The Pétroliers de Laval of the North American Hockey League (LNAH) believed they had pulled off a coup by agreeing to an agreement with defenseman Jason Demers. But that was before they realized they were dealing with…a fake Jason Demers.
On Wednesday, the Petroliers organization announced with great fanfare that it had reached an agreement with the 35-year-old defenseman, who does not yet have an NHL contract. A few minutes after the publication, Demers commented on his personal Facebook page and strongly denied it.
“Anyone who sees this message, it is not true at all! I don’t know who did it haha, and I apologize to the Laval fans, but I don’t play anywhere,” he assured.
“Use of counterfeits”
On Thursday morning, the Oilers admitted their mistake and mentioned that they may have been the victim of deception.
“The Pétroliers de Laval considered discussing with Jason Demers for several days and announced the signing of the former NHL player. After receiving the contract signed on October 31, 2023, the Oilers forwarded the document to the league for approval before publicly announcing it on Wednesday, November 1. A few minutes after the announcement, the real Jason Demers denied the news by claiming on social media that he had not signed an agreement with the LNAH organization. After the investigation, we realize that we were deceived and are now considering taking legal action against the affected person who used counterfeits,” the organization stated on its official website.
Demers still hasn’t confirmed his retirement from the NHL, but mentioned in an interview with the website San Jose Hockey Now in August that he was “pretty much retired” and was considering a career in media.
In 13 seasons in the NHL, Demers played 700 games and scored 214 points.