Gartner ‘honored’ to earn role as next Hockey Hall of Fame chairman

Mike Gartner was barely “unemployed” at the Hockey Hall of Fame this past June when he was offered the shrine’s top job.

It took him very little time to accept it, both honored and delighted to take the reins.

Next June, Gartner will succeed Lanny McDonald as Hall of Fame chairman, the latter’s 10-year term coming to an end at that time.

It wasn’t a tough sell, Gartner jokes, the Class of 2001 Hall of Famer deeply flattered that the shrine would come calling.

The timing was perfect in many ways, McDonald and Gartner both reaching the end of their mandates.

Gartner’s 15-year term on the Hall’s selection committee ended with the June 2024 meeting to elect the class that will be inducted in Toronto on Nov. 11. He had been chairman of that committee since Jan. 1, 2022.

Mike Gartner and Lanny McDonald make calls to members of the Class of 2023 from the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Founders Room.

McDonald, a member of the Class of 1992, was named Hall chair in March 2015, voted by the board of directors to succeed the late Pat Quinn with a 10-year tenure that officially began that July 1.

With the end of his term on the horizon, McDonald could think of no one better for the role than Gartner. With Jeff Denomee, the Hall’s president and chief executive officer, he placed a midsummer call to Gartner to make the pitch.

“I said just how honored I was that they’d think of me to take the job and I’d seriously consider it,” said Gartner, whose 708 NHL goals during a 19-season career from 1979-98 rank him eighth all-time. “I had a whole bunch of questions, most of them about the time commitment necessary.”

He also had 627 assists with his five NHL teams, adding 43 goals and 50 assists in 122 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

There’s much to balance for Gartner and his wife, Colleen, parents of three and grandparents of five, with his business interests also part of the equation.

Mike Gartner (left) and Lanny McDonald flank Class of 2023 inductee Henrik Lundqvist during a ring presentation ceremony in the shrine’s Esso Great Hall.

Once he was comfortable with the Hall’s requirements, the 65-year-old was happy to sign on, eager to continue the work done by McDonald and by Denomee, who will retire next spring from the shrine’s top full-time staff job that he has held since 1998.

So Gartner will have plenty on his plate the next few months in his transitional role as chair-elect. He’ll be working with McDonald, the Hall’s board and a corporate headhunter to hire a new president/CEO, in addition to appointing a new selection committee chairman.

Gartner brings to his new job sharp insight as both a player and hockey executive. He served as president of the NHL Players’ Association during the final two years of his career and later worked for the NHLPA as their director of business development and represented the association on the Hall’s board from 2006-09.

In 2017 he was voted among the 100 Greatest NHL Players for the NHL’s first century. Gartner was appointed to the Hall’s selection committee in 2009, serving through this June.

Mike Gartner of Team Sundin looks on from the bench during the 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Gartner and McDonald served together on the selection committee, forging a deep bond as friends.

“Watching Lanny, getting to know him and his wife, Ardell, from a personal perspective, how he conducts himself… he’s been just an unbelievable ambassador for the game and the Hockey Hall of Fame in his position as chairman,” he said. “And honestly, he’s just the greatest person that you’re going to meet.”

Gartner sees no need to reinvent the wheel, having a firm grasp of what has gone on before him on McDonald’s watch and a keen awareness of the importance of the shrine as the showcase of hockey at all levels, from the birth of the sport through modern day with an eye on its future.

“The wise person coming in, and I hope I would consider myself wise, would look at the success that Lanny has had in the role of chairman with Jeff Denomee as president and CEO,” he said. “They’ve had tremendous success with the Hall. They brought us through the pandemic to our record years the last couple years.

Mike Gartner of the Washington Capitals skates during 1986 game action against the New Jersey Devils at Brendan Byrne Arena.

“It would be wise to look at what they’ve done and continue on their legacy and maybe improve where we can -- just change things a little. I really don’t want to do anything until I get a real chance to see what’s going on.”

One of the shrine’s great strengths is that it’s a highly interactive, organic, hands-on museum, exhibits and displays constantly changing but with attention faithfully paid to the legends and events of the NHL and international game, women and men celebrated.

Gartner sees the Hall of Fame as the “gatekeeper of the game and its history, in many respects.”

The incoming chairman sees technology changing almost by the hour and an economy that is never predictable, the Hall’s corporate partners a vital part of the chain.

Mike Gartner with the 1978-79 WHA Cincinnati Stingers, and with the 1981-82 NHL Washington Capitals.

“The Hall of Fame has to be nimble, able to make decisions that are based not only on the economic environment but also the hockey environment and social media, to try to position ourselves from a technological standpoint of being relevant in that area,” Gartner said.

“There are always challenges with a business, and the Hall is no different -- we’re an institution but we’re also a business. We need to keep in mind the idea that we have the responsibility of being the holder of the (trophy) hardware and the history of the game. We should take that seriously while enjoying the fact that’s the position we’re in.”

The Hall’s mandate, as Gartner views it, is to constantly evolve with the game and the world around it. Where on a walk-through he might first cast his eye at the legends of his youth, he understands that a younger generation gravitates to the superstars of today.

“Kids go into the Hall of Fame and with video, they can have current players take shots on them,” he said. “I think we have one of the most interactive halls of fame of any sport, and this will continue to evolve as technology evolves.

Mike Gartner (back row, fourth from left) poses with the Wrigley's Midget champions in Barrie, Ontario during the 1974-75 season.

“The history of hockey is important, but it also has to be fresh. We’d like someone to come to the Hall this year, then come back a couple of years later and see lots of new things. It takes constant attention and the capital to make that happen. You can’t build something and say, ‘Great, this should last us for 10 years.’ It doesn’t really work that way. It has to be updated, upgraded and fresh.”

Shorter and shorter is the list of fans who saw or even know of the icons of the NHL’s formative years. But Gartner suggests that the trailblazing of those players will forever be respected.

“We always have to be conscious of the fact that there are people who didn’t see Howie Morenz or Doug Harvey or Gordie Howe play,” he said. “But we must have that balance, have those players celebrated. The superstars of many years ago belong among the current guys who people know. That’s how you evolve. There’s a sweet spot where you’re not forgetting your past, but you’re paying tribute to your present and your future.”

Top photo: Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee chairman Mike Gartner announces the Class of 2023 in the shrine’s Esso Great Hall.