{"id":474926,"date":"2026-02-14T18:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T18:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474926\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T18:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T18:04:10","slug":"ed-hervey-celebrates-stench-removal-in-edmonton-sets-cfl-playoff-expectation-for-elks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474926\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Hervey celebrates ‘stench’ removal in Edmonton, sets CFL playoff ‘expectation’ for Elks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Screengrab courtesy: Edmonton Elks<\/p>\n

Ed Hervey has a well-established reputation as a press conference curmudgeon, but it seems like nothing can kill his vibe these days.<\/p>\n

The Edmonton Elks\u2019 general manager has been in a strikingly good mood in recent appearances, and his post-free agency availability<\/a> was no exception. Grinning wryly like the cat who caught the canary, Hervey made no secret as to why this offseason has been different<\/a> as he introduced the team\u2019s eight new additions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year was very simple for us; it was just about football moves,\u201d he said. \u201cLast year was coming in and tearing down walls, painting walls, and getting the stench of whatever was going on out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A not-so-subtle shot across the bow of his predecessor, Chris Jones, is hardly new territory for Hervey<\/a>, whose stated mission upon accepting the job was to ensure the Elks would no longer be a \u201claughing stock.\u201d<\/a> However, his renewed aura of confident optimism suggests he feels much closer to that goal than the franchise\u2019s 2025 record might suggest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily live in hope. I live in expectation,\u201d he remarked. \u201cThe guys that we brought in, we believe in our hearts that they will get the job done, and that\u2019s what the whole process is about. When you have a chance to speak to them and talk to them, they\u2019ll tell you they didn\u2019t come here to hope to do anything right. They came here with the expectation of getting to business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hervey made a gigantic splash during his first free agency period as Elks general manager<\/a> in 2025, adding 18 players to the lineup. That list included a dozen starters and a handful of impact Canadians, though the lavish spending spree didn\u2019t necessarily equate to victories. Edmonton struggled out of the gate and went 7-11 despite a strong finish, equalling their record from the year before while finishing one spot lower in the West Division standings.<\/p>\n

Several of last year\u2019s additions didn\u2019t pan out, as three did not survive past the opening weeks of the season. The likes of Jake Ceresna, Gregor MacKellar, Steven Dunbar Jr., and Jonathan Kongbo have all either officially departed or appear set to. But true to president Chris Morris\u2019 promises about reduced player turnover<\/a>, the majority will be back for year two and have started to build chemistry with a group of budding youngsters.<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s slimmer crop of acquisitions was meant address specific areas of need, rather than facilitate a massive talent infusion. Austin Mack<\/a> and Joe Robustelli<\/a> should be pencilled in as starters in an otherwise lean American receiving corps, while Brendan O\u2019Leary-Orange<\/a> will provide the depth necessary to start two Canadian pass-catchers. Coulter Woodmansey shores up a problematic guard spot, while Brendan Bordner<\/a> and Jordan Murray<\/a> should compete for the starting left tackle job. Malik Carney provides the premier rush end that the team was missing, while Taylor Powell<\/a> shores up the backup quarterback job.<\/p>\n

Lost on nobody was the fact that five of those additions came directly from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats \u2014 the team that Hervey managed prior to his return to Edmonton. He helped install some of the pieces that allowed the Tabbies to finish first in the East Division last year and has now leveraged his trademark frankness<\/a> to lure a portion out West.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never take players. Players choose, let me start by saying that. Players have a choice in this process. Players can stay, they can go elsewhere,\u201d Hervey said. \u201cI think the process is that we kind of establish ourselves as people that the players know that they can trust. We don\u2019t B.S. the guys; we\u2019re never gonna do that. Sometimes you\u2019re not gonna like everything that is said, but when you walk away, at least from a conversation with me and my crew, you\u2019re going to know that you\u2019re getting the truth. Can\u2019t speak for everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t hurt the trust that Hervey\u2019s blunt assessments are often accompanied by a thick stack of bills. Even with this year\u2019s more refined approach to free agency, the Elks made Carney the highest-paid American defensive player in the salary cap era<\/a> and shelled out to make Woodmansey the top-earning offensive lineman in the CFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou talk to those guys about their decisions that they\u2019ve made. I imagine that money plays a big part in it as well, and you guys know I\u2019m not afraid to spend it,\u201d Hervey chuckled. \u201cI\u2019m okay with whatever the decisions are, but those guys are here with us, and I\u2019m fired up about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While excitement is warranted, it remains to be seen just how high Edmonton can rise now that it has been thoroughly de-stinkified<\/a> \u2014 at least in Hervey\u2019s estimation. The team\u2019s core is compelling, gelling, and they have found a franchise QB in Cody Fajardo, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that the organization hasn\u2019t posted a winning record since 2017 or made the postseason since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want nothing more than to win here again and again and again, but we\u2019ve got to start from where we are. Let\u2019s make certain that we realize where we are,\u201d the GM said. \u201cWe were on the outside looking in, and we\u2019re knocking at the door. Our expectation is that we open the door, we survey the land, and then we kick the asses of the people in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what does that mean for the Elks in 2026? Only good things, according to the man in charge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectation is to make the playoffs. The expectation is to compete for championships. We\u2019re not doing this to have press conferences to lose,\u201d Hervey cracked. \u201cAm I going to make a prediction in front of you? Absolutely not. But I will say that our team will be better. I think that\u2019s fair to say.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Screengrab courtesy: Edmonton Elks Ed Hervey has a well-established reputation as a press conference curmudgeon, but it seems…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,50478,181495,192884,49,48,7028,521,522,520,181496,13417,23752,77213,527,14108,180621,181502,2002,69897,82,171513],"class_list":{"0":"post-474926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-3down","9":"tag-3downnation","10":"tag-austin-mack","11":"tag-brendan-bordner","12":"tag-brendan-oleary-orange","13":"tag-ca","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canadian","16":"tag-canadian-football-league","17":"tag-canadianfootballleague","18":"tag-cfl","19":"tag-coulter-woodmansey","20":"tag-ed-hervey","21":"tag-edmonton","22":"tag-elks","23":"tag-football","24":"tag-free-agency","25":"tag-joe-robustelli","26":"tag-jordan-murray","27":"tag-league","28":"tag-malik-carney","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-taylor-powell"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}