There was indeed a bit of a twist in this morning's press conference despite the fact that the secret had slipped that Bob Nicholson would join the Oilers. What we didnt know about was the formation of "The Oilers Entertainment Group", a new company that will oversee all of Katz' hockey and entertainment properties including the operation of Rogers Place.
As the new Vice-Chairman of the OEG it is assumed that Nicholson will be overviewing primarily the business side of things as Katz via the Oilers Entertainment Group looks to expand his empire. Certainly at the end of the Press Conference Kevin Lowe suggested that the group would like to potentially add to its Hockey or sports assets which already includes the Oilers, Barons, Condors, a defunct Baseball team, and Oil Kings.
Speaking of Kevin Lowe, it was confirmed that he will remain in control of Hockey Operations in the OEG and was actually promoted on paper to Vice-Chairman as well. Naturally that leads to a little confusion as it had been reported that Nicholson would be 2nd in command and subordinate to only the owner. Now it seems as though Nicholson and Lowe are on equal footing. Patrick Laforge has been named the President and COO of OEG. So there has been a shuffling of titles but I think job responsibilities have yet to be fully defined.
The immediate reaction from Sportsnet's John Shannon was that Nicholson would become the face of the franchise from an upper management level. Darryl Katz has been a recluse since he took over ownership of the Oilers and should be happy to let Nicholson be the public face of the team.
For me this is the 2nd major shakeup the Oilers have announced this week and I think it is representative of an overall desire for change from Katz. The Oilers have been so bad for so much longer than they ever intended that it has forced them to alter their standard operating procedure. As much as the new Arena and its operation has necessitated an addition to the organization (under whatever name they want to be called now), the fact is that Katz didnt feel comfortable with LaForge and Lowe running the ship without some kind of oversight.
What has been expressed over and over with regards to Nicholson's best asset has been his vision. No doubt he has been hired to oversee the growth of the OEG and to correct any problems there may be within it.
It is a time for change with the Oilers and it's about time, even though for some it still isnt enough.
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