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NHL Notebook: Bettman succession plan begins to take shape
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Lane Golden
Jun 2, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 2, 2026, 17:19 EDT
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has begun laying a framework for his succession after over three decades on the job.
This, according to Elliotte Friedman, who reported that details of the succession plan have been taking shape behind the scenes as Bettman plans for his eventual resignation from the role.
The timeline for his retirement is currently uncertain, as the 74-year-old approaches his 34th anniversary as commissioner. Bettman gave his annual Stanley Cup State of the Union on Tuesday afternoon, partially shooting down the rumours.
“Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated,” said Bettman.
Bettman originally took over as commissioner on Feb. 1, 1993, at just 40 years old. He had served as the NBA’s senior vice president and general counsel during the Michael Jordan era boom.
The early years of his NHL tenure were characterized by rapid change. The league expanded from 24 to 30 teams over his first eight years, with all six new teams coming from markets south of the Canadian border. In the late 2010s, the league added two more franchises, including this year’s Western Conference Champion, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Seattle Kraken.
In December, Bettman announced that the NHL’s revenue reached $6.8 billion in 2025, a monumental increase from the league’s pre-Bettman-era revenues.
The NHL has experienced three lockouts during Bettman’s career. The first one came in 1994-95, resulting in a 53-game shortened season. In 2004-05, a labour dispute wiped out the entire season and paved the way for the salary-cap era. The final lockout in 2012 lasted from September until January, but a 48-game season was salvaged.
Bettman is currently the longest-serving commissioner in the four major professional sports leagues across North America.

Canucks hire Manny Malhotra as new head coach

The Vancouver Canucks’ new management group, led by general manager Ryan Johnson, and co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin, have made their first major move, hiring Manny Malhotra as the 23rd head coach in franchise history.
Malhotra, 46, was a former teammate of the Sedins with the Canucks for three seasons in the early 2010s. He went into coaching after retirement and spent the past two seasons as the bench boss of the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He led the team to a Calder Cup Championship in 2025 and will now step into an NHL coaching job for the first time.
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed Malhotra’s fit as the Canucks’ head coach.
Tyler Yaremchuk: This is a marriage that makes tons of sense on a whole bunch of levels here, Hutts. One, Ryan Johnson is the new GM in Vancouver, and Johnson and Malhotra were the minds behind the Calder Cup championship for Vancouver’s AHL team down in Abbotsford a couple of years ago, where Malhotra spent the last two seasons as a head coach there. Also, remember, the Sedins are running the ship now in Vancouver, and they were obviously teammates with Manny Malhotra, so this makes sense on a whole bunch of levels here, Hutts.
Carter Hutton: I think the alignment of RJ and him is important. They have the same goals, they have the same ideas when they talk about leadership and culture and running the team in an organization that seems a little bit discombobulated in the last few years. I think that’s an important factor, and he has that built relationship. The other thing, for me, is he has won a championship with some of these guys, I think that’s important.
Malhotra and the Canucks will look to bounce back from a last-place finish in the NHL standings in 2025-26.

Predators hire former Avalanche GM, Chris MacFarland

The Nashville Predators have hired Chris MacFarland as their new general manager and president of hockey operations, the club announced Tuesday morning. MacFarland had served as general manager of the Colorado Avalanche for four seasons, following their 2022 Stanley Cup Championship.“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Predators majority owner Bill Haslam said. “We conducted an exhaustive search and were able to meet with several very qualified and impressive candidates, but all along, we were hopeful to interview Chris. He turned out to be a perfect fit for us – just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.”
MacFarland has made substantial moves during his Avalanche tenure in his pursuit of bringing the Avalanche another Stanley Cup. Last January, he negotiated his boldest deal, trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas, Jack Drury and draft picks. Additionally, he transformed the Avalanche’s goalie depth chart, replacing Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen with Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood through a series of moves.
This season, MacFarland’s Avalanche had their best regular season in franchise history, 55-16-11 en route to a Presidents’ Trophy. They continued their dominance in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and defeating the Minnesota Wild in five games. In the Western Conference Final, they suffered a shocking defeat against the Vegas Golden Knights, losing a four-game sweep.
Meanwhile, the Predators, who missed the playoffs by four points this season, had a vacant GM position after Barry Trotz announced his intention to step down from the role back in January.
The team missed the playoffs back-to-back seasons after Trotz’s flurry of big-ticket free agent signings that included Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, and Steven Stamkos.

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