  Donald Fehr, who previously held the same position with the MLB Players' Association for 26 years until last December, will have to be approved by the full NHLPA membership to officially be installed. (REUTERS) |
TORONTO -- The NHL Players' Association announced Saturday that its executive board has accepted the recommendation to name Donald Fehr the new executive director.
Fehr, who previously held the same position with the MLB Players' Association for 26 years until last December, will have to be approved by the full NHLPA membership to officially be installed. Those votes are expected to take place during training camp and the first part of the regular season.
"The search committee is pleased that the executive board has endorsed our recommendation to select Don Fehr as our new executive director and we look forward to our fellow members voting on this important matter," said NHL defenseman Mathieu Schneider, who is on the search committee.
In the interim, Fehr will continue to assist the NHLPA as a consultant. The 62-year-old joined the MLBPA as its general counsel in 1977 prior to his extensive stint as the executive director.
Fehr has an abundance of history in labor negotiations, including playing an important role for the MLBPA during the strike in 1994-95 that saw the cancellation of the World Series. Should he be installed as the NHLPA executive director, he would likely play a big part in the league's upcoming labor talks.
