Gary Bettman's successor has reportedly been named and owners are divided

Bill Daly has real support to become the NHL's next commissioner, but the owners aren't all reading from the same page.

Elliotte Friedman laid out the divide on 32 Thoughts. There's a willingness to hand Daly the top job, but the room isn't unanimous.

"There's some owners who would like to have a search," Friedman said. "There are other owners who are like, he deserves the promotion."

That's the whole tension in one quote. Reward the loyal deputy, or open the doors and shop around.

This builds on what's already out there. Chris Johnston recently floated Daly as a possible bridge before the league hunts for its next big executive.

Friedman's reporting fills in the politics underneath that idea, showing the boardroom isn't settled.

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A formal search would open the door to outside candidates

Here's why the search-versus-promote question matters so much. They lead to completely different futures for the league.

Promoting Daly is the continuity play. He knows every owner, every file, every pressure point. The transition would be smooth and quiet, with no learning curve.

A formal search is the opposite instinct. It invites outside candidates, maybe even a star executive from another league, and a fresh way of running the sport.

Both camps have a fair point, which is exactly why this drags. Continuity feels safe. A search feels ambitious. Owners rarely agree on which one they want.

It's a bit like a family business deciding whether to hand the keys to the trusted second-in-command or bring in an outsider to shake things up. Both choices carry real risk.

Here's my read: the deserves-the-promotion camp usually wins these. Boards lean toward the known quantity when the alternative is a long, public search with no guarantee of a better result.

The catch is that bridge leaders have a way of becoming permanent. If Daly takes over and steadies the ship, the appetite for that big outside hire tends to fade.

None of this comes with a timeline, and nobody should pretend it does. Friedman is mapping the politics, not announcing a date.

But the succession question is clearly live behind closed doors. Whether the league rewards Daly or rolls the dice on a search will shape the NHL for a generation.

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