The executive committee of the Board of Governors of the National Hockey League (NHL) has begun preparations for the retirement of commissioner Gary Bettman in a few years.
That’s what Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, himself a member of the aforementioned committee, suggested during an interview on The Sick Podcast / The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy.
“It’s a few years away and we have started planning to make sure we make the right decision when he leaves,” he said during his speech.
Invited to elaborate on his remarks by The Athletic media journalist Michael Russo, Leipold confided that he has certain concerns, since Bettman has held the position of commissioner for nearly 33 years and it will be, according to the Wild owner, difficult, if not impossible, replace.
“The truth is we’re not going to be able to find someone as good as Gary,” Leipold said, as quoted by Russo. You have to find the second, better qualified person and ask yourself if that will be enough.”
Speaking of the wolf, Bettman was also attending the game between Utah and the Wild, Thursday evening in Minnesota, and he was kind enough to have a chat with Russo in Leipold’s dressing room.
The main person concerned clarified that he has not circled a date for his retirement.
-“I recently raised the fact that at some point, the league will have to deal with this situation [ma retraite]because it is always more complicated as a process when a commissioner has assumed these functions for such a long period,” mentioned Bettman, 72 years old.
It is presumed that his right-hand man Bill Daly, 60, would be considered to replace him.
If Bettman is not unanimous in Canada, the commissioner made the NHL a multi-billion dollar company during his reign, in addition to having made hockey grow exponentially in the United States.
Bettman, who previously worked in the NBA, served as commissioner during three labor disputes, including a lockout that led to the complete cancellation of the 2004-05 season and the implementation of a salary cap.
“I just wanted this scenario [mon éventuel retraite] either on the radar [des membres du comité exécutif]explained Bettman, who said, however, that he did not provide any timetable. When you’ve lost the energy and passion, you have no choice but to think about it. But the good news is that I still have both. I love what I do and it’s probably something I’ll enjoy more than retirement. I’m not cut out for retirement.”
The League’s financial statements have improved considerably after the pandemic. In fact, the indices have never been so green, so much so that the salary cap could smash the $100 million mark within the next few years.
