The Edmonton Oilers’ shift in management is continuing. Ken Holland was recently hired to serve as the Oilers’ new GM and now Craig MacTavish is leaving his post as Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations.
HC Lokomotiv of the KHL announced that MacTavish has signed a two-year contract to coach their team. MacTavish served as the bench boss of the Oilers for eight seasons, posting a 301-252-47-56 record and leading them to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.
MacTavish later served as their general manager from 2013-15 before being replaced by Peter Chiarelli, which led to MacTavish shifting to the Senior Vice President role he’s held until now. Although his departure comes during the Oilers’ remodeling following two disappointing seasons, this change might have ultimately been primarily about what MacTavish wanted.
I’m told MacT felt like he needed a change. This is a big one as he returns to the bench and leaves his scouting and NHL executive duties behind. https://t.co/2woRCP4uMT
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 16, 2019
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what other news comes out of the Oilers in the coming months. We already know that Holland plans to hire a new head coach rather than keep Ken Hitchcock in that role and there could very well be more changes on the front office side as well.
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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.