<p>One of the most interesting exercises any media outlet does every year is The Hockey News&#8217; annual Top 100 People of Power and Influence list. It&#8217;s a fascinating countdown of the top movers and shakers in the hockey world, featuring a mixture of executives, owners, agents, media and players.</p>
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<p>Calgary Flames majority owner Murray Edwards, a fixture on the list throughout the years, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/top-100-people-of-power-influence-in-hockey-2025">lands at sixth on this year&#8217;s edition</a>. (He was seventh last year.)</p>
<p>He&#8217;s ranked behind only NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Boston Bruins owner and NHL board of governors executive committee chairman Jeremy Jacobs, and obscure hockey player Connor McDavid. Edwards is the highest-ranked owner of a Canadian team on the list, and the second-highest owner after Jacobs.</p>
<p>Edwards has been part of the Flames ownership group since 1994, joining as part of a changeover that saw longtime owners Norman Kwong and Sonia Scurfield depart and six new faces (including Edwards) join. (Edwards, Alvin Libin and Allan Markin remain active in Flames ownership from the six that were added in 1994.) While the exact composition of the Flames&#8217; ownership shares isn&#8217;t public knowledge, our best estimation is that Edwards has been the ownership chairman since around 2008 or 2009 and the largest shareholder for a considerable time. He also serves on the NHL board of governors&#8217; executive committee.</p>
<p>As part of the release of The Hockey News&#8217; list, their publisher, W. Graeme Roustan, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/the-graeme-roustan-show-murray-edwards">conducted a rare interview with Edwards</a> – typically, he leaves the public-facing commentary regarding the hockey club to its chief executive, such as Ken King, John Bean or Robert Hayes.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Calgary <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> co-owner Murray Edwards, the second-longest serving majority owner of an NHL team (<a href="https://twitter.com/NHLFlames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NHLFlames</a>), behind only Jeremy Jacobs, sits down for an interview with <a href="https://twitter.com/GraemeRoustan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GraemeRoustan</a>: <a href="https://t.co/0J0zYdxRJv">https://t.co/0J0zYdxRJv</a></p>
<p>&mdash; The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyNews/status/1877067515014099441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Here are a couple small snippets from the interview.</p>
<p>Edwards, on the NHL&#8217;s current competitive balance being &#8220;better than ever&#8221;:</p>
<blockquote><p>I would agree with you. The competitive balance has never been better. I go back to 2004, in which the gap between the highest payroll team and the lowest payroll team was a factor of like four times. Today, the variation between the lowest- and highest-payroll team is maybe one-and-a-half times. So, by having a salary system in which you provide a static portion, a defined portion of revenues to players, and allowing teams through revenue sharing all to be competitive, I think it’s created this competitive balance, which I think is good. So, I would put it down to the relationship we have with our players’ association and the economic model we have to provide a competitive balance.</p></blockquote>
<p>On the development of Scotia Place:</p>
<blockquote><p>So what we’ve got now in Scotia Place…I would argue, when it comes online in ’27, is the best building in hockey. We’ve really spent a long time in terms of how we’re going to build the building from a fan experience. We’re going to make it a steep-pitched seating arrangement, so the fans are going to be very close to the ice. We think that creates a very good fan experience and also creates an intimidating place for visiting teams to play. We’re going to have all the new technologies, so I think it’s a game-changer, not just for the Flames but for the city of Calgary.</p></blockquote>
<p>The whole interview is pretty fascinating and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/the-graeme-roustan-show-murray-edwards">worth checking out over at The Hockey News site</a>. (The full Money and Power issue, including their detailed Top 100 list, is on sale now.)</p>


One of the most interesting exercises any media outlet does every year is The Hockey News' annual Top 100 People of Power and Influence list. It's a fascinating countdown of the top movers and shakers in the hockey world, featuring a mixture of executives, owners, agents, media and players.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Calgary Flames majority owner Murray Edwards, a fixture on the list throughout the years, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/top-100-people-of-power-influence-in-hockey-2025">lands at sixth on this year's edition</a>. (He was seventh last year.)

He's ranked behind only NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Boston Bruins owner and NHL board of governors executive committee chairman Jeremy Jacobs, and obscure hockey player Connor McDavid. Edwards is the highest-ranked owner of a Canadian team on the list, and the second-highest owner after Jacobs.

Edwards has been part of the Flames ownership group since 1994, joining as part of a changeover that saw longtime owners Norman Kwong and Sonia Scurfield depart and six new faces (including Edwards) join. (Edwards, Alvin Libin and Allan Markin remain active in Flames ownership from the six that were added in 1994.) While the exact composition of the Flames' ownership shares isn't public knowledge, our best estimation is that Edwards has been the ownership chairman since around 2008 or 2009 and the largest shareholder for a considerable time. He also serves on the NHL board of governors' executive committee.

As part of the release of The Hockey News' list, their publisher, W. Graeme Roustan, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/the-graeme-roustan-show-murray-edwards">conducted a rare interview with Edwards</a> – typically, he leaves the public-facing commentary regarding the hockey club to its chief executive, such as Ken King, John Bean or Robert Hayes.

https://twitter.com/TheHockeyNews/status/1877067515014099441

Here are a couple small snippets from the interview.

Edwards, on the NHL's current competitive balance being "better than ever":
<blockquote>I would agree with you. The competitive balance has never been better. I go back to 2004, in which the gap between the highest payroll team and the lowest payroll team was a factor of like four times. Today, the variation between the lowest- and highest-payroll team is maybe one-and-a-half times. So, by having a salary system in which you provide a static portion, a defined portion of revenues to players, and allowing teams through revenue sharing all to be competitive, I think it’s created this competitive balance, which I think is good. So, I would put it down to the relationship we have with our players’ association and the economic model we have to provide a competitive balance.</blockquote>
On the development of Scotia Place:
<blockquote>So what we’ve got now in Scotia Place…I would argue, when it comes online in ’27, is the best building in hockey. We’ve really spent a long time in terms of how we’re going to build the building from a fan experience. We’re going to make it a steep-pitched seating arrangement, so the fans are going to be very close to the ice. We think that creates a very good fan experience and also creates an intimidating place for visiting teams to play. We’re going to have all the new technologies, so I think it’s a game-changer, not just for the Flames but for the city of Calgary.</blockquote>
The whole interview is pretty fascinating and <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/money-and-power/the-graeme-roustan-show-murray-edwards">worth checking out over at The Hockey News site</a>. (The full Money and Power issue, including their detailed Top 100 list, is on sale now.)

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