Landon Signs Five-Year Contract

By Darryl Dionne  Published on: Monday January 10, 2011

(Niagara Falls, ON) The Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) is pleased to announce that Executive Director, Larry Landon, has agreed to terms on a 5-year employment agreement that will see him continue to serve as Executive Director of the PHPA through June 30, 2016.

“As a committee, we feel that we performed our due diligence in securing outside counsel throughout this process, and are confident that both parties are happy with the agreement,” said PHPA Executive Committee Member Dan Jancevski of the American Hockey League’s Adirondack Phantoms. “Larry has proven his value to the Association time and time again, and he is our choice to lead the PHPA for 5 more years and hopefully beyond.”

“On behalf of the Executive Committee we are pleased to have secured Larry Landon as the Executive Director of the PHPA for the next 5 years. The negotiation process went very smooth and we feel both parties are pleased with the agreement,” said Marty Flichel, member of the PHPA Executive Committee (Idaho). I’m sure I speak for the entire Membership in saying that Larry holds a vital role for us as players, and we are fortunate to have him as our leader. Larry’s accomplishments go above and beyond what is expected of him and it shows in the improvements and benefits that we receive as players, which is a credit to his hard work and dedication.”

“On behalf of the Executive Committee as well as the players, we are pleased to have Larry Landon on board as Executive Director for five more years,” added Jeff Kyrzakos of the Central Hockey League’s Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs and Member of the PHPA Executive Committee. “Both sides did their due diligence throughout this process, and in the end, both parties are extremely happy with the agreement. Larry’s knowledge and experience, not only at the bargaining table, but in the hockey community, is integral to the progress of the Association moving forward. We feel there is no better guy out there to do this job for us.”

The 2011-12 season marks Landon’s 30th year of involvement with the Association. A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Landon was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens while on a hockey scholarship at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he was captain in both his Junior and Senior years. While Landon turned pro at the end of the 1980-81 season, it was during his first full season with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in 1981-82, when he was elected by his teammates to serve as the team’s PHPA Player Representative. Since then, Landon has been committed to the players, as he continued to serve as a Player Representative and subsequently as a member of the PHPA Executive Committee with the Sherbrooke Canadiens and St.Catharines Saints, and while playing in the National Hockey League for Montreal and Toronto, continued to assist players at the AHL level. Upon retirement as a player, he was hired by the PHPA as a part time staff member, and later promoted to Deputy Executive Director. In 1993, Landon was formally elected as Executive Director.

Since that time, Landon has directed the restructuring of the Association, having created an internal Benefits Department, Licensing and Marketing programs, a Career Enhancement Program (“Life After Hockey”), three (3) Health and Welfare Trusts, two (2) Severance Trusts, an AHL 401(k) plan, the digitization of all player files, and this past summer, oversaw the purchase and renovation of a state-of-the-art office building in Niagara Falls, Ontario which has become the new home of the PHPA.

His knowledge of hockey has been demonstrated through his involvement as lead negotiator in the successful completion of 19 Collective Bargaining Agreements resulting in marked improvement for players’ economic status, playing conditions, health benefits, and rights. Under Landon’s direction, the Association has grown in Membership from approximately 600 to 1600 Members, having directed the labor certification of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1986, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1995, and Central Hockey League in 2008, joining them with the American Hockey League which has been unionized since 1968.

“I can say with the utmost confidence and assurance that I will continue to put the best interests of our Membership at the forefront, and will continue to work diligently with all stakeholders in our industry to grow the sport of hockey,” said Landon. “I am proud to be a part of this organization, as I have been since I was named a Player Rep in my rookie year. I thank the entire Membership for putting their faith in me as we navigate through the challenges that lie ahead.”