iEDMONTON -- Daryl Katz, the reclusive billionaire who now owns the Edmonton Oilers, held a rare news conference Wednesday to talk about his management style and the team's quest for new talent.
"Decisions will be made very quickly," the Rexall Pharmacy chain owner said of his involvement with the NHL team. "We instill a vision of limited bureaucracy. We won't have committee meetings or board meetings."
Minutes before the news conference, the Oilers latest hopes of landing a marquee forward were dashed when word surfaced that Marian Hossa had signed a one-year deal with Detroit.
But Katz simply smiled as he talked about the excitement of working this week with Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe as they bid for Hossa to give Edmonton some much-needed scoring punch.
"We've had a lot of fun," he said. "The experience of pursuing Marian was great for us and it won't be the last time."
Lowe appeared equally pleased with their first major collaboration since Katz took over as team owner.
"As he said to me some weeks ago, 'Let's have fun,' " said Lowe. "And the last couple of days have been a lot of fun."
Katz, 46, took over the Oilers franchise in February after all 34 members of the team's then-ownership group agreed to the US$200-million deal. He received final approval last month from the NHL to purchase the team.
-- The Canadian Press
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