BREAKING: Tod Leiweke to be announced as Seattle Hockey Partners Team President

The ownership group bringing an NHL team to the city of Seattle will be hosting a press conference tomorrow morning where they will announce that former Chief Operating Officer of the National Football league Tod Leiweke is set to take a position as Seattle Hockey Partners Team President.

Over the last 20 years, he has made a large impact in the hockey world and boasts a resume that also includes the Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Leiweke, whose brother Tim has played a major role in bringing a team to the region, had previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment at Lightning Hockey LP — managing all business operations. During his tenure, the team progressed from non-contender to Stanley Cup Finalist in his final year.

“The 2015 ESPN Ultimate Sports Standings ranked the Lightning 3rd for Overall Best Franchise of all 127 professional teams in North America,” reads his Sloan Sports Conference bio, an industry forum dedicated to increasing the role of analytics in the sports industry. “It also ranked the Lightning 1st among NHL teams.”

Residents of the Pacific Northwest may recognize the name from his time spent as the Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Sounders FC — where he redefined the MLS model — and Seattle Seahawks, the main backer in hiring coach Pete Carroll.

“He is quite simply the most successful sports executive that this city has ever known,” wrote Danny O’Neil, Seahawks Insider for 710 ESPN Seattle. “In fact, anyone interested in hockey should be doing cartwheels because there’s no one in Seattle sports history whose touch has been as golden as Leiweke when it comes to building successful franchises.”

Leiweke will present his vision for the franchise tomorrow morning at 10:30.