Surely I can’t be the only one who forgot the Edmonton Oilers don’t have a general manager right now, right?

With the offseason CEO and interim GM Jeff Jackson has had, it’s easy to forget. He’s made some excellent moves in the first two weeks of summer, bringing in impact players Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, while adding a plethora of depth pieces, too. On top of that, he’s worked to restock and shuffle the prospect rankings, trading up to draft Sam O’Reilly, flipping Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tulio for Matthew Savoie, and on Monday, picking up Roby Jarventie and a draft pick for Xavier Bourgult and Jake Chiasson.

Yeah, easy to forget there’s no GM.

While Jackson himself might be the most ideal candidate given what he’s done in short order, he expressed ahead of the draft he doesn’t have any intention to remain into next season and the future. Could he change his mind? It’s always possible.

Let’s look at his resume and that of a few other candidates.

Jackson is someone who would make sense as the full-time general manager for a number of reasons.

He got his start in hockey as a player, suiting up for the Brantford Alexanders in the Ontario Hockey League in the early 1980’s, getting drafted in the second round of the 1983 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jackson would play 263 NHL games over eight seasons, spending three in Toronto and four with the Quebec Nordiques while having a cup of coffee with the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Retiring in 1993, he would go to law school, practicing for a decade before returning to hockey with the Maple Leafs in 2006 as an assistant general manager, holding the role for four seasons, while being GM of their AHL affiliate in 2009-10.

He would go on to work as a player agent for years, with multiple big-name clients that included Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, before finding his way to Edmonton himself, hired as the team’s CEO last summer.

He’s been incredibly effective as an interim general manager so far, setting the tone for the next general manager, and there might not be anyone in hockey with a better pulse of this team right now than him. Despite that, he lacks long-term experience in the role, and his background is more on the player side, than it is on the front office side.

Bowman brings with him a wealth of NHL experience, working in the Chicago Blackhawks organization in various roles including director of hockey operations, assistant general manager and most notably, general manager between 2009-10 and the start of the 2021-22 season.

Despite winning three Stanley Cups there, Bowman is far and away the most controversial option available due to his role in covering up the sexual assault of former Blackhawks Black Ace Kyle Beach by a video coach, which occurred during his first season as general manager.

Bowman was suspended indefinitely by the league following the release of a report detailing what he and other top executives in the Blackhawks organization did to cover up the assault. The league, however, reinstated Bowman, former head coach Joel Quenneville, and former top executive Al MacIssac on July 1st, saying the trio had worked to rectify their harmful actions.

“For more than the last two and a half years, these individuals have been ineligible to work for any NHL team as a result of their inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks’ Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club’s video coach,” the league said in a statement.

“While it is clear that, at the time, their responses were unacceptable, each of these three individuals has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have, particularly personnel who are in positions of leadership.”

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was on OilersNow Monday, where he spoke about some of the work Bowman did while he was suspended.

“I could not provide a more full-throated endorsement of his ability to earn a living based off of what has happened, and the suspension that was in place after the fact,” he said. “You serve your time, you demonstrate an ability to change, and I know first-hand of the work Stan Bowman has been doing.

“[He’s done a lot of] work with WHL teams and players over the last couple of years with Sheldon Kennedy and the Respect Group. I know, authentically, that Stan Bowman has put in the time. He’s actually helped shape the curriculum for these processes put in place with these junior teams, and all throughout the sport at the more amateur level.

“He’s been contrite, he’s been honest in terms of what was missing… Put yourself in their shoes and what [Bowman and Quenneville] were told. For both those guys, they found out a lot of the gruesome details for the first time when they actually read the report. I just think they deserve an ability to work again. That’s my own, personal opinion.”

Hunter is long known for his work with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, keeping them as perennial contenders and one of the most successful teams in the league since he arrived in 2000. His experience goes further than that, spending four years in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ front office between 2014 and 2018, as their director of player development for the first two years, and spending the final two as their assistant general manager.

Known for an ability to identify and develop young talent, Hunter has shown the ability to keep a franchise a contender, but like Jackson, he’s never held a full-time role as a general manager in the NHL, and there’s always a concern about the jump from the junior ranks to the NHL ranks.

Jeff Jackson has “always been a fan of Hunter,” and had been an option for the Oilers in the past, he could make sense as their next general manager.

Speaking of internal candidates, there is a person who has been with the team for a long time that could be a good option for the team: Keith Gretzky.

A brother of The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, Keith has carved out a name of his own, starting as a coach in the early 1990s, before moving into scouting roles when the 2000s came around. He was first hired by the Phoenix Coyotes, serving as an amateur scout for seven years, before being promoted to their director of amateur scouting ahead of the 2007-08 season, holding it for four years. He followed a similar path with the Boston Bruins, serving as an amateur scout between 2011-12 and 2012-13, before being their amateur scouting head starting in 2013-14, and holding it for three years.

That’s when the Oilers hired him as an assistant general manager ahead of the 2016-17 season, a role he’s served in the eight years since. He added on the role of the general manager for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s affiliate, partway through the 2018-19 season, and has helped them be one of the league’s better teams, while helping develop Oilers draft picks into legitimate NHLers.

Gretzky has deep ties to the organization, making him a valued member of the organization, and even has some experience as the team’s general manager, serving in an interim role in 2019, and later taking on his old role again. While he could be perceived as a less innovative choice, while taking some heat for having ties to the “Old Boys Club,” he could be as strong of a candidate out there to help push the franchise forward.

Drafted by the Oilers in the fourth round of the 1998 draft, he broke into the NHL with the team in 2000, playing for the team for 12 years and serving as their captain for three. While Horcoff racked up 511 points in 1008 career games, Horcoff has made a name for himself in front-office roles since he retired in 2016.

While he had pit stops in Dallas and Anaheim as a player before his career ended, retiring with the latter, Horcoff’s first role came with the Ken Holland-led Detroit Red Wings as their director of player development. When Holland left for Edmonton in 2019-20, Horcoff took on the responsibilities as their director of player personnel, as well. He was named assistant general manager and general manager of their AHL affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins in 2021-22, holding that role through today.

Horcoff could be a solid candidate for the Oilers, given his deep understanding of the team’s culture and history, as well as the fact that he’s made a strong name for himself in front office ranks. Despite that, his experience is still fairly limited in managerial roles, and some struggles from the Red Wings franchise could be considered a slight against him.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.