It’s been quite an interesting summer for the Edmonton Oilers from a contract standpoint.
The big moves saw the team extend Evan Bouchard to a two-year extension after some rather lengthy negotiations while Ryan McLeod narrowly avoided arbitration. These types of situations happen all the time in the NHL as both the player and GM are talked about as if they are locked in a room and tasked to hammer out the finer details of a contract by themselves.
Of course, this isn’t the case. Just about every NHL player has an agent to go through this process and to carry the bulk of the negotiations. Who a player has as their agent can significantly change the type of contract that is awarded and can, in turn, have a major impact on the type of career that a player ends up having.
While Bouchard and McLeod’s agents have had a busy summer, Connor McDavid was forced to change representation due his former agent, Jeff Jackson, becoming the new CEO of Hockey Operations with the Oilers.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s take a look at the representation that everyone in the Oilers organization is currently with.
NHL regulars and their representation
Forwards
| Player | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Connor McDavid | 3 / UFA | Judd Moldaver | Wasserman Hockey |
| Leon Draisaitl | 2 / UFA | Andy Scott | Octagon Athlete Representation |
| Zach Hyman | 5 / UFA | Todd Reynolds | Raze Sports |
| Evander Kane | 3 / UFA | Dan Milstein | Gold Star Sports Management |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 6 / UFA | Rick Valette | Octagon Athlete Representation |
| Warren Foegele | 1 / UFA | Joseph Resnick | Top Shelf Sports Management LLC. |
| Ryan McLeod | 2 / RFA | Joseph Resnick | Top Shelf Sports Management |
| Mattias Janmark | 1 / UFA | Peter Wallen | Alterno Global Management LLC. |
| Derek Ryan | 2 / UFA | Derek Ryan | Represents himself |
| Connor Brown | 1 / UFA | David Gagner | Wasserman Hockey |
| Dylan Holloway | 1 / RFA | Blake Robson | Dynasty Hockey Group |
Defence
| Player | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Darnell Nurse | 7 / UFA | Paul Capizanno | Quartexx Management |
| Mattias Ekholm | 3 / UFA | Kurt Overhardt | KO Sports Inc. |
| Evan Bouchard | 2 / RFA | David Gagner | Wasserman Hockey |
| Cody Ceci | 2 / UFA | J.P. Barry | CAA Sports LLC. |
| Brett Kulak | 3 / UFA | Gerry Johannson | The Sports Corporation |
| Philip Broberg | 1 / RFA | Darren Ferris | Quartexx Management |
| Vincent Desharnais | 1 / UFA | Philippe Lecavalier | Quartexx Management |
Goalies
| Players | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Stuart Skinner | 3 / UFA | J.P. Barry | CAA Sports LLC. |
| Jack Campbell | 4 / UFA | Kurt Overhardt | KO Sports Inc. |
There are a few interesting things to take note of when looking at Edmonton’s agent representation. The first of which is that there are a few players who share the same agent. J.P. Barry, Dave Gagner, and Kurt Overhardt are in a three-way tie as they each represent two players on Oilers. Barry ranks at the top of the list of Oilers agents in total value of active NHL contracts across the league with $714.4M.
The most popular agency, however, is Wasserman Hockey and Quartexx Management. The latter of which seems to have a good hold on the Oilers defensive group with all of Darnell Nurse, Philip Broberg, and Vincent Desharnais being signed on.
Perhaps the most interesting agent of the bunch is Judd Moldaver, who took over McDavid’s representation this summer but also serves as Auston Matthews’ agent. A unique thread to tie together two of the league’s most exciting players.
AHL and prospects
Now, NHL players aren’t the only ones who need player agents. Here’s a look at some representation seen down in Bakersfield and the Oilers prospect pool.
Forwards
| Player | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Jayden Grubbe | 3 / RFA | Kevin Epp | Titan Sports Management Inc. |
| Carl Berglund | 2 / RFA | Matt Keator | Win Hockey Agency |
| Gregg McKegg | 1 / UFA | David Gagner | Wasserman Hockey |
| Brad Malone | 1 / UFA | Matthew Oates | O2K Worldwide Management Group LLC. |
| Seth Griffith | 1 / UFA | Paul Capizanno | Quartexx Management |
| Raphael Lavoie | 1 / RFA | Philippe Lecavalier | Quartexx Management |
| Tyler Tullio | 2 / RFA | Cameron Stewart | KO Sports Inc. |
| Xavier Bourgault | 2 / RFA | Philippe Lecavalier | Quartexx Management |
| James Hamblin | 1 / RFA | Rick Valette | Octagon Athlete Representation |
| Drake Caggiula | 2 / UFA | Justin Duberman | Achieve Sports Management |
| Lane Pedersen | 2 / UFA | Jason Davidson | Thunder Creek Professional Player Management |
| Carter Savoie | 1 / RFA | Gerry Johannson | The Sports Corporation |
| Matvei Petrov | 3 / RFA | Daniel Milstein | Gold Star Sports Managment |
Defence
| Player | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Markus Neimelainen | 1 / UFA | Mark Gandler & Todd Diamond | International Sports Advisors Co. LLC. |
| Cam Dineen | 1 / UFA | Michael Curren | Orr |
| Philip Kemp | 2 / RFA | Jordan Neumann & George Bazos | Edge Sports Management |
| Ben Gleason | 2 / UFA | Paul Capizanno | Quartexx Management |
| Maximus Wanner | 3 / RFA | Gerry Johannson | The Sports Corporation |
| Noel Hoefenmayer | 1 / RFA | Allain Roy | RSG Hockey LLC. |
Goalies
| Player | Years remaining / expiry status | Agent | Agency |
| Olivier Rodrigue | 1 / RFA | Pat Brisson | CAA Sports LLC. |
| Ryan Fanti | 1 / RFA | Jordan Neumann & George Bazos | Edge Sports Management |
| Calvin Pickard | 1 / UFA | Ritchie Winter | Raze Sports |
Not much to delve into for the minor league player representation. I found the two-agent system that some players employ is a bit unique, but to be entirely honest, I am not well-enough versed in the legal field to really know if that is in fact an unusual thing.
Quartexx Management continues to have a hold on the organization as they represent four additional players in the Oilers system on top of the three that they represent at the NHL level.
Olivier Rodrigue must be paying good money to have Pat Brisson represent him as he is currently one of two agents in hockey whose current contracts have a value that exceeds a $1B.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
