The Hockey Hall of Fame announced today that Lanny McDonald will become their new Chair of the Board of Directors. The announcement comes after the unexpected passing of former chair and long-time head coach, Pat Quinn, in November.
Drafted, 4th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1973 he went on to score exactly 500 goals and 1,006 points for the Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, and Calgary Flames in his 17 year career. He was considered to be one of the greatest leaders of his generation, which included helping establish the Flames in Calgary after the team moved from Atlanta. It was there that he would win his, and Calgary’s, only Stanley Cup in his final season in 1989. Lanny was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 in the Player’s Category.
The Board of Directors for the Hockey Hall of Fame is the group of people who are in charge of everything that the Hall of Fame does. Lanny’s role as Chair of that board will be to speak for that group and to make decisions based on what is best for the Hall of Fame. “I am thrilled and honoured for this opportunity to contribute at the Board level in support of the best sports hall of fame and museum in the world,” said McDonald per the release by Kelly Masse of the Hockey Hall of Fame. “The Hockey Hall of Fame is a very special place to me, as it is to hockey fans of all ages, and having served on the Selection Committee under the stewardship of Jim Gregory, Bill Hay, Pat Quinn and John Davidson, I appreciate the tremendous effort that goes into this institution celebrated for honouring excellence in the game of hockey.”
Lanny lifting the cup for the first and only time in his 17 year career
Along with his playing career, Mr. McDonald was deeply involved with the management structure of the Flames, where he would be on committees for their leaders in hockey operations as well as becoming an executive assistant to hockey operations, a post he would hold until 2003. He also has done a great deal for Hockey Canada as he was the General Manager for the 2001 and 2002 Canadian squads at the IIHF World Championships, and returning in 2004 as the Director of Player Personnel for Canada at the World Championship.
Lanny McDonald will take over the role as of July 1st 2015. He will still serve as a member of Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee for this upcoming Induction (2015), where voting will take place on June 28th and 29th. The announcement will take place on June 29th, 2015.
The Hockey Hall of Fame also announced today that Brian Burke, Scotty Bowman, David Branch, Marc de Foy, Mike Gartner, and Anders Hedberg were re-appointed to serve another three years (2015, 2016, 2017) as part of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The Selection Committees role is to nominate and appoint members to the Hockey Hall of Fame based on the current by-laws.
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