NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is the longest-tenured chief executive across all North American professional sports leagues all time at 32 years, but his

Bettman says he hasn't given the Board of Governors a timeline, but the executive committee is in a formal process of finding a successor.

As you may have seen, Gary Bettman is preparing for his retirement. The NHL commissioner, as Michael Russo and Chris Johnston from The Athletic inform us, is quietly starting to think about when he will retire.

At 72, Gary Bettman is in no rush to step into retirement. But the NHL has started taking steps to creating a suitable succession plan for when that day comes.

Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said that the exec committee of the NHL BOG has begun planning for Commissioner Gary Bettman’s retirement in 'a couple years' and has started the process of finding a successor for the longest-tenured commissioner in North American sports.

The NHL has been led by Gary Bettman for more than three decades since he was appointed as the Commissioner of the league in 1993. The 72-year-old executive has shepherded the game of hockey through multiple lockouts and sweeping changes to the sport on a national and international level.

The Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid have put some pressure on the NHL to improve officiating, but one media member wants to go further by relieving Gary Bettman of his duties as commissioner.

Ladies and gentlemen, the day that we’ve all waited for has finally come. Well, maybe not exactly yet, but the day is coming. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reportedly informed the NHL’s Board of Governor’s his plans for retirement and will walk away from the sport “in a couple years.