Gil Stein obit

Gil Stein dies at 94, was final president in NHL history

Headed League when Ducks, Panthers added through expansion

 

He was not on the list.

Gil Stein, a longtime NHL executive who served briefly as the fifth and final president in League history, died Thursday. He was 94.

Stein was the president and CEO of the NHL from June 1992 to July 1993, at a time when the League added the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers as expansion teams.

"The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Gil Stein, a distinguished attorney and advocate for the game who served as the fifth and final NHL President," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "A proud Philadelphian, Stein served as the city's Deputy District Attorney before joining the Flyers' organization and ultimately becoming the Club's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He went on to spend 15 years as the NHL's Vice President and General Counsel before taking over as League President in 1992. In 1993, Stein was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

"We send our deepest condolences to his family, his many friends and all throughout the game who worked with him."

Born Jan. 11, 1928, Stein attended Temple University in his hometown of Philadelphia before earning a law degree from Boston University in 1952. He passed the bar and worked for the city of Philadelphia in several roles before joining the local law firm of Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley. While there, he did work on behalf of the Philadelphia Flyers, who hired him as executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1976.

One year later, Stein moved to the NHL office in New York, where he spent 15 years as vice president and general counsel under President John Ziegler. When Ziegler left in 1992, Stein was named the NHL's fifth president; however, the League hired a search firm at the same time Stein's appointment was announced.

By the end of 1992, the Board of Governors had selected Gary Bettman to serve as the NHL's first commissioner. Bettman took office on Feb. 1, 1993. Stein served as an adviser for a short time before retiring from the League in October 1993.

"The Philadelphia Flyers are mourning the passing of Philadelphia native and former team executive Gil Stein," The Flyers said in a statement. "After a career in public service here in Philadelphia, Gil served the Flyers organization in key roles before moving on to the National Hockey League, where he spent 15 years as an executive and became NHL President from 1992-93. The Flyers organization extends our thoughts and prayers to the Stein family."

Stein was the recipient of the 1993 Lester Patrick Trophy for Outstanding Service to Hockey in the United States.

After his departure from the NHL, Stein served in Washington as special counsel to the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, and subsequently as special assistant to Sen. Arlen Specter. Beginning in 2000, he taught sports law as an adjunct professor at Villanova University.