Capitals owner Ted Leonsis was unanimously elected chairman of the NHL’s Board of Governors on Tuesday, giving him the highest leadership position a league owner can have. He replaced Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who stepped down after 19 years in the role.
Calgary Flames owner Murray Edwards was voted to be Leonsis’ vice chairman. They will work with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly, on an array of league-wide matters, including its upcoming media rights deal and possible expansion.
“I’m more strategy, big picture, vision, new media; Murray is operations, finance,” Leonsis told reporters Tuesday. “He reads the minutes of the reports. He understands the balance sheets. In my 28 years, the league has grown so dramatically. … Bill and Gary are a team. Murray and I and the executive committee are a team, and I think we have the opportunity to continue to have the tree grow to heaven.”
Leonsis, 69, brings a very different approach to the position compared to his predecessor. Jacobs rarely met with the media and wasn’t especially front-facing. Leonsis is among the most accessible owners in sports, including interacting with fans on social media.
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“Ted Leonsis’ entrepreneurial instincts and forward-thinking approach have helped shape the direction of our league for more than two decades,” Bettman said. “Since joining the board of governors, Ted has been an invaluable leader and a thoughtful voice in our boardroom, bringing to our discussions the same innovative spirit he has poured into Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
“I am excited to work alongside him in this new capacity as we continue to build on the remarkable momentum of our league.”
Leonsis steps into the role with a few major tasks on his radar. The league has already started preparing for the 74-year old Bettman — the longest-tenured commissioner in North American professional sports as he enters his 34th season running the league — to retire, and Leonsis will likely play a major role in picking his successor.
“We haven’t been talking about succession specifically here, but it’s the most important job for a board of directors of a public company,” Leonsis said Tuesday.
The NHL is also looking into potential expansion, with Phoenix, Atlanta, Austin and Houston all under consideration. And Leonsis will also have a say in the league’s new U.S. media rights deal, which needs to be finalized before the 2028-29 season starts.
“It’s not about TV anymore,” Leonsis said. “It’s about global digital and finding the next generation of big important partners. … It’s still a huge part of our revenue base and is very, very strategic for us.”
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