Gartner to succeed McDonald as HHOF board chair
Published
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced Monday that Mike Gartner will be appointed to succeed Chair of the Board Lanny McDonald at the end of his 10-year term limit next June.
Starting October 1, Gartner will assume the role of Chair-elect to support transitional matters and serve on the search committee for the recruitment of a new President and CEO.
“I am thrilled to pass the torch to Mike whose stature as an Honoured Member will bring continuity and strong leadership during this transitional period for the Hockey Hall of Fame,” said McDonald in a statement. “His experience and perspective in the business of hockey and longtime service on the Selection Committee will be a tremendous asset to the Board.”
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001, Gartner played 19 seasons in the NHL accumulating 708 goals, 627 assists and 1,335 points, and in 2017 he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in the League's 100-year history. He served as President of the NHLPA from 1996 until his playing career retirement in 1998. Later, as Director, Business Relations, he represented the NHLPA on the Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors, from 2006 to 2009. In 2009, he was appointed to the Selection Committee and has served as its Chair for the past three years.
“Lanny has been an incredible leader for everyone involved with the Hockey Hall of Fame over the past ten years,” said Gartner in a statement. “I look forward to continuing his excellent work carrying out the Hall's mission of both honouring individuals who have brought special distinction to the game while preserving and telling the story of hockey’s rich history.”
McDonald, of Hanna, Alta., had 500 goals and 506 assists in 1,111 games over 17 NHL seasons for the Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames.
The forward was co-captain of the Flames and the squad's emotional leader when Calgary won the Stanley Cup in 1989.
McDonald was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. He was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022.