Oilers promote Bob Nicholson to chairman, hire former Leafs/Sens exec Anselmi

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers continued a busy off-season with the promotion of one executive and the hiring of another on Monday.

The Oilers announced CEO and vice chair Bob Nicholson will become chairman and confirmed the hiring of former Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs executive Tom Anselmi as president, business operations and chief operating officer.

Nicholson, who came to the Oilers in 2014 after 16 years at Hockey Canada, will be at the helm of all of Oilers Entertainment Group’s (OEG) sports franchises, including the NHL team, the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings and American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors.

New Oilers president of hockey operations/general manager Ken Holland will report to Nicholson. Holland hired Dave Tippett as coach last month.

Anselmi will be in charge of all of OEG’s business operations.

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The Toronto native was at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in various roles for 17 years before resigning in 2013. He was president/CEO of the Senators for just over a year starting in early 2017.

The Oilers have missed the playoffs in 12 of the past 13 years.

“With Bob leading our hockey clubs and Tom leading our business operations, we have a powerhouse combination as we continue to build an elite organization in all aspects of what we do,” Oilers owner Daryl Katz said in a statement.

The Canadian Press