Gretzky’s Back, Back Again

No, not THAT Gretzky. He’s most definitely not back. It’s one of those OTHER Gretzkys.

Today, the Oilers added Keith Gretzky as their assistant GM, and made a number of other front office moves that will (theoretically) change the complexion of the decision-making process. Gretzky brings with him fifteen years of amateur scouting experience (with both the Coyotes and Bruins organizations, where he was the Director of Amateur Scouting). Having worked in Boston, Gretzky was part of the now-infamous Tyler Seguin trade; he appears in the video below at around 0:30:

As an amateur scout Gretzky wasn’t necessarily unsuccessful, but neither the Coyotes nor Bruins made out like gangbusters during his tenure. It’s not unreasonable to think that Peter Chiarelli would want to surround himself with familiar faces. Combined with some of the roster moves this offseason, it’s very apparent that the Oilers are truly becoming Chia’s team.

Gretzky replaces Bill Scott as AGM; Scott has transitioned to the role of Director of Salary Cap Management and Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations, both of which sound like made-up jobs.

Other Moves

Kelly Buchberger was named VP of Player Development, Duane Sutter has been made VP of Player Personnel, and the scouting department added Frank Jay and PJ Fenton.

With Sutter coming in as VP of Player Personnel, the much-maligned Scott Howson was relieved of his duties and is moving on to other opportunities. Howson, formerly of the Columbus Blue Jackets, is indelibly linked to the Nikita Nikitin deal, which has left a bad taste in the mouths of Oilers fans since the moment it was announced.

Along with the departure of Howson, the contract of Analytics Consultant Tyler Dellow has not been renewed.

Notable among today’s moves is that Craig MacTavish is still employed by the Edmonton Oilers. As the VP of Hockey Operations, MacTavish still has his hand in at least part of the decision-making process on the hockey side of things. He’s far enough removed from the roster that his influence shouldn’t be evident on-ice, but it’s still a little bit mind-boggling that someone who helped to get the team to where it is today (29th overall) is still employed by the organization.