In a not-so-surprising turn of events, Steve Staios is said to have parted ways with the Edmonton Oilers’ front office. The shift came to light when ardent Oilers supporters noticed Staios’ conspicuous absence from the team’s official hockey operations webpage. This alteration was subsequently corroborated by Tom Gazzola during a recent installment of the Oil Stream podcast.
Gazzola said he tried to get confirmation with a few sources close to the team, noting that his closest source says “he’s out”, and others saying they hadn’t seen that confirmed, but believed that’s where this whole storyline was headed.
The Oilers’ management landscape has been undergoing rapid transformations as of late. Back in May, on the DFO Rundown, Frank Seravalli revealed that the Oilers had expressed strong intent to safeguard and nurture Steve Staios’ role within the organization. Seravalli postulated that Staios was being groomed as the potential General Manager after Ken Holland’s contract elapses post the 2023/24 season. Gazzola said a meeting between Staios and the Oilers’ brass didn’t go terribly well and things moved forward from there.
The situation evolved with the recent appointment of Jeff Jackson as the CEO of Hockey Operations. Paul Coffey then saw his role with the club elevated. These moves appear to have shifted the trajectory for Staios, potentially altering the team’s prior course of action regarding his involvement.
It’s not entirely clear if Staios was no longer in consideration for the GM job under Jackson, or if he felt the ladder to move up in Ottawa was more readily available. Perhaps the two sides weren’t on the same page and decided to part ways amicably. None of that is clear.
Staios to Ottawa Isn’t Surprising
Staios and the new Senators’ ownership group have a history. Because of Staios’s ties to his former superior in Hamilton, Michael Andlauer, now the predominant owner of the Ottawa Senators, that he is being linked to their management plans shouldn’t come as a shock.
When Andlauer took over the team, Staios again surfaced in connection with the Senators, potentially stepping into Pierre Dorion’s role as GM. With the transition of ownership from the Melnyk family to Andlauer, Staios projects to have an important role.
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