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When Mike Gillis assumed control of the Vancouver Canucks in April, it was assumed he would purge the NHL club's front office and that spurned assistant general manager Steve Tambellini would ride the first wave of departures.

Sure enough, Tambellini is leaving, but not without a twist.

Vancouver's No. 2 hockey executive was raided yesterday by the Edmonton Oilers and named the new general manager in an expanded front office one province to the east. The Oilers stunned both the Canucks and the lazy days of hockey's summer, headhunting Tambellini over the past week and entrusting the first-time GM with what is considered a burgeoning young team.

Gillis, Vancouver's first-year general manager, learned of Tambellini's move to a Northwest Division rival earlier this week and admitted that losing his chief lieutenant wasn't anticipated. Tambellini had an out clause in his contract, meaning the Oilers did not require permission from the Canucks to pursue him for a more senior position.

"I knew Steve would get a chance somewhere down the road," Gillis said from Kingston, where he is wrapping up his move to the West Coast. "From my perspective, it's long overdue."

After 17 years in the Canucks' front office, Tambellini watched as ownership named Gillis, a former hockey agent, the club's new general manager just nine days after firing former GM Dave Nonis, another B.C. native who had apprenticed with the province's NHL club. Either because he was bypassed, or because the new man wanted to break ties with the old Canucks guard, it was assumed Tambellini wouldn't be long for the Lower Mainland.

"I have nothing but great things to say about the people I worked with [in Vancouver]," Tambellini said from Edmonton.

Gillis called the Tambellini a "vital" part of the organization at his introductory news conference and more recently had begun talking to the native of Trail, B.C., about a contract extension. For the moment, director of hockey administration Laurence Gilman, a former assistant GM with the Phoenix Coyotes, and director of player personnel Lorne Henning will take on Tambellini's duties.

Forever a bridesmaid in GM hunts, Tambellini, 50, joins a remade Oilers front office, even if former general manager Kevin Lowe, who was promoted in the management shuffle, retains final word on hockey decisions. Lowe and Tambellini were part of the brain trust that guided Canada to the gold medal in men's hockey at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002.

"I promised myself I was not going to move just for that [GM] position," Tambellini said. "When I did move, it would be for the right one and this is the right one."

Lowe rises to president of hockey operations, in a structure similar to that of the executive-heavy Detroit Red Wings. He will attend to the overall sports pursuits of new owner Daryl Katz, a pharmaceutical billionaire who wants to build a new downtown Edmonton arena.

"Steve [is] the strongest candidate in hockey at the executive level that wasn't a GM," Lowe said. "We realize there are more and more demands in this business at this level. In order to get the job done, you need many people doing it."

Interestingly, Gillis is also intent on mimicking Detroit's structure, but now loses his veteran deputy to a direct competitor. Gillis said there was no timetable to replace Tambellini, and that he would not necessarily be hiring an assistant GM, which means someone from within could land the club's No. 2 post.

"I was going to make some fairly significant changes anyways," Gillis said of the club's management structure. "This just makes it different."

While their relationship bore watching, Tambellini was considered important to Gillis in the short-term for his knowledge of the organization. His leaving saps experience from the club's hockey operations department, where two of Gillis' new appointees — director of college scouting Dave Gagner and consultant Scott Mellanby — had no previous NHL management experience.

Until yesterday, Gillis had hired as many people, four, as he had let go. He removed two assistant coaches and two amateur scouts and added three members to the front office and assistant coach Ryan Walter, another first-timer in his current job.

Lowe, who has spent more than 25 years with the Oilers as a player, coach and administrator, has come under some fire for not getting the team into the playoffs the past two seasons. By accepting the president's title, Lowe visually slips into the background just as the team appears poised to blossom.

Edmonton and Vancouver both finished with 88 points and at the bottom of the division standings last season.

"I do know that there is a tremendous amount of potential from our young players," Tambellini said of the Oilers. "There are some highly skilled young players here."

With a report from Allan Maki