His 15-year term was marked by the 1979 merger that integrated four teams from the rival World Hockey Association into the NHL, and by increasing labor unrest among the players.
The first American to serve as chief executive of the NHL, he received the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1984 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.
Before becoming National Hockey League President in 1977, Ziegler practiced law initially with the firm Dickinson, Wright, McKean and Cudlip, in Detroit, Michigan, and after 1970 on his own.
The new rule had a grandfather clause that granted players who had signed pro contracts prior to June 1, 1979, the option of wearing helmets or not.
The Calgary Cowboys, who had hoped to be one of the six teams to join the NHL, subsequently folded, as did the Phoenix Roadrunners, Minnesota Fighting Saints, and San Diego Mariners.
[7] The merger was completed in the 1979–80 season, with four WHA teams, the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, joining the NHL.
Following a 4–3 Boston Bruins victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 23, 1979, an on-ice fray occurred between the players from both teams.
During the fray, a Rangers fan cut the face of Bruins player Stan Jonathan with a rolled-up program and grabbed his hockey stick.
Another Bruin, Mike Milbury, who had actually reached the visitors' locker room when his teammates started going into the stands, raced back to join his colleagues in the brawl.
These embarrassing details no doubt contributed to the one-year suspension handed down in September 1990 by Ziegler, who called Fuhr's conduct "dishonorable and against the welfare of the league."
Pavel Bure was selected 113th overall in the 6th round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, following his rookie season with CSKA Moscow.
[11] However, the Canucks' head scout at the time, Mike Penny, discovered that Bure had played in additional exhibition and international games to make him an eligible late-round draft choice a year early.
The Detroit Red Wings had inquired to league vice president Gil Stein as to Bure's supposed availability prior to their fifth-round pick, but were told that he was not eligible.
[11] Winnipeg Jets general manager Mike Smith claimed he travelled to Moscow prior to the draft and made an offer to the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation.
[14] General manager Pat Quinn originally intended to draft Bure in the eighth round, but after receiving word that the Edmonton Oilers had similar intentions, he selected him in the sixth.
[11] Detroit's European scout Christer Rockström immediately began protesting, while several other unidentified team representatives reportedly stormed the Met Center stage in Minnesota, where the draft was being held, following the announcement of Bure's selection.
[16] Eagleson was involved there too, arranging for the players to give up a seat on the trusteeship of the pension fund in 1969 to gain the acceptance of the NHLPA with the NHL owners.
He had served as deputy director of the NHLPA since 1990, and had spent his time instructing the players on the issues the union faced in its relations with the league.
[20] Goodenow met with Ziegler as the two attempted to negotiate an agreement on a range of issues including how free agency worked, the arbitration process, playoff bonuses, and pensions.