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INDEPTH: NHL LABOUR STRIFE > WHO'S WHO > TEAM OWNERS/EXECUTIVES

Lou Lamoriello
New Jersey Devils president and general manager
Lamoriello is one of the first people Bettman calls when he wants to gauge the reaction to something he's planning to do.
Lamoriello is well respected in the league offices for his no-nonsense and business-like approach to the game.
Notorious for his hardball stance when negotiating new contracts with players. Over the years several of his players have held out in an effort to extract better deals from Lamoriello. Usually, the patient Devils GM has come out on top.
Has built a Devils team that is a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
Despite being the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils get poor fan support, and are believed to be in financial trouble. Reports circulated at the end of November 2002 that the Devils needed investors to pump in as much as $50 million so that the team could pay its bills and cover projected losses.


Wayne Gretzky
Phoenix Coyotes co-owner
Retired from the game nearly five years ago. Joined a Steve Ellman-led group that bought the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000. Gretzky is the team's managing partner in charge of hockey operations.
Gretzky was very involved in PA issues as a player in 1992, and involved to a lesser degree in the 1994 lockout. He may be a key player if there is a work stoppage in 2004.
He has a very good relationship with Bettman and the commissioner loves having the game's greatest player in his corner.
The Coyotes have struggled financially since moving from Winnipeg in 1996. The team had a terrible lease at their old arena and got very little of the revenue derived from concessions, sponsorships and non-hockey events at the building.
On Dec. 27, 2003, the Coyotes started playing in their new home, Glendale Arena, paid for with $180 million in public funding. The city will own the arena, but the team will get all of the revenue from the facility for the next 30 years. The team's rent will be among the lowest in the league.


Mario Lemieux
Pittsburgh Penguins owner and player
As both the Penguins owner and best player, Lemieux will have a unique perspective on the labour negotiations.
Lemieux led a group of investors that paid $85 million for the bankrupt franchise. He gained control of the team in September 1999.
Lemieux was owed $32.5 million by the team when he retired. He agreed to put $20 million into the failing franchise while forgiving $7.5 million in deferred salary payments. He received a $5-million lump sum payment from former co-owner Roger Marino.
Lemieux has been very vocal about the troubles facing the Penguins on and off the ice.
Lemieux has complained that Mellon Arena is antiquated and has lobbied Pittsburgh's municipal government to help with the construction of a new building. So far local officials have been reluctant.
In recent years, the cash-strapped team has gutted most of its high-priced talent. Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka have all been traded for less-expensive young players.


Jeremy Jacobs
Boston Bruins owner
Is in his 28th season as owner of the Boston Bruins. Only Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz has been an NHL owner longer.
Jacobs made his money as Chairman & CEO of Delaware North Companies Inc. — one of the world's leading food service/recreational and hospitality management companies. The company has the concession rights for many airports and professional sport venues.
Jacobs and the Bruins franchise have a reputation of being tight with money.
Jacobs is a member of the NHL's executive committee. He's also the chairman of the audit-finance committee that oversees league spending.
Jacobs is one of the first calls Bettman makes when looking for advice on league issues. Bettman trusts Jacobs' instincts.


Kevin Lowe
Edmonton Oilers general manager
Will be one of the voices of Canadian, small-market teams.
The Oilers depend on the NHL's equalization plan for Canadian franchises.
The club lost about $2 million US last season and is expected to lose another $1.5 million this year.
Despite a small-market budget, Lowe's Oilers are always entertaining and competitive.
Lowe has caught Bettman's attention for his thrifty ways.
Was the only new appointee to the influential GM executive committee, which plots the future of the game on the ice.


Harley Hotchkiss
Calgary Flames part-owner and chairman, NHL board of governors
Heads the group that owns the Flames.
Was elected chairman of the NHL board of governors in 1995 and re-elected in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Hotchkiss has a bead on Canadian teams and the economic forces they battle and is close to Bettman.
The Flames have been the NHL's poor cousin in recent years, largely due to the low Canadian dollar.
Like the Oilers, the Flames depended on the NHL's equalization plan for Canadian franchises. Calgary received roughly $3 million from the fund last season.
According to files obtained by the Calgary Sun in March 2002, the Flames lost $6.5 million last season and $6.5 million the year before as well.
Forbes Magazine ranked Flames 28th out of 30 NHL teams in value at $97 million US.


Ed Snider
Philadelphia Flyers owner
He founded the Philadelphia Flyers 1966.
He was the driving force behind the building of the Flyers' home arena, the Spectrum. In 1974, Snider created Spectacor as a management company to oversee the Flyers and the Spectrum. Over the next 20 years, Spectacor grew to be a national force in sports and entertainment.
In 1996, Snider built the First Union Center, a $210 million state-of-the-art arena.
That same year, Snider merged Spectacor into Comcast Corporation, creating Comcast-Spectacor. The new venture initially consisted of the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, First Union Center, First Union Spectrum, and Philadelphia Phantoms. Comcast-Spectacor then joined with the Philadelphia Phillies to form Comcast SportsNet, one of the highest rated regional sports networks in the country.
Forbes Magazine ranks the Flyers as the fourth most-valuable franchise in the league with an overall value of $252 million US. Only the New York Rangers, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs are more valuable, according to the magazine.
Snider also has a seat on the powerful audit-finance committee.
He also has Bettman's ear because he's the second-longest serving member on the board of governors.


Glen Sather
New York Rangers president and general manager
Sather is a close confidant of Bettman's and is respected around the league.
Sather was very vocal in the 1994 lockout and is likely to be even more so in 2004.
In 1994, he was part of the small-market Edmonton Oilers. This time around he's with the New York Rangers — the NHL's freest spenders.
The Rangers payroll was a league-high $69.2 million in 2002-03. They failed to make the playoffs.


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