NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is preparing to retire in “a couple years,” according to a team owner, and the league is in the process of finding a successor.
Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold revealed the development during a podcast interview when asked about the current state of the NHL, though Bettman has made no formal announcement of his plans.
“The fact that Gary is going to be retiring, you know, that’s a concerning factor,” Leipoid said on “The Sick Podcast” with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy. “There’s a lot of us who know how well Gary has been as a commissioner in this league, and what he’s done for all the teams and the players. It’s going to be a sad day when he’s not part of it.
“But you know, that’s a couple years down the road and we’re doing the planning now. We have to make sure we get it right when he leaves. Right now, that’s kind of the only thing that’s on the horizon.”
Bettman, 72, has been the NHL’s commissioner since February 1993. His tenure has been the longest in league history, surpassing Clarence Campbell, who was commissioner for 31 years from 1946–77.
Previously, Bettman spent 12 years in the NBA’s front office, eventually working his way up to the league’s general counsel and senior vice president. During his tenure, the NBA implemented the salary cap system that continues to be in place now.
He has not decided the exact timeline of his retirement, but did raise the eventuality to the NHL executive committee (of which Leipold is a member) during a meeting of the league’s Board of Governors in Florida, The Athletic reported.
“I raised the specter that at some point this is something the league is going to have to deal with because when you’re dealing with a CEO who has been doing this as long as I have, it’s a more complicated process,” Bettman said, via The Athletic. “But the only discussion that was had was with three-plus decades at this job, at some point the league is going to have to deal with the reality that I can’t do this forever.”
During his 32 years as NHL commissioner, the league has expanded from 24 teams to 32 and moved the league into warm-weather regions of the Southern and Western United States, including Dallas, Nashville and Las Vegas.
“The good news is, I have the energy and I have the passion. I love what I do and actually I enjoy doing what I’m doing probably more than I ever would enjoy retirement.”
