One more step, and the NHL Players' Association gets the leader it has desperately needed since railroading Paul Kelly out of the executive director position last summer.

On Saturday, the union announced that the executive committee had voted to accept the recommendation of its executive director search committee.

That recommendation? Put Donald Fehr in charge.

Over the next six weeks, Fehr will be meeting with players from every team, after which a vote will take place. The playersâ€™ hope is to have a final tally in place by the end of October.

But it's just a formality. When the collective bargaining agreement is being negotiated between the league and the NHLPA in two years, it will no doubt be Fehr representing the NHLPA as executive director.

Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Ron Hainsey is on the executive board that overwhelmingly accepted the search committee's recommendation. He knows the pulse of his fellow players. Does he see Fehr having any issue getting the needed votes of the 700 or so NHL players?

"No," he told Sporting News. "Don's whole thing is that without huge support from the players, then he's useless. He wants to have everybody on board. You need to have the players behind you or it won't work. ... He's a great leader, a great guy getting you on point and a straight shooter. I have no doubt it'll be a great success when all 700 players meet him."

During a conference call with reporters on Saturday, Fehr said the evolution from a consultant for the NHLPA to someone ready to take the job as executive director was a bit of a surprise.

He had no intention of leading another union after stepping down as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association last year. But he was asked to help get the NHLPAâ€™s constitution ratified. And he was asked to help find a successor for Kelly.

As he worked with the players, he said he developed a respect for what they were trying to do with a CBA negotiation closing in.

Plus, he enjoyed his time with the hockey playing community. He attended both executive board meetings this summer -- in Chicago last June and in Toronto last July.

Then there were the 12 regional playersâ€™ meetings throughout North America and Europe. It was about this time, he said, he started to take the idea of leading the NHLPA seriously.

â€œTwo things happened. One, I enjoyed it,â€ Fehr said. â€œSecondly, I got a good response.â€

In response to reports about his contract demands, he confirmed that he let the players know he wouldnâ€™t hesitate to call on his brother, Steve Fehr, when building a staff.

Yes, heâ€™ll work from New York rather than Toronto. And no, heâ€™s not doing the job on the cheap.

Hainsey said Fehrâ€™s compensation is in line with that of union leaders in other sports, and considering Fehrâ€™s experience, Hainsey thinks itâ€™s a good deal.

â€œWeâ€™re getting the man who, frankly, in the world has the most experience at doing this,â€ he said. â€œFor us to think weâ€™re going to get a super deal on it â€” heâ€™s not going to do it for free. The fact that heâ€™s going to do it in the neighborhood of what the other guys make is beyond fair.â€

This isnâ€™t a long-term fix for the NHLPA.

â€œIâ€™m 62 years old,â€ Fehr said. â€œMy working life is finite.â€

It would be surprising if Fehrâ€™s deal extends too much longer than the next CBA negotiations in two years. He sounded just as interested in setting up a strong leadership group and succession plan.

But the union is much closer to being unified than it was 12 months ago.

â€œFor the foreseeable future,â€ Hainsey said, â€œour leadership position is as solid as it could be.â€