Surprising news bright and early on a Thursday morning in August, as Oilers Entertainment Group has made major changes at the very top of its Hockey Operations department. Jeff Jackson — best known in these parts as Connor McDavid‘s agent — is in as CEO, while his predecessor Bob Nicholson has been reassigned a role as Special Advisor.
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Shocker! Edmonton Oilers announce big changes to Hockey Ops; Connor McDavid’s agent Jeff Jackson becomes CEO
Jeff Jackson is a former NHL player, playing 263 games with four teams between 1984-92, but has made a name for himself post-playing career. According to this morning’s media release from the Oilers, he spent years as a corporate and entertainment lawyer, then switched gears in 2006 to become the Assistant General Manager of Toronto Maple Leafs. There he had direct oversight of the AHL squad Toronto Marlies, a role very similar to what Keith Gretzky has carved out with the Oilers.
In 2010 Jackson became a player agent, ultimately building his Wasserman Hockey into a major player. As an agent he represented McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, Alex DeBrincat, recent Oilers signing Connor Brown and many others. With Jackson now otherwise engaged, McDavid will be represented by Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver, who is also the agent for Auston Matthews among others.
The release states in part: “In his new role, Jackson will report directly to [owner Daryl] Katz and serve as an Alternate Governor on the NHL Board of Governors. He will oversee all aspects of OEGSE’s NHL, AHL and WHL hockey operations. Jackson will work closely with Ken Holland, who continues in his role as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers and will report to Jackson. Paul Coffey, who has been with the Oilers as a Special Advisor to Daryl Katz for more than a year and has been integral to bringing Jeff to OEGSE, will also assist Jackson in his new role with the organization.”
Meanwhile, the former CEO Nicholson was barely mentioned in the release, mentioned among a group of names in a quote from Jackson but not otherwise. According to the Oilers Staff Directory, Nicholson is now considered a Special Advisor to Hockey Operations, noting that he left his prior role in June 2023, now over a month in the rear view. That suggests this has been in the works for a while.
Local sports reporters Ryan Rishaug and Jason Gregor provided these comments:
According to the club’s media release, “The Oilers will host a media availability at Rogers Place on Thursday, August 3 at 2pm MT with Jeff Jackson and Ken Holland that can be viewed exclusively on OilersPlus.com.”
We will provide a further update after that avail.
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VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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