NHL Commissioner GARY BETTMAN tops this year's "Power 50" list of Canadian sports figures as ranked by the GLOBE & MAIL, and the paper's Eric Duhatschek writes Bettman is “nothing if not stubbornly convinced of the rightness of his own position," and he was convinced following the league’s lockout that its “ultra-loyal fans would return, no matter what." Now, some “two-thirds of the way through the lockout-shortened 48-game season, it looks as though he will be proved right.” It is Bettman’s “involvement in the lockout -- and its eventual resolution -- plus a laundry list of the things that remain on his personal to-do list in its aftermath that put him into the No.1 spot.” The full list is below (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/26).
| RANK | EXEC |
| 1 | NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman |
| 2 | Rogers Communications President & CEO Nadir Mohamed/Bell Canada President & CEO George Cope |
| 3 | Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut |
| 4 | Blue Jays President & CEO Paul Beeston/Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos |
| 5 | CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon |
| 6 | Rogers Media President Keith Pelley |
| 7 | Hockey HOFer Ken Dryden/St. Michael's College School Learning Enrichment Dir Barbara Csenge |
| 8 | Penguins C Sidney Crosby |
| 9 | Flames co-Owner Murray Edwards |
| 10 | CBC Exec VP/English Services Kirstine Stewart |
| 11 | Quebecor Media President & CEO Pierre-Karl Peladeau |
| 12 | CTV President of Sports & Exec VP/Programming Phil King |
| 13 | Lightning VP & GM Steve Yzerman |
| 14 | NHL COO John Collins |
| 15 | UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre |
| 16 | NHL Jets co-Owners Mark Chipman/David Thomson |
| 17 | Soccer player Christine Sinclair |
| 18 | Hudson's Bay Co. President Bonnie Brooks/Royal Bank of Canada President & CEO Gordon Nixon/Canadian Tire Co. President & CEO Stephen Wetmore |
| 19 | IMG Canada VP Peter Sisam |
| 20 | Oilers Owner Daryl Katz |
| 21 | Molson Coors President & CEO Peter Swinburn |
| 22 | Ontario Hockey League Commissioner & Canada Hockey League President David Branch |
| 23 | Scotiabank CEO Richard Waugh |
| 24 | Canadiens Owner Geoff Molson |
| 25 | Olympic wrestler Carol Huynh |
| 26 | Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis |
| 27 | Own the Podium CEO Anne Merklinger |
| 28 | Former Olympic speedskater Clara Hughes |
| 29 | Former Olympic skier Steve Podborski |
| 30 | CBC's Don Cherry |
| 31 | Reds 1B Joey Votto |
| 32 | NHLPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr |
| 33 | Tennis player Milos Raonic |
| 34 | Blue Jays' starting rotation |
| 35 | Raptors President & GM Bryan Colangelo |
| 36 | CAA hockey agents Pat Brisson/JP Barry |
| 37 | Hockey Canada President & CEO Bob Nicholson |
| 38 | Canucks President & GM Mike Gillis |
| 39 | Doping Control Laboratory Dir Christiane Ayotte |
| 40 | Cyclist Ryder Hesjedal |
| 41 | MLS Impact President Joey Saputo/Toronto FC President & GM Kevin Payne/Whitecaps Owner Greg Kerfoot |
| 42 | Canucks co-Owner & Chair Francesco Aquilini |
| 43 | OSEG Sports Properties President Jeff Hunt |
| 44 | NHL Senior VP/Integrated Marketing Susan Cohig |
| 45 | Hockey HOFer Wayne Gretzky |
| 46 | Sports psychologist Kimberley Amirault-Ryan |
| 47 | RDS President Gerry Frappier |
| 48 | Former tennis player Rebecca Marino |
| 49 | CFL B.C. Lions and Argonauts Owner David Braley |
| 50 | High school basketball player Andrew Wiggins |
