The case for Mark Hunter as next Edmonton Oilers GM

Since the offseason officially began, everything has been running pretty smoothly for the Edmonton Oilers. For a start, they've had a tremendous free agency, resulting in the roster now being better than the one which just fell heart-breakingly short in their quest for the city's first Stanley Cup since 1990.

The draft, while not outstanding as such overall -- we give them a C grade -- resulted in the bonus of a first round pick the Oilers were eager to move into position to take, in Sam O'Reilly. And they also completed a couple of useful trades, one of which free up some invaluable cap space and unexpectedly brought in an intriguing prospect in Matt Savoie.

Really, the only thing the Oilers haven't taken care of yet, is finding Ken Holland's replacement as the next general manager. However, we at least now have a timeline of sorts for this situation resolving itself.

As we noted, during an appearance on Tuesday's edition of The Bob McCown Podcast, CEO Jeff Jackson advised -- tentatively -- that a decision is coming within the next week to 10 days. However, this still leaves time to speculate about who will take on one of the most prestigious general manager positions in the NHL today.

We've already looked at a couple of internal options, in assistant general managers Keith Gretzky and Brad Holland. (We would suggest Gretzky is the favourite out of these two.) However, what about candidates outside of the Oilers organisation?

Mark Hunter in the running?

Oil on Whyte's Phil Gretzky recently made the case for the controversial Stan Bowman. However, another name we've heard mentioned is Mark Hunter, who has actually been linked with the new Oilers general manager role for quite a while now.

So what's the case for Hunter and why is he even in the conversation? Well for start, just the fact he has such a long career playing the game has to help, when it comes to relating to and knowing how to deal with today's players on a similar level.

The 1981 seventh overall draft pick played 12 seasons in total in the NHL, for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers and Washington Capitals. He produced 384 points in 628 regular season games, along with another 38 points in 79 playoff appearances.

After retiring from the NHL, Hunter gained invaluable experience as a head coach, including two spells with the OHL's Sarnia Sting. In that time he compiled a 168-115-39 record and made the playoffs in each of his five seasons in charge.

Hunter left for a season during this time in 1996-97, to become head coach for the AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs. He went 32-21-13 and qualified for the playoffs, albeit being knocked out in the first round.

One trophy after another

The Petrolia, Ontario native's big moment came when -- along with his brother Dale -- he became co-owner of the London Knights. He had another foray into coaching during the 2011-12 season, when he accrued a 29-13-0 regular season record and then led the Knights to the J. Ross Robertson trophy as OHL playoff champions.

Hunter has built up a considerable reputation and experience during his time with the Knights in various roles as owner, coach, vice president and general manager. He has helped the Knights become one of the premier CHL organisations, which includes them twice winning the Memorial Cup.

As if this wasn't enough, particularly when it comes to the former winger being a success, he was also general manager for Team Canada at the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. And wouldn't you know it, he helped them win Gold after they came back from 3-1 down to beat Russia 4-3.

There are a couple of final factors of specific relevance when it comes to Hunter's chances of becoming the Oilers' next general manager and doing a good job. The first relates to when he stepped away from the Knights between 2014-18 to join the Toronto Maple Leafs organisation, which included roles as the director of player personnel and then assistant general manager.

As per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription required), one of Hunter's main duties was the draft. Of particular note, he was the main reason the Leafs selected Mitch Marner in the 2015 draft.

The second factor is that Hunter has a good relationship with Jackson, which has been built up over the years. Of recent importance, was selecting the aforementioned O'Reilly in this year's first round, along with his Knights teammate William Nicholl in the seventh round.

Overall, the overriding sentiment is that Hunter is more of a long-shot when it comes to being the Oilers' next general manager. And yet, based of how much experience and success he's accrued, he would still make for an excellent choice.

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