Donald Fehr.

Sportsnet has learned that a vote is underway on whether the National Hockey League Players' Association will hire Donald Fehr as its new executive director.

It is believed that the entire PA is voting on the recomendation to hire Fehr. Votes must be cast by 5 p.m. Saturday.

The office has been vacant since Paul Kelly was fired last August, less than two years after assuming the role.

Fehr, 62, has been serving as an unpaid consultant since November.

Fehr is a veteran negotiator who developed a reputation as a hard-nosed adversary during a career that spanned a quarter-century with the Major League Baseball Players' Association. Baseball endured several work stoppages and one cancelled World Series -- in 1994 -- under his watch.

The NHL's collective bargaining agreement with its players is set to expire in September 2012. There has been speculation that Fehr's addition to the NHLPA could lead to another labour disruption.

-- With files from The Canadian Press