Ken Holland is still trying to adjust his roster ahead of opening night in October. The new General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers is also busy adjusting his front office staff. Holland made numerous changes in late May and early June, removing Duane Sutter, Paul Coffey and watching Craig MacTavish head to Russia.
On Thursday, news began to leak that the Oilers were making changes to their scouting staff. It started with news out of Detroit, as Steve Yzerman began to clean house. Yzerman took over as GM in April, coming over from Tampa Bay.
[protected-iframe id=”111be1d44c50657f5e20a35ba188bff7-142507471-51660995″ info=”twsrc%5Etfw” class=”twitter-tweet”]Some of these men will be making their way north, including Tyler Wright. Wright served as the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Red Wings under Holland, he’ll join Edmonton’s scouting department and could play a major role in it moving forward.
Wright’s move to Edmonton, along with pro scout Archie Henderson, was first reported by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector.
[protected-iframe id=”d208e6ce7a2a2040cf72d9e51ddca4e9-142507471-51660995″ info=”twsrc%5Etfw” class=”twitter-tweet”]These moves should come as no surprise. Wright’s move to Edmonton has been speculated on since the moment Holland arrived in early May. Henderson’s arrival shouldn’t be a shock either. The Oil intend on completely overhauling their professional scouting department. We’ve seen subtractions, now we are starting to get some additions.
These likely won’t be the last scouting moves either. Wright and Henderson bring both experience and a level of comfort to the table. Edmonton needs to make more additions to the staff, and expectation is that there will be more subtractions as well.
Could Bob Green be in trouble? The current Director of Amateur Scouting, along with Keith Gretzky, has done quite well at the draft table each of the last four summers. There have been some misses, however, and Green was a big supporter of the trade for Griffin Reinhart.
If Green goes, Mitch Holmberg could be in trouble as well. Green brought him on board as an amateur scout shortly after joining the club. Ditto Michael Chiarelli, the brother of Peter. He’s followed his brother to both Boston and Edmonton in the past. It stands to reason that he’ll follow Peter wherever he ends up this summer.
In the pro ranks, both Paul Messier and Chris Cichocki could be in trouble in the coming days and weeks.
[protected-iframe id=”5f57aca96115ddd71a43dedcaff40c84-142507471-51660995″ info=”twsrc%5Etfw” class=”twitter-tweet”]The club has yet to confirm any changes to the scouting staff at this time. More on this as it happens.
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