Is Connor McDavid somehow the second general manager of the Edmonton Oilers?
The question may seem far-fetched. However, McDavid’s former agent, Jeff Jackson, was selected in August as the head of operations for the Alberta organization. Now McDavid’s former junior coach, Kris Knoblauch, sits behind the Oilers bench.
“What I see is that we want to make McDavid happy. We (also) brought in Connor Brown who was his former line partner with the Otters (in the OHL),” Mathieu Chouinard noted during an Oilers segment during the first intermission of the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Panthers. Florida, on TVA Sport.
In the eyes of Jacques Martin, the changes announced on Sunday have been in the making for some time.
“Jeff Jackson, I’m sure he knows the coach he hired very well. He saw him work in the juniors when he represented McDavid. Interestingly, he (Knoblauch) worked in another organization, the New York Rangers. The decisions did not come this morning.”
Martin also believes that Jay Woodcroft has lost his dressing room.
“For sure the Oilers needed a change,” said the man who managed the Montreal Canadiens. The big players didn’t play. Often, when times are tough, the coach has to show a lot of leadership to make sure there is still room.
“In this case, I’m not sure he had a room.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
