James Douglas MacLean (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian sportscaster working for

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

and former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

coach and general manager. He is the former president/general manager and head coach of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

and was also the head coach of the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. He is affectionately known as "Prince Eddy" due to his affinity to

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Career

MacLean began coaching at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

, followed by

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

positions with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. MacLean's first professional head coach position came in 1990, when he was sent to the

Baltimore Skipjacks The Baltimore Skipjacks were a minor league professional ice hockey team from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The Skipjacks originated in 1979, and played as the Baltimore Clippers in the Eastern Hockey League for two seasons. The team was ...

, the Capitals' AHL affiliate, as part of a midseason shakeup that placed Skipjacks head coach

Terry Murray Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence (given name), Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albrit ...

at the Capitals' helm. Before coaching, he had played varsity hockey for the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers. MacLean served in the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

organization from 1990 to 1994. During this time, he served as an assistant coach under Bryan Murray in 1990–91 and 1991–92. For the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, MacLean served as the General Manager for the

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Natio ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, the Red Wings top affiliate. During his time as general manager, he orchestrated the trade of

Kris Draper Kristopher Bruce "Kris" Draper (born May 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current director of amateur scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, the team which he played 17 seasons for during his 20-year National Hockey ...

from the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

to the Red Wings for "future considerations", which turned out to be US$1. MacLean is probably best known for leading an up-start Panthers team to the Eastern Conference championship in 1996, only to be swept in the Stanley Cup Final by the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. After leading the Panthers to the playoffs in both the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons, MacLean was fired early in the 1997–98 campaign when the Panthers started with a 7–12–4 record. MacLean was hired to serve as the Blue Jackets' general manager on February 11, 1998, and added the position of team president to his responsibilities a month later. The Blue Jackets began play for the

2000–01 NHL season The 2000–01 NHL season was the 84th regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, 30 teams each played 82 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Colorado Avalanc ...

. On January 7, 2003 MacLean fired Blue Jackets head coach Dave King and named himself head coach, a position he held until January 1, 2004, when he promoted assistant coach

Gerard Gallant Gerard Gallant (born September 2, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously served as the head coach for the Columbus Blue ...

to the role. MacLean remained president and general manager until he was fired at the conclusion of the 2006–07 season. The Blue Jackets never posted a winning record, going 172–258–62 under MacLean's leadership. He is the only general manager in NHL history to serve for six seasons without making the playoffs. On August 7, 2007, MacLean, who led a group of nine investors, announced that the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Palace Sports and Entertainment, agreed to sell the team to MacLean's group for $200 million. The sale collapsed in November 2007 when the ownership group was unable to make a $5 million payment due. MacLean and his partners later sued former associate Oren Koules, whom they accused of defaulting on his share, but also attempting to make his own deal with the Lightning. On August 18, 2008, MacLean became a co-host alongside Jack Armstrong on a

sports talk radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comedy ...

show on Toronto Sports Radio Station, The Fan590, "The Game Plan". On September 18, 2009, MacLean took over the ''

Hockey Central ''Hockey Central'' is the brand used for programs and segments covering hockey (particularly the National Hockey League) on the Canadian sports channel Sportsnet. The ''Hockey Central'' name encompasses several programs, including segments aired ...

'' Radio program from 1–2 pm and was hired by

Jim Balsillie James Laurence Balsillie (born February 3, 1961) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He is the former Chair and co- CEO of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion (Blackberry), which at its prime made over $20B in sales annu ...

as an advisor to the PSE group which attempted to acquire and relocate the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

to Canada. On September 13, 2010, MacLean became a co-host of the Fan 590's ''

Hockey Central at Noon ''Hockey Central'' is the brand used for programs and segments covering hockey (particularly the National Hockey League) on the Canadian sports channel Sportsnet. The ''Hockey Central'' name encompasses several programs, including segments aired ...

'' program alongside

Daren Millard Daren Millard (born August 16, 1970 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian sportscaster. Millard began his broadcasting career in radio as he worked in cities including Melfort, Saskatchewan, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Yorkton, Saskatc ...

and

Nick Kypreos Nikos "Nick" Kypreos (born June 4, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Lea ...

as well as an analyst on

Rogers Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was r ...

's ''

''. On August 29, 2019, MacLean released a statement on Twitter that he was parting ways with Sportsnet. Until this announcement, MacLean was a regular panelist on Sportnet's Hockey Central television show and was a major contributor to Sportsnet's radio programming.

Coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Doug 1954 births Living people Baltimore Skipjacks coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian sports talk radio hosts Canadian television sportscasters Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Columbus Blue Jackets executives Detroit Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings executives Florida Panthers coaches Florida Panthers scouts Ice hockey people from Prince Edward Island National Hockey League broadcasters National Hockey League general managers People from Summerside, Prince Edward Island Washington Capitals coaches