NHL restructures disciplinary department

Reporting from Vancouver, Canada — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced a major restructuring of the hockey operations department that will end Colin Campbell’s 13-year tenure as the league’s dean of discipline.

Bettman said Campbell, who will remain as a senior vice president, will relinquish duties relating to supplementary discipline and that a new department of player safety will be launched next season. The head of that department will be Brendan Shanahan, a former player who has been the league’s vice president of hockey and business development.

Campbell has been a lightning rod for criticism concerning his often confusing formula for imposing suspensions and fines that seemed to favor superstars. He has presided over some tumultuous times, including a recent swing toward punishing blindside and deliberate hits to the head. Those punishments could grow more severe.

“Both Colie and I agreed that it’s time to take a fresh look at the standards that we use,” Bettman said, “and if we’re going to move to harsher discipline, that change needs to send a clear message and we think it would probably be best to do it on a clean slate.”

Campbell has recused himself from making rulings in the Stanley Cup finals because his son, Gregory, plays for the Boston Bruins.

Bettman touched on other operational matters, saying the league had a “terrific season” and that revenue projections were strong. “If we’re not exactly at $3 billion, we’re certainly within chipping distance of it,” he said. Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, said the salary cap will be between $60 million and $63 million next season.

Bettman also addressed Tuesday’s announcement that the Atlanta Thrashers had been sold to a group that will move the team to Winnipeg for next season, pending the anticipated approval of the league’s board of governors on June 21.

He said there will be no realignment of the league’s conferences or divisions for the 2011-12 season, but the new team will have “an assurance” that it will move to the Western Conference the following season. That could trigger additional shifts: Detroit has long wanted to move to the East, and Columbus would also be a candidate to move from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference.

Bettman also mentioned the possibility of a more balanced schedule.

helene.elliott@latimes.com