The Edmonton Oilers have parted ways with pro scout Zack Kassian after just one year, Oilersnation can confirm.
The news was first reported by Shawn Belle of the Hello Hockey podcast.
Kassian, 34, joined the Oilers front office after retiring from pro hockey ahead of last season, working out of the Ontario region. It marked the former rough and tumble wingers first foray into the other side of the hockey world following a 12-year NHL career.
Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 13th overall in the 2009 draft, Kassian broke into the league in the 2011-12 season, but would play just 27 games for the team before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Cody Hodgson. He would remain in Vancouver for three more seasons, scoring 32 goals and 59 points in 171 games, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on July 1st, 2015.
Kassian, however, would never play for the Habs as he entered the league’s substance abuse program after being a passenger in a car accident in which he was under the influence, suffering a broken foot in the crash. He would exit the program in December 2015, and was traded to the Oilers just after Christmas for netminder Ben Scrivens.
He would spend seven years with the Oilers, scoring 55 goals and 135 points across 412 games, quickly becoming a fan favourite, especially for his physical play in the 2017 playoffs. Kassian found himself riding shotgun on Connor McDavid’s wing in the 2019-20 season, and during a 44-game run between the start of the season and late January, he would score 13 goals and 28 points, culminating with dramatics against the Calgary Flames with Matthew Tkachuk.
The Oilers would sign Kassian to a four-year contract extension carrying a $3.2-million cap hit, but Kassian struggled to live up to the deal, scoring eight goals and 24 points in 85 games across the following two seasons. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in a salary dump in July 2022, where Kassian played for one season before they bought out the final year of his contract. Kassian would play eight games for HC Sparta Praha in 2023-24 before retiring.
