the mock draft exercises and preparation leading up to the Expansion Draft, building out our coaching staff, and continually improving our team through the draft, trades, signings and free agency, the work they have done over the last three years has been remarkable. Together they have constructed a championship-caliber team in a very short time. This personnel move ensures that our hockey operations group stays intact and positions our organization for long term success.”
[MORE: New Golden Knights GM faces big opportunities — and challenges]

McCrimmon came on board as assistant GM in August 2016 after over 30 years as owner, head coach and GM of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings. His work in helping build the NHL expansion franchise into a Stanley Cup contender in each of its first two years in the league made him a hot commodity when it came to open GM positions. He was reportedly among the final options for the Oilers’ job along with Mark Hunter, Sean Burke, and current interim GM Keith Gretzky.

McPhee said during a Thursday news conference that this move was “inspired” by the potential situation where McCrimmon could leave for another team, much like what we saw in Tampa before the season with Steve Yzerman and Julien BriseBois.

“What was important for me was that there was no disruptions to our staff,” McPhee said. “We’d rather keep the band together. Kelly’s more than ready to become an outstanding general manager.”

After reaching the Cup Final last season, the Golden Knights exited the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Round 1 this year. That’s leaves a long summer ahead for McPhee and McCrimmon to keep the team at the elite level they’ve been playing at. That includes making some big decisions this summer in regards to the restricted free agent status of William Karlsson and Malcolm Subban, and the unrestricted free agent futures of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Deryk Engelland, among others.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.