Dennis Hextall, who played in the NHL for 13 seasons, has been offered the post as commissioner of the International Hockey League, he and a league source confirmed Thursday.
League insiders declined to comment publicly, although multiple sources told The Journal Gazette that Hextall and Rob DeGagne, who played in the first incarnation of the IHL during the 1986-87 season, are the finalists for the position, open since June.
The new commissioner, who will replace Paul Pickard, is expected to be introduced next week.
Hextall, 66, played in the NHL for the New York Rangers, California Golden Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals, totaling 681 games as a left wing from 1968 to 1980.
He said he worked as an automotive manufacturing sales representative from 1980 to 2008, when he said the economic downturn cost him his job. He has since been consulting with youth hockey organizations, including the Michigan-based Victory AAA Hockey Club, and he’s president of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association, which raises charitable dollars through hockey functions.
The seven-team IHL has had an eventful summer, including the defection of one of its marquee franchises, the Kalamazoo Wings, which moved to the ECHL. More positively, there have been the additions of teams in Dayton and Moline, Ill.
“I think this (job) would be very good and I’m looking at this opportunity (with the IHL) as a way of giving back to hockey and having some fun,” Hextall said. “With this league, there’s an upside to it, and I’d like to be part of building it. It can be made into a financially strong and credible league.”
The IHL was re-formed in 2007, with members of the former United Hockey League, but the transition hasn’t been without its problems. The Flint Generals have had well-documented financial struggles and only recently were able to assure fans they’d play this season after restructuring their ownership. The Bloomington PrairieThunder and Muskegon Lumberjacks had financial problems of their own but have solidified things in the past year, after ownership changes.
“I think there are two things we need to look at (in the IHL),” Hextall said. “First, there’s the financial stability of the league. I know there were a couple franchises who were on the fringe (of folding). And then, I think the credibility of the league is another major thing. They’ve got to figure out exactly where everybody is going.
“You get those two things in place and I think what they’d like to see (as a league) is an expansion of up to eight to 10 teams. The big thing now is, with this economy, how do you create revenue for the current franchises?”
DeGagne, 44, is an insurance salesman based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He played for the Peoria Rivermen in the old IHL. He declined to comment, as did Komets president Michael Franke, head of the IHL’s Board of Governors.
