Roy Mlakar (born September 10, 1950 in

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) is the former president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

club of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) and the

Scotiabank Place Canadian Tire Centre () is a multi-purpose arena in the suburb of Kanata in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in January 1996 as the Palladium and was also known as Corel Centre () from 1996 to 2006 and Scotiabank Place () from 2006 to 2013. ...

arena. He was also the alternate governor of the Senators. He is a former executive with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

Personal life

Mlakar is married. He and wife Tamera each have two daughters. Mlakar was director with various charities in Ottawa, including the Sens Foundation, the Candlelighters and the Ottawa Senators 65 Roses Sports Club. He was also a director with the

Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame () is a hall of fame dedicated to recognizing athletes and sportspeople associated with Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It has been located in several locations during its history, including the Heritage Building section of ...

. He has received several awards for his community work, including the Brian Kilrea Award in 2005 and the United Way Community Builder Award in 2006.

Career

Providence Reds

Mlakar was hired by the

Providence Reds The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League (CAHL) between 1926 and 1936 and the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The t ...

of the AHL in 1973. He served as director of public relations and was later promoted to the position of assistant general manager working with then Providence GM

John Muckler John Muckler (April 13, 1934 – January 4, 2021) was a professional hockey coach and executive, who last served as the general manager of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Muckler had over 50 years of professional hockey e ...

New Haven Nighthawks

In 1978 Mlakar joined the

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the New York Islanders (1972–1973), Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Rangers (19 ...

the AHL affiliate of the

. He spent 11 seasons with the team, winning the James C. Hendy Memorial Award as the AHL's Executive of the Year in 1985.

Los Angeles Kings

Mlakar joined the

in 1988. He spent 7 seasons with the team, five as an executive vice-president and two as club president. He was instrumental in bringing

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

to the Kings from the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. The Kings made it to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

under his leadership. During his tenure with Los Angeles, the Kings set a California professional sports record with 282 consecutive sellouts.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Following his stint with the Kings, Mlakar served as chief operating officer for the Pittsburgh Penguins for two seasons before joining the Senators

Ottawa Senators

Mlakar was appointed president and chief executive officer of the

on June 3, 1996. He took on responsibilities for

in May 1998. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, the Senators made it to the

where they played the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

, eventually losing in 5 games. At the end of the 2008-2009 regular season, having concluded a disappointing season in which the team missed the playoffs, the team announced on June 16, 2009 that Mlakar would be relieved of his duties upon the expiration of his contract on June 30, 2009.

References

External links

Mlakar page at senators.nhl.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mlakar, Roy 1950 births Living people Los Angeles Kings executives National Hockey League executives New Haven Nighthawks Ottawa Senators executives People from Parma, Ohio Pittsburgh Penguins executives Providence Reds University of Akron alumni