Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Ovechkin fires Meehan

According to TSN, Alexander Ovechkin has parted ways with Newport Sports and will hire his Mom, Tatiana, to represent him. All agents must be certified by the NHLPA which means that she will need to start by filling out their "Application for Certification as an NHLPA Player Agent."

Personally I don't think this is a good move. Meehan is one of the best agents around and it's never a good idea to mix family and business. Plus for a star like Ovechkin he needs somebody to handle his career of the ice as well as his contracts and while his mom was a star athlete (she won two Olympic gold medals in basketball), she will soon learn that the business side of pro sports is pretty complex.

I understand the desire to keep the money in the family (in terms of the commission) but when you consider how much a player like Ovechkin can gain off the ice it is better to get the best representative possible to manage his career.

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