Reports: Former baseball union boss Donald Fehr to head NHLPA

TORONTO - Donald Fehr is set to become the new executive director of the NHL Players' Association, according to several media reports.

Fehr, the former head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, has been involved with the NHLPA as an unpaid adviser since November.

The 61-year-old Fehr garnered a reputation as an uncompromising negotiator during his 26 years in charge of the baseball union. He oversaw five labour contracts for the players and was in charge during a seven-plus month strike in 1994-95 that forced the cancellation of the World Series.

The NHLPA has been without an executive director since Paul Kelly was fired in August after spending less than two years on the job.

The NHLPA declined to comment on the report, which was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.

"Throughout the entire search process, the NHLPA search committee has operated in a confidential manner and will continue to do so until their work is complete," NHLPA spokesperson Jonathan Weatherdon said in a statement.