Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold has sparked significant speculation about NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s future, suggesting the league is preparing for Bettman’s retirement within “a couple years.”
Speaking on The Sick Podcast and later elaborating with The Athletic on Thursday, Leipold revealed that the NHL’s executive committee has begun laying the groundwork for a succession plan.
“The fact that Gary is going to be retiring," Leipold said regarding the "concern" among league owners, "that’s a couple years down the road, and we’re doing the planning now."
Leipold said that the transition process is already underway and emphasized the importance of finding a successor who can continue the growth and stability of the NHL.
"How are we going to get anybody as good as Gary?" Leipold said. "The answer is we’re not. So who’s going to be the second best person, and is that going to be good enough?"
Bettman has served as the NHL commissioner since 1993 but he's not made any official announcement regarding his retirement.
On Thursday, following Leipold's comments, Bettman clarified that no timeline has been set for his departure.
"Bettman, 72, said he has not decided when to retire but did bring his eventual retirement up to the executive committee for the first time in advance of last month’s Board of Governors meeting," 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, per The Athletic.
Under Bettman’s leadership, the NHL has expanded from 24 to 32 teams and turned into a $7 billion per year organization while navigating four work stoppages and a lockout that removed the 2004–05 season from the history books.
“I just wanted to put it on their radar,” Bettman told The Athletic. “I’m not wired to be retired.”
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