TALKING POINTS: Jackson introduced as Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations

Jeff Jackson was officially introduced as the Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations on Thursday afternoon during a media availability from the Hall of Fame Room inside Rogers Place.

The newest Oilers executive was joined by General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland on stage and spoke toward his career as a well-respected player agent, his relationship with Oilers captain Connor McDavid, the duties and details involved in his new role, and more.

Read the full transcript and watch Thursday's entire media availability below:

Jackson on being named Oilers CEO of Hockey Operations:

"First of all, I just want to say that I'm absolutely thrilled to be in Edmonton today to join this historic franchise. I've watched this team since I was a young boy in the '80s. I've had the distinct pleasure over the last eight years of watching the team very closely, with Connor being a big part of that. I've spent a lot of time in Edmonton. I've watched this team evolve. Ken's done a tremendous job building a winning culture, and I'm just very excited to join his team and try to contribute as much as I can."

"I want to thank Daryl Katz for the faith that he's putting in me today to take on this role. I know it's an important one. He's got a great vision for this team. The vision goes way back. I remember walking through this arena when there was no roof on it. There were no buildings around. There was a plan, and Bob Nicholson and Kevin Lowe at the time presented what the plan was and here we are, eight or nine years later, and you can see the impact on the city and how the team's structured now and where they're at -- I think on the verge of some great years.

"My wife Lara and my kids Savannah, Liam, Owen and Luke are also very excited and thrilled and look forward to being tangential members of the Edmonton Oilers. I spent a lot of nights in this building watching the team and I felt the energy and the passion of the fans. It's an unparalleled building. In the role of agent, you go around the league and see a lot of games and sit in a lot of buildings. I think that this place is unparalleled, and I hope to be able to help Kenny get this team to a point where that fanbase is even more proud. Thanks for having me and I'm really excited to get going."

Holland on Jackson's appointment to the role:

"First off, I'd like to say it's an exciting day for the Edmonton Oilers and Oilers fans. Obviously, I've worked with Jeff a lot over the last four years. He represented Connor McDavid and obviously Evan Bouchard, and we were trying to get Bouch some ice time a couple of years ago, weren't we? That worked out pretty well. You were right, and we should have sped that up.

"I've talked a lot to Jeff and he's got an incredible resume. He played in the National Hockey League I think for eight years and was an Assistant General Manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs for four years. And then in 2010-11, he got into the agency business and what I found through my time in the NHL is when you're an agent, you talk to 32 GMs and have a real understanding of how 32 teams operate. I think Jeff's going to bring a lot of information to the Edmonton Oilers and to our Hockey Ops department that's going to help make us better.

"Like I said, I think it's an exciting day. I look forward to working with Jeff. I think everybody's got the same goal to try and continue to have the Edmonton Oilers be a legitimate cup contender, be a playoff team, and obviously, the ultimate goal for all 32 teams and especially for our team is to try to one day win the Stanley Cup. But certainly, I'm excited personally and I think it's an exciting day for our fans and for the franchise."

Jackson on how the opportunity to join the Oilers first transpired and came together with his official hiring on Aug. 3:

"Well, just shortly before the Draft, Paul Coffey and Daryl Katz reached out to me and just asked me if I'd be interested in talking about the job. It's a hard time for agents around the Draft and Free Agency, so I said, 'Listen, I would be interested in talking, but I've got a lot of work to do over the next two or three weeks and that's what I need to focus on.' So I did that. I got through all of that. Subsequent to all of that, the discussion sort of picked up and it happened very quickly over the last couple of weeks.

"Talking a lot with Paul Coffey, he was instrumental in sort of convincing me that this was something that would be a challenge, which I know it will be. It's a tough job being in NHL management. I had the opportunity years ago to do it in Toronto, and I know talking to Kenny that it's 24/7 and it's most of the year. But I love challenges, and I got to a place in my head where after consulting and talking with my family about it, I decided to do it.

"Once I did that, I had to meet with all my clients. We had to transition [representatives] for them. Every one of them was great. They're all in good hands at my old agency Wasserman with Dave Gagner, Judd Moldaver, Adam Phillips, Rachel Feucht and the whole crew. Getting through that was important. Because of the nature of going from the agency to the management side, I had to do everything properly, so everything got kind of tied up and I'm here today."

Jackson on his relationship with Connor McDavid as his former agent and using his influence in his new role to help extend the Oilers captain, whose eight-year contract expires following the 2025-26 NHL season:

"Who in this room doesn't want him to be an Oiler for life? I think at the end of the day, Connor has three years left on his deal. He, Leon, Nuge, Nursey -- they're all striving to win. I think that's going to be the biggest driver. Of course, I have a very close relationship with Connor. It's going to be a different relationship now, but I think ultimately, the goal is to keep this team and this core group together. I think there's a lot of runway for success for a number of years, so that's the goal."

Jackson on his assessment of McDavid's competitiveness and how his desire to win Stanley Cups in Edmonton can contribute to him remaining an Oiler beyond his current contract:

"I think you guys all see Connor on a daily basis and understand how super competitive he is; how he strives to better.

"There's a funny story that I can't stop thinking about. I think it was his first Hart, Lindsay and Art Ross Trophy and we were in Vegas for the Awards. I went to the Draft, and then he went home and it was a Tuesday and he went on the ice and he felt like crap. He texted me, 'I feel like crap,' but he had just won all those awards. Adam, who worked with me at Wasserman, went over to Connor's parents' place. He was going to deliver something, and he went to the front door and then rang the doorbell and the garage door went up. He went back out front and Connor was in the garage in his rollerblades -- in his mom and dad's garage where he wasn't even living anymore -- in a t-shirt and shorts and he was working on his game and working on his hands. That sort of thing exemplifies what he's all about.

"You've got Leon, a super competitive and skilled player who has continued to get better. Same with Darnell and same with Nuge, so Connor's a great leader. There's a core group here. He's the lead dog, but all of those players are super important and he kind of pulls them all along."

Jackson on what McDavid said to him when discussing the role and if he's optimistic about signing restricted free agent Evan Bouchard:

"I didn't actually go to Connor and say 'I'm doing this.' I called him and we talked about it. It's a unique opportunity.

"I don't think that I would have gone anywhere else. I wasn't looking to leave the agent business. I was at an awesome agency in Wasserman; great colleagues in the hockey department and great colleagues throughout that agency. The fact that Connor was involved and [looking at] the team that Kenny's put together and is on the verge of I think some great things, I talked to Connor about it and he said, 'I think you should talk to Daryl and I think you'll be great at the job, so you do what you have to. I'm with you.'

"On the Bouch thing, you'd have to talk to Dave Gagner because Dave's been handling the negotiations on Bouch. I think they're pretty close by the sounds of it."

Holland adds his comment on the ongoing negotiations with Bouchard:

"I think we're close. Dave is at the [Hlinka Gretzky Cup], so hopefully we'll talk next week. We're not that far apart, but obviously not close enough. We'll get a deal done."

Holland on Jackson's appointment while entering the final year of his contract as Oilers GM & President of Hockey Operations:

"Well, I have tremendous respect for Jeff and I'm excited about this upcoming year. I'm excited about building a relationship with Jeff. I'm excited about the team. I'll worry about my future down the road. For me, it's all about this team, this year, and then we'll assess. Again, I'm excited.

"Jeff and I have talked a lot as I've said over the last few years, I'm excited to work with Jeff, and we'll see. I have a lot of energy, I have a lot of passion, but I have other things too that are important in life. So I've got to sort all those things as the year wears on. Right now, I'm focused on trying to have the Edmonton Oilers have the very best year that we can, and then I'll make some decisions down the road. And he's got to make some decisions down the road, too."

Jackson on if the Oilers are better positioned to win now with a more mature, veteran roster

"I think so. The maturity of all those players, whether they have families or they're getting married, or they're married or they've just been here for a long time, contributes to the team maturity. Connor, Leon, and all the guys like Nursey and Nuge, all have their own leadership skills and they just continue to build on that every year.

"I think if you look at great teams, whether it's hockey or basketball, the Oilers in the '80s or the Bulls in the '90s, it took them a long time to get to the point where they were cohesive and a unit that worked together and in sync on everything. I think the Oilers are at or approaching that level, and they're going to continue to get better. I think adding Connor Brown, who happened to be a client of mine but I know the kid's character, I think that's a great addition that Kenny made. He'll contribute to the leadership. He hates to lose, just like all these other guys, so I think that the team's in a good spot that way."

Jackson on if he wants to take the Oilers in a new direction or build on what's already been built here in Edmonton:

"I'm not coming in to reinvent the wheel with the team. I think, as I said, Kenny's done a fantastic job of building this culture for the last four years to the point where the team's in a great spot. I hope that I can bring some different views. On the agent side of things, you do a lot of your own scouting of young kids. We used analytics, and I know the Oilers do. I'm going to look at all those things and try to best in class. It won't happen overnight, but I'm going to dig in on all of the things that I know.

"Having the luxury of talking to Connor, I know how good this team is at a lot of things. If we can incrementally get better at some of the other things, I think that'll make a big difference."

OEGSE Executive Vice President, Communications & Gaming Tim Shipton explaining the shifting role of former CEO Bob Nicholson:

"Bob is staying on with the organization. We shifted his role to Special Advisor. He'll obviously continue to work closely with Jeff in this new role."

Jackson on his conversations with McDavid as his agent about the Oilers and how they'll impact his vision for the club now as CEO of Hockey Operations:

"We've spent a lot of time over the years talking about the team and where they're at. I know with these recent conversations that I've had with him as I considered this job, I think he feels like things are in a really good spot. He's super excited about the season. He's more dialled in than ever, which is hard to believe because he's always that way.

"I know Leon's living in Ontario and working out with him. Zach Hyman's there. There's a great core group of Oilers that are working out, and I think that they're all coming back early from what I understand. I think that he's got these guys and himself in a good spot. He feels really good about where everything is, and he's just excited about getting going just like we are."

Jackson on how his pre-existing relationships with players, executives and coaches as an agent will change now that he's in his new role:

"On the team side, it'll be less adversarial for sure. But I think that being an agent is unique and it's really not a easy job. It's a lot of late nights at rinks and different things, and you're kind of flying all over the place and you're seeing your clients, but you do get a chance to see a lot of people in unique spots. You run into people all the time, so I think what I can bring from all those relationships is just to continue to use all of the networks that I have to try to find out information, to trade information, and to find out what's going on in the league. Agents are very competitive, but I think I have a good relationship with a lot of other agents. There's mutual respect, so I think that part of it will be just don't I don't see any of the relationships changing at all, to be honest.

Jackson on Leon Draisaitl's 'Stanley Cup or bust' comment following their loss to the Golden Knights last season and what it says about the mindset of Edmonton's players heading into 2022-23:

"I think the players' mentality, if it's that, then it means they're not satisfied with getting to the semis or the finals. They want to win. I don't think that we can read too much into the 'bust' part of it, other than the fact that those guys want to win. That's how I interpreted it when I heard it, and I think that's what their mindset is coming back from what Connor's been telling me."

Jackson on potentially re-defining the GM role and the Hockey Operations department of the Oilers as a whole in future seasons:

"I guess part of what my role is going to be is looking at the entirety of the organization. I think for me right now, my focus is starting today, spending a lot of time with Ken and learning a little bit more about the organization. I've been around the team for eight years, but I don't know the inner workings of the team. I don't know all the scouts. I don't know how Ken runs things. I need to get to know all that stuff. I have no preconceived ideas about what I want to do. We're going to make some assessments as we go. We'll see how the team's doing, and then when the time comes to make decisions, I'll be ready for it."

Jackson on when he became McDavid's agent and what he believes will be the toughest adjustment moving from the agent side to the team side of negotiations:

"When Connor became a client, he was 15 when I started working with him. I joined the Orr Hockey Group and I was partners with Bobby Orr and Rick Curran, and Connor was a client of theirs. I was his primary advisor and agent and got to know Brian & Kelly McDavid and the family. It goes back to when he was 15, his first year in the OHL as an exceptional player, so he was a year younger.

"As far as negotiating contracts, I'm not going to be doing that. That's Bill Scott, that's Kenny, that's Brad Holland contributing and the analytics people contributing, but I'm going to be here. I think I have a lot of experience negotiating deals. I've done it on both sides, and whenever they need me or want me to contribute and pipe up, I will, I'll be there for them. But I'm not going to be the one doing the negotiating."