Jeff Jackson (born April 24, 1965) is a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

executive and retired ice hockey winger who is the CEO of hockey operations of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Jackson played 263 games in the NHL for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

, and

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

Early life

Jackson was born in

Chatham-Kent Chatham-Kent (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 103,988) is a Census divisions of Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallac ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and raised in

Dresden, Ontario Dresden is an agricultural community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Located on the Sydenham River, it is named after Dresden, Germany. The main field crops in the area are dent corn, g ...

. After retirement in 1993, Jackson attended the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law.

Career

Before playing in the NHL, he played for Canada's World Junior Under-20 team, which won a gold medal at the

1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1985 WJHC'') was the ninth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was held mainly in Turku and Helsinki, Finland. Canada won the gold medal, its second championship, Czechoslov ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Upon graduating from law school, he accepted a position at Heenan Blaikie Law firm, where he practiced sports and

entertainment law Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right ...

. In June 2006, he was hired by the

as their director of hockey administration. On August 24, 2007, Jackson was promoted to assistant general manager and director of hockey operations, working alongside then

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

John Ferguson Jr. When Ferguson was fired on January 22, 2008, Jackson remained as the team's assistant general manager under

Cliff Fletcher George Clifford "Cliff" Fletcher (born August 16, 1935) is a National Hockey League executive and is a former general manager of the Atlanta Flames/Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Phoenix Coyotes. He is currently a senior advisor to th ...

. On September 12, 2008, Jackson was appointed the new general manager and governor of the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, the American Hockey League farm club of the Maple Leafs. He also maintained his role as assistant GM and director of hockey operations. In March 2010, months after Brian Burke became the team's GM and president, Jackson left his position with the Leafs. On August 3, 2023, Jackson was hired by the

to be CEO of hockey operations. After the Oilers announced on June 27, 2024, that then-general manager

Ken Holland Kenneth Mark Holland (born November 10, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former goaltender, and is currently serving as the vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. Holland most not ...

's contract would not be renewed, Jackson assumed the role of interim general manager. Jackson stepped down as interim general manager on July 24, with the Oilers' hiring of

Stan Bowman Stanley Glenn Bowman (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian-American ice hockey executive, currently serving as the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as the general manager of the Chicago ...

. Jackson has appeared as a guest speaker and lecturer at numerous universities and conferences, including Harvard Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jeff 1965 births Living people 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Brantford Alexanders players Canadian Christians Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Edmonton Oilers executives Halifax Citadels players Hamilton Steelhawks players Ice hockey people from Chatham-Kent Indianapolis Ice players New Haven Nighthawks players New York Rangers players Newmarket Saints players Quebec Nordiques players St. Catharines Saints players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs executives Toronto Maple Leafs players University of Western Ontario alumni