Don Meehan
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Don E. Meehan is an influential National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) hockey player agent.
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[edit] Early career
Meehan earned his bachelor's degree at Sir George Williams University. At McGill University, during his final year of law school, Meehan played for the Redmen as a wide receiver under coach Charles Baillie.
After earning his law degree at McGill, Meehan was hired by the prominent Toronto law firm, Blaney, Pasternak. Most of the cases he originally dealt with were corporate and tax-related. The firm also had some ice hockey players as clientele.
[edit] Newport Sports Management
Declining the offer of a partnership from his law firm, Meehan decided in 1981 to create his own company that focused on hockey players. Named Newport Sports Management Inc. and operated in a partnership with fellow agent Pat Morris, it represents over 100 NHL players.
Instead of approaching players that are already in the NHL, Meehan approached the families of young talents before they were drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL). One of the first young talents that Meehan was an agent for was the talented center Pat LaFontaine. LaFontaine hired Meehan a few months before he was in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
[edit] Chris Chelios controversy
The Hockey News nicknamed Meehan the "Octopus" and ranked him third on its list of the most influential figures in the 2004–05 NHL lockout, only behind NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow, who were first and second, respectively. Meehan was listed above NHL Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly (fourth) and NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin (seventh).
It was suggested that Meehan had played an influential behind-the-scenes role in getting his players to accept the terms that ended the lockout. Chris Chelios, who denounced the new collective bargaining agreement, accused Meehan of undercutting the union and supporting Saskin, who has since been removed as NHLPA executive director.[1][2]
[edit] Current NHL clients
- Kevyn Adams, Chicago Blackhawks
- Maxim Afinogenov, Atlanta Thrashers
- Jason Arnott, Nashville Predators
- Alex Auld, Dallas Stars
- Sean Avery, New York Rangers
- Dave Backes, St. Louis Blues
- Christian Bäckman, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Todd Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
- Eric Brewer, St. Louis Blues
- Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes
- Erik Christensen, Anaheim Ducks
- Mike Commodore, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Matt Cooke, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Ryan Craig, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
- Kris Draper, Detroit Red Wings
- Greg de Vries, Nashville Predators
- Steve Eminger, Florida Panthers
- Eric Fehr, Washington Capitals
- Nick Foligno, Ottawa Senators
- Alexander Frolov, Los Angeles Kings
- Dan Girardi, New York Rangers
- Tim Gleason, Carolina Hurricanes
- Chris Gratton, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Mike Green, Washington Capitals
- Scott Hannan, Colorado Avalanche
- Martin Hanzal, Phoenix Coyotes
- Josh Harding, Minnesota Wild
- Johan Holmqvist, Frolunda HC
- Kristian Huselius, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
- Mike Johnson, St. Louis Blues
- Curtis Joseph, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Ed Jovanovski, Phoenix Coyotes
- Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Andrei Kostitsyn, Montreal Canadiens
- Sergei Kostitsyn, Montreal Canadiens
- Pascal LeClaire, Ottawa Senators
- David Legwand, Nashville Predators
- Nicklas Lidström, Detroit Red Wings
- Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
- Joel Lundqvist, Dallas Stars
- Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens
- Brad May, Detroit Red Wings
- Jay McKee, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Fredrik Modin, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Travis Moen, Montreal Canadiens
- Ethan Moreau, Edmonton Oilers
- Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks
- Patrick O'Sullivan, Edmonton Oilers
- Michael Peca, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Alexander Perezhogin, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Formerly Montreal Canadiens)
- Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
- Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
- Karel Pilař, HC Sparta Praha
- Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers
- Wade Redden, New York Rangers
- Mike Ribeiro, Dallas Stars
- Brad Richards, Dallas Stars
- Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
- Brad Richardson, Los Angeles Kings
- Craig Rivet, Buffalo Sabres
- Steve Rucchin, Free Agent
- Luke Schenn, Toronto Maple Leafs
- James Sheppard, Minnesota Wild
- Mike Sillinger, New York Islanders
- Ryan Smyth, Los Angeles Kings
- Matt Stajan, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Jarret Stoll, Los Angeles Kings
- Andy Sutton, New York Islanders
- Henrik Tallinder, Buffalo Sabres
- Dick Tärnström, AIK
- José Théodore, Washington Capitals
- Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Philadelphia Flyers
- Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators
- Mike Van Ryn, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Scott Walker, Carolina Hurricanes
- Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
- Stephen Weiss, Florida Panthers
- Jason Williams, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Jeff Woywitka, St. Louis Blues
[edit] Retired NHL Clients
- Derian Hatcher
- Pat LaFontaine
- Al MacInnis
- Dave Manson
- Brent Sutter
- Wendel Clark
- Trevor Linden
- Patrice Brisebois
[edit] Previous and Now Former NHL Clients
- Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
- Nik Antropov, Atlanta Thrashers [3], Andy Strickland, June 19, 2009.
[edit] Other Notable Clients
- Ron MacLean, Host of Hockey Night in Canada
- Vladislav Tretiak, Former Soviet National and HC CSKA Moscow goalie, Goaltender consultant for the Chicago Blackhawks
[edit] See also
- David Falk, one of the most influential NBA agents.
- Scott Boras, one of the most influential Major League Baseball agents.
[edit] References
- Who's who: player agents
- Newport Sports Management Inc.
- Playing the Game: Don Meehan Win Respect and Top Salaries
- Oilers regret having to trade Ryan Smyth
- Hab's Perezhogin signs with Russian team
- Markov Inks Four-Year Deal With Habs
- Sutter Silent on Coach, Player Contracts
- Avalanche adds a true warrior in Ryan Smyth
- Buffalo Sabres re-sign Maxim Afinogenov to multi-year contract
- In the Spotlight: Stoll dominates faceoffs for Oilers
- The Stanley Cup: Adams savors his Stanley Cup experience
- Sundin hard to fit under salary cap
- Capitals' Ovechkin Fires Agent Meehan