Steve

It's official: The #leafs are hiring Mats Sundin and John Chayka to lead their revamped front office, with the press conference at 1 p.m. tomorrow Interesting times ahead in Toronto

It's official: The #leafs are hiring Mats Sundin and John Chayka to lead their revamped front office, with the press conference at 1 p.m. tomorrow Interesting times ahead in Toronto

Hello to the fans of the @EdmontonOilers and anyone within the organization who may read this, Yesterday, I was asked by someone close to the players and PR staff why we’ve been hard on the Oilers organization in recent years. I was also told that, to some within the organization. That’s not something we ever set out to be and it’s important to explain where we’re coming from. A lot has changed over the past few years. Some of those changes came when Stan Bowman arrived, and others when Jeff Jackson came in. We still had a decent relationship during Jeff’s first year, but once those two came together, things shifted in a way we didn’t expect. During the time Ken Holland was GM, we had a strong relationship with the organization. We were given access to Morning Skates, where we brought in minor hockey teams kids, coaches, and parents to experience something special. Those moments meant everything. Kids got to watch NHL practices up close, meet players, coaches, scouts, and team personnel. Sometimes, we were the only guests there outside of media. It created unforgettable memories and inspired the next generation of players. Then one day, it all stopped without explanation. Our requests to bring teams to Morning Skates ended, and we never received a reason why. We tried reaching out, including emailing Stan Bowman, but got no response. That was disappointing, frustrating, and honestly, upsetting. Since then, we’ve occasionally gone directly through players to create similar experiences but it’s not the same. To be clear, we don’t believe this decision came from the PR staff. In fact, we believe the PR team is among the best not just in the NHL, but across all major sports in North America. @AndrewPeard @SweetJimmyC We go back to the very beginning meeting Harrison Katz through Bob Stauffer. From that moment, we built something special over four incredible years connecting minor hockey players with NHL players and showing young athletes what it truly takes to be great both on and off the ice. Bob was also a huge part of our podcast joining us monthly and kicking off every playoff series with us. That all changed in early 2025. Bob’s last appearance on our podcast was January 7, 2025. By March, our relationship with the Oilers had broken down, and we still don’t fully understand why. During the 2025 playoffs, Bob told us he wasn’t allowed to come on our show anymore because our podcast had been flagged by the organization. We’ve known Bob for 20 years. He’s been nothing but supportive, not just professionally, but personally. He’s helped me through some of the toughest moments in my life, and his care for people especially around mental health is something I deeply respect. On his final episode with us, Bob told me I needed to give the Oilers more “sugar.” And he was right. That’s on me. We’ve been too critical at times. We haven’t always shown the balance or emotion the way we should have. That’s something we’re going to work on moving forward. We do have our own opinions on leadership decisions within the organization. There are things we could say publicly but we won’t. That’s not what this is about. This is about understanding, accountability, and hopefully, moving forward. We know there’s been a love/hate relationship between our podcast and some fans. We believe we’ve had our reasons but at the same time, it shouldn’t overshadow the bigger picture: The players, PR staff, and ownership have done incredible things for this community. They’ve helped create life changing moments for minor hockey players in Edmonton. They’ve made kids feel seen, valued, and inspired. And that matters more than anything. Whether those opportunities ever return the way they once were, we don’t know. But we’re grateful for every moment that did happen and we’ll continue doing everything we can to create those same experiences, even if it means going about it differently. Cheers Bosco. #NHL #LetsGoOilers