Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

A Look At Jessica Berman, VP And Deputy Counsel For The NHL

08/31/2015 at 1:48pm EDT

from Hillel Kuttler of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,

Several years ago, Jessica Berman and her husband, Brad, bumped into her high school boyfriend.

“If you aren’t working as a lawyer in hockey, I’d be amazed,” Berman recalled him saying.

The ex had her pegged. Berman, 37, has been employed by the National Hockey League for nearly a decade and currently is a vice president and deputy general counsel. She fell for the sport as a teenager.

Some foresee Berman as the first female commissioner of a men’s professional sports league. She helped negotiate key labor agreements with the players’ union, including the deal ending the 2004-05 lockout and the 10-year pact signed two years ago.

But perhaps she’s made an even greater impact since a 2013 stroke left Brad, then 37, in a monthlong coma.

Besides tending to him and caring for their two sons, Berman has spearheaded efforts to benefit the Burke Rehabilitation Center, the suburban New York City institution that’s been instrumental in Brad’s continued recovery. Charity races – Brad is an avid runner who aspires to compete again in marathons – and retail promotions have raised $650,000, most going to build a lower-limb robotics clinic.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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