<
        >

          Cross Checks Blog

          Jay Feaster says he was 'just having some fun' with tweet about Oilers

          • Pierre LeBrun, ESPN Senior WriterDec 4, 2014, 10:45 AM ET
            Close
            • Covers the NHL for ESPN.com and TSN in Canada
            • Six years on the "Hockey Night In Canada" Hotstove panel
            • 13 years at The Canadian Press national news agency
            Follow on X

          Well, if Jay Feaster was looking for more Twitter followers, he got some.

          The former Calgary Flames GM put out a tweet Wednesday night after the Edmonton Oilers extended their winless streak to 11 games (0-7-4) following a 3-2 overtime loss at Winnipeg that certainly got some attention.

          And yes, it was indeed him (@therealjfeaster).

          "All I have to do is tweet something about the Oilers and I get 100-plus new followers overnight," Feaster chuckled to ESPN.com on Thursday morning.

          "I was just having some fun," he added. "It's my personal Twitter account and I was just having fun. I was there four years in Calgary but it did not take me four days to get tuned into the Battle of Alberta. Obviously, people get very wound up and upset about things. But it wasn't done in a hurtful or spiteful way. I'm just having some fun with it."

          The Oilers did not want to comment when contacted by ESPN.com.

          Feaster, fired Dec. 12, 2013, as Flames GM, is now the executive director of community hockey development for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

          But his views on Twitter, including his jab at the Oilers, are his own, he stressed.

          "I'm not a GM anymore, it's my own personal views and personal Twitter account," Feaster said. "I tweet about all kinds of things, including the Christmas cookies that my daughter baked last night."

          Still, in fun or not, you can't but feel there's some emotion in that tweet. Because while he was GM of the Flames, all he heard about was how the Oilers were rebuilding their team the proper way while Calgary was floundering.

          That was the dialogue at the time.

          "For sure it was," Feaster said.

          "I've made the point in tweets before that the Battle of Alberta never leaves you."

          Seeing his former team in Calgary succeed this season has given him great pride.

          "I'm thrilled for the guys that we drafted that are having success, the guys we signed as free agents," Feaster said.

          "Bob Hartley is a good friend of mine as you know. I have nothing but positive feelings about that group of guys and that team. I'm happy for their success."