Major news is out on who the next NHL commissioner is going to be
The question of who replaces Gary Bettman finally has a name attached to it, and it's the one closest to the throne.
Chris Johnston laid out the succession picture this week. He could see the job going to deputy commissioner Bill Daly, but only for a shorter window.
Not a decades-long reign. A bridge. Someone to steady the ship while the league figures out its real long-term answer.
Then comes the interesting part. Johnston sees the NHL eventually hunting for the next bright executive, even poaching one from another league.
Or, failing that, finding the next up-and-comer and handing them the keys to the whole sport.
Johnston's full comments read like a man mapping a transition the league hasn't announced yet, which is exactly when these conversations start.
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The NHL's next commissioner could come from outside hockey
The league has run on continuity for a long time. Promoting Daly fits that DNA perfectly. He knows every file, every owner, every landmine.
Going outside hockey for a big-swing hire is the opposite instinct. It's the league admitting it wants fresh thinking instead of more of the same.
Here's the logic behind the two-step plan, and it's sound. You don't replace an era with a rookie on day one. You install a known quantity, then take your time on the franchise hire.
It's the same move a smart team makes with an interim coach. Stabilize first, then chase the name that actually moves the needle.
The risk is that bridge leaders have a habit of becoming permanent. Comfortable is easy. Ambitious is hard. Plenty of organizations settle for the safe option and never make the bold one.
None of this comes with a timeline, and nobody should pretend it does. Johnston is reading the field, not announcing a date.
But the succession clock is real, even when nobody's watching it tick. Whenever that day arrives, the NHL's choice will say everything about where it thinks the sport is headed.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||