Shockwaves in the NHL as Gary Bettman Announces Retirement Plans
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been running the league since the mid-90s, and now in his 70s, he has revealed his future retirement plans.
What the hockey world's been waiting for: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman may retire throughout the next couple of years. Of course, nothing is official at this time.
Bettman's retirement date is still TBD
According to NHL insiders, Chris Johnston of TSN and Michael Russo of 'The Athletic, an unsuspecting hockey owner from Minnesota's own Craig Leipold let the cat out of the bag in a recent podcast.
"The executive committee of the NHL's Board of Governors has begun planning for Gary Bettman's retirement in a couple years and has started the process of finding a successor for the longest-tenured commissioner in North American sports, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said on a podcast Wednesday and clarified with greater detail during a phone call with The Athletic on Thursday.
Leipold said it would be a sad day when Bettman, commissioner for nearly 32 years, was not part of the league, but that's a couple years down the road and we're doing the planning now, and we have to make sure we get it right when he leaves.
Now we're going to transition to somebody else, and that should make us all a little concerned that we have to be certain we get the right person. It's a concern that I have that, 'How are we going to get anybody as good as Gary?' The answer is we're not. So who's going to be the second-best person, and is that going to be good enough?
Asked if the executive committee had begun the formal process of finding Bettman's successor, Leipold said: I would say that we have.
Leipold didn't realize, however, that Bettman had not formally announced his plans to retire."
Leipold said it would be a sad day when Bettman, commissioner for nearly 32 years, was not part of the league, but that's a couple years down the road and we're doing the planning now, and we have to make sure we get it right when he leaves.
Now we're going to transition to somebody else, and that should make us all a little concerned that we have to be certain we get the right person. It's a concern that I have that, 'How are we going to get anybody as good as Gary?' The answer is we're not. So who's going to be the second-best person, and is that going to be good enough?
Asked if the executive committee had begun the formal process of finding Bettman's successor, Leipold said: I would say that we have.
Leipold didn't realize, however, that Bettman had not formally announced his plans to retire."
Bettman has been commissioner of the league since 1993, leading a league expansion from 24 to 32 teams and insisting at every turn that the NHL needed to go into non-traditional U.S. markets.
On his watch, the league has grown into a $7 billion annual business, with franchise values now reaching billions.
While the timing of Bettman's exit isn't clear, it would appear that the NHL is taking steps in case he does retire.
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