Jeff Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
Jeff Jackson (born April 24, 1965 in Chatham, Ontario, and raised in Dresden, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 263 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Quebec Nordiques, and Chicago Blackhawks. Prior to 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 in Helsinki, Finland.
After retirement in 1993, Jackson attended law school at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Upon graduating, he accepted a position at Heenan Blaikie Law firm where he would practise sports and entertainment law. In June 2006, after eight years practicing law at Heenan Blaikie, he was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL as their Director of Hockey Administration. On August 24, 2007, Jackson was promoted to Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations of the Leafs, working alongside then general manager John Ferguson, Jr. When Ferguson was fired by the Leafs on January 22, 2008, Jackson remained as the team's assistant general manager under Cliff Fletcher, who replaced Ferguson. On September 12, 2008, Jackson was appointed the new general manager and governor of the Toronto Marlies, the American Hockey League farm club of the Maple Leafs. He also maintained his role as Assistant GM and Director of Hockey Operations of the Maple Leafs. Eighteen months after Brian Burke became the team's GM and president, Jackson left his position with the Leafs in March 2010 to pursue other opportunities.
Jackson has appeared as a guest speaker and lecturer at numerous universities and conferences, including Harvard Law School and Osgood Hall law school.