The Hockey News released their annual Top 100 “People of Power and Influence,” and NHL Commissioner GARY BETTMAN comes in at No. 1. He is followed by NHLPA Exec Dir MARTY WALSH, NHL Deputy Commissioner BILL DALY, Bruins owner JEREMY JACOBS and Oilers C CONNOR MCDAVID. Listed below are the top 25 people named to the top 100 list (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1/2 issue).
GROWING THE GAME: In a Q&A, Bettman said that there are two reasons why the hockey audience has “shifted” as the audience “comes no matter who the teams are.” Bettman said first, it is “the game” being “entertaining.” Second, Bettman said it is “the fact that we’re more widely distributed and getting better coverage, both in Canada and the U.S., than we ever did before. But we would be kidding ourselves if we said, ‘Well, the ratings wouldn’t even be better if you had big markets” (THE HOCKEY NEWS, 1/2 issue).
THE BEST OF THE REST: THE HOCKEY NEWS also includes the most influential individuals in certain “silos.” Here is the top person in each silo:
- NHL Owners: Bruins' Jeremy Jacobs
- Players and Former Players: Oilers' Connor McDavid
- NHL Execs: Commissioner Gary Bettman
- NHL Operations: NHL SVP/Dir of Officiating STEPHEN WALKOM
- NHLPA Execs: Exec Dir Marty Walsh
- NHL Team Business Execs: Red Wings CEO & Governor CHRIS ILITCH
- NHL Team Hockey Ops Execs: Avalanche President of Hockey Operations JOE SAKIC
- NHL GMs: Blues' DOUG ARMSTRONG
- NHL Coaches: Golden Knights' BRUCE CASSIDY
- Non-NHL Hockey Execs: IIHF President LUC TARDIF
- Hockey Industry Execs: ESPN President JIMMY PITARO
- Agents: Newport Sports’ DON MEEHAN
- Media: TSN’s RICK WESTHEAD
- Women’s Hockey: PWHL SVP/Hockey Operations JAYNA HEFFORD
