NHLPA Exec Dir DONALD FEHR tops the Globe and Mail’s Power 50 for '12 list "because of the significance accorded negotiations on a new" CBA with the NHL and because his reputation suggests NHL Commissioner GARY BETTMAN “might not want to assume any more that he is the brightest guy in the room,” according to Jeff Blair of the GLOBE & MAIL. Fehr, who led the MLBPA for 23 years, has “made the link between baseball’s labour peace and the absence of a salary cap, suggesting to many that he will push for an overhauled system of revenue sharing and a luxury tax in the NHL.” Blair noted that “will be a tough sell to owners.” But what “might be an easier sell … is the notion of a World Cup of hockey, modelled on the joint partnership that resulted in the World Baseball Classic.” Below is Globe & Mail’s Power 50 List, which “ranks players with the influence, and the desire, to affect sport in Canada" during '12 (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/7).
| RANK | EXEC |
| 1 | NHLPA Exec Dir Don Fehr |
| 2 | NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman |
| 3 | Concussion Experts |
| 4 | Hockey HOFer Ken Dryden |
| 5 | COC President Marcel Aubut |
| 6 | WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster |
| 7 | NHL VP/Player Safety & Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan |
| 8 | CTV President of Sports & Exec VP/Programming Phil King/
Bell Canada President & CEO George Cope |
| 9 | Rogers Media President Keith Pelley/
Rogers Communications President & CEO Nadir Mohamed |
| 10 | Quebecor Media President & CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau |
| 11 | Flames co-Owner Murray Edwards |
| 12 | Penguins C Sidney Crosby |
| 13 | Dir of Doping Control Laboratory Christiane Ayotte |
| 14 | Canadiens Owner Geoff Molson |
| 15 | Canucks Owner Francesco Aquilini |
| 16 | CFL B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts Owner David Braley |
| 17 | CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon |
| 18 | Canadian athletic nonprofit organization B2ten |
| 19 | Canadian Olympic Gold Medal-winning Speedskater Clara Hughes |
| 20 | Golf Canada Exec Dir & CEO Scott Simmons |
| 21 | Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs/NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly |
| 22 | Tennis Canada CEO Michael Downey |
| 23 | Blue Jays President & CEO Paul Beeston/Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos |
| 24 | IIHF Ambassador and Mentor Program Coordinator Hayley Wickenheiser |
| 25 | Oilers Owner Daryl Katz |
| 26 | Own the Podium CEO Anne Merklinger |
| 27 | '12 Canadian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Mark Tewksbury |
| 28 | CBC Exec Dir of Sports Properties Jeff Orridge |
| 29 | CBC hockey analyst Don Cherry |
| 30 | RBC Chief Brand & Communications Officer Jim Little |
| 31 | Flames RW Jarome Iginla |
| 32 | Maple Leafs President & GM Brian Burke |
| 33 | F1 Canadian Grand Prix Promoter and
Octane Motorsports Events President & CEO Francois Dumontier |
| 34 | MLS Impact President Joey Saputo/MLS Whitecap's co-Owner Jeff Mallett |
| 35 | NHL Jets co-Owner Mark Chipman |
| 36 | Univ. of Ottawa Vice Dean & Professor Blaine Hoshizaki |
| 37 | Woodbine Entertainment Group CEO Nick Eaves |
| 38 | Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Brian Day/'10 Vancouver Olympic Games Chief Medical
Officer Dr. Jack Taunton/Raptors Dir of Sports Science Alex McKechnie |
| 39 | CFL Montreal Alouettes QB Anthony Cavillo |
| 40 | Hockey Canada President & CEO Bob Nicholson |
| 41 | Ontario Hockey League Commissioner &
Canada Hockey League President David Branch |
| 42 | Raptors President & GM Bryan Colangelo |
| 43 | UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre |
| 44 | Border Ladner Gervais attorney and former CFL Commissioner Doug Mitchell |
| 45 | Canadian Olympic boxer Mary Spencer |
| 46 | Canadian Senator (B.C.) and former Gold Medal-winning skier Nancy Greene-Raine |
| 47 | Former Canadian men's national basketball team coach Ken Shields |
| 48 | Suns G and MLS Whitecaps investor Steve Nash |
| 49 | MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum |
| 50 | Former NHLer Theo Fleury |
