St. Louis Blues exec expected to replace Seahawks' Leiweke

The Seattle Seahawks appear to have found a replacement for outgoing CEO Tod Leiweke, and he, too, has a hockey background.

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St. Louis Blues CEO Peter McLoughlin, 53, will leave the NHL team to take an executive position with the Seahawks, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday. Although it didn't specify the position McLoughlin would assume in Seattle, the assumption is he will step in for Leiweke.

A Seahawks spokesman wouldn't confirm the report, but the team has scheduled a news conference for 11:15 a.m. PT Thursday.

The Seattle Timesreported that McLoughlin's duties would be on the business side, with head coach and executive vice president of football operations Pete Carroll making the football-related decisions with general manager John Schneider. Carroll and Schneider, who were hired in September, reported to Leiweke, and it is uncertain how the management structure will change with McLoughlin's arrival.

Leiweke, who held management positions with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild before joining Seahawks owner Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, announced in July he was leaving to become CEO of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment and its subsidiaries, including the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. He also will hold a minority share in the Lightning and serve as the team's alternate governor to the NHL's board of governors.

Leiweke also served as CEO of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC, in which Allen holds a minority stake, and previously managed the owner's interests in the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

McLoughlin would have a role with the Sounders, The Times reported, although it is unclear of what it would consist. The soccer club's majority owner is Hollywood producer Joe Roth, and comedian Drew Carey is among the minority owners. The Blues' owner, Dave Checketts, also owns MLS's Real Salt Lake.

McLoughlin spent 21 years as an executive and Anheuser-Busch before joining the Blues in 2006. He spent six years at NBC Sports before that.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.