Craig Custance is Head of Creative Development at The Athletic. Previously, he was an editorial director at The Athletic where he managed the NHL, MLB and college football groups. He is the author of The Franchise: The Business of Building Winning Teams, released by Simon and Schuster Canada in 2024. Before joining The Athletic, he was a national hockey writer for ESPN and ESPN The Magazine from 2011 to 2017 and Sporting News from 2008 to 2011. He also covered the Atlanta Thrashers for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. On May 26, 2017, Custance announced he was leaving ESPN. On June 19, 2017, he announced via Twitter that he would be joining The Athletic to launch their new Detroit division.