Next Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers’ season will end after a game against the Calgary Flames. The off-season will begin. Some players will move on. New ones will come in. A new general manager will be hired.
And the coaching staff? They will wait.
“This is a very unique situation for all of us,” current bench boss Ken Hitchcock said.
“We are going to coach our butts off until the end of the year and then it’s going to be 100 per cent in someone else’s court.”
Hitchcock, 67, has gone 25-24-8 since taking over from Todd McLellan on November 20.
The Oilers took over the three-year contract he had to be an advisor for the Dallas Stars.
Oilers Entertainment Group CEO Bob Nicholson has said Hitchcock will stay with the team in some capacity for the remainder of that deal.
“I want to help here. But again, it’s up to the general manager,” said Hitchcock.
“Everyone’s coaching career is in someone else’s hands. We’ll find out after Bob hires a general manager.”
That hire might not happen until June, especially if Nicholson favours a candidate working for a team going deep in the playoffs. That would leave Hitchcock — the third winningest coach in NHL history — in limbo.
“I don’t care. I just want to help the Oilers. I came here for the right reasons.
“The more I stay here, the more I feel like all I want to do is help the team,” said Hitchcock.
“Wherever they think I fit, I’m more than willing to help.”
The Oilers will host Anaheim Saturday night. Catch the action on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 6:30 p.m. The game starts at 8 p.m.