i am not hockey fan because i am From Puerto Rico you know we play here basketball and baseball but i think the NHL what they need to do is get more franchises in the north states of USA and Canada is common sense snow play hockey hot summer play basketball or baseball
@M4nBearFrog I'm inclined to agree, Canada deserves more teams and would have a better bottom line than keeping some of them in the US. I'd love to see Quebec or Winnipeg a team again. I tend to believe northern BC, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland could probably support new hockey teams as well. Phoenix needs to move, I really hated the idea of the NHL throwing 20 million dollars to keep a team in a losing market and hell as much as I hate to say it, Atlanta could stand a franchise move as well.
Hate him or like him (mostly hate), Bettman was the greatest commissioner in the NHL's history. He took the revenue from $400M to $3.2B. He expanded the league to 30 teams, saving as many in Canada as he could. He helped make hockey more known around the world. But he has run his course. We are headed towards our 3rd lockout. That will put us in 3rd place in the 4 major leagues in total lockouts. He is trying to keep a failing team in Phoenix rather than move it north. Time for a new commish
Kinda miss 24 teams. Only 8 teams missed the playoffs, and every team had at least a few first line players and top pairing defensemen. Some teams now are legit AHL teams
Bettman says you have to look at the owner, the arena and the market. So tell me about the owner (or lack of) and market (there isn't one) in Glendale, AZ??!!
I think Bettman is a good guy at heart. Hes done alot of negative things, but also positive things. He has made the NHL a ton of money, and atleast recently relocated a team to canada. If he was truely bad at his job, he wouldnt be there right now. There is more to his job other than pleasing the NHLPA (who is equally at fault for the lockouts).
This is how I was expecting this to go: Bettman:I brought you a present! George:Did you get me the Nashville predators?!?! Bettman: *Puts jersey back* YOU FUCKING SAID YOU WOULD'NT BRING THAT UP!! *leaves*
@leaf98 You may hate him but hes is apparently a well respected man in the business. I heard (ESPN doc) that the commissioners from NFL, MLB and NBA actually look up to him. Hes is apparently one of the best commissioners in sports. I guess he excels in the business part of his job.
bettman did not ruin the game of hockey, he brought 6 new clubs, insigniated rules and changes that made a lot more teams competitive and significantly increased NHL revenue, everyone is hard on him because the guy before them was harsh, not many people have a true understanding of how he has grown the game.
@sonrac1 So does Phoenix and they were nearly moved twice. Atlanta also has a long term deal with their arena and they just moved. I dont think it has anything to do with that, it has everything to do with the money involved, and who the prospective is and what they have to offer.
Yes, but we're talking about teams that Bettman added. Dallas were added to the NHL in 1967. They were called the Minnesota North Stars. They also have had success. They were apart of the Devils/Wings/Avs/Stars era where they were pretty much the only teams making the finals. And remember. The Stars attendance only went down 2 years ago. It will go up when they make a push for the playoffs with their new and improved team. Phoenix were added in 1972 as Winnipeg. They should be relocated though,
Bettmans job is not to please Canadians giving them teams wherever they want them. Many Canadians feel that since their town likes hockey, that they should automaticly have a team there, and that is way oversimplifiying things. Bettman answers to the owners, and in my judgement he has done a good job.
Three things? City: Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) Market: over 500,000 people + within 30 minutes of Toronto (whose team has a mile-long waiting list to get NHL tickets) Arena: Copps Colosseum Owner: Jim Balsillie So why did Bettman refuse to consider Balsillie's offer???
Say what you want about Bettina. The league has prospered since he took over. I think it is funny how whenever he presents the Stanley Cup no matter the city, he always gets booed. Lol. But from hearing a lot of hockey guys talk about him they say he is super smart and a great leader. Brian Burke said he’s one of the smartest guy he’s ever worked for and knew everything about the league and every scenario.
While Bettman has made mistakes in a few markets, that being Atlanta, Nashville and Phoenix he has made some brilliant moves in bringing the NHL to Columbus and back to Minnesota. Yes Canada lost a couple teams but trust me...It was the best thing for those two teams...I'm from Winnnipeg and I can tell you that we were nowhere close to affording a new arena and considering how bad it was back then...the Jets moving out of town was the best thing for the city
If I was commissioner- 1. Cap player contracts to $10m/yr and 7 years to get rid of stupid long contracts. 2. Move Phoenix to Quebec City. 3. Put in no touch icings. No icing is worth a career. 4. Make the replay booth relevant. What point is it having them if the ref has final say? 5. Bring Europeean refs for less biased games. 6. Accidental headshots suspendable, intent to injure brings fines and charges. 2 hand a guy on the street, you would be in jail. 7. Have Mick Magoo investigated. There
I was talking about week days, during week days TODAY, not between '96 and '01 when they won SC, IN 2010 they struck to have 11 000 attendance on week days, that sucks.
My ballots for commissioner: 1)Trevor Linden 2)Wayne Gretzky 3)Roger Nielson just my opinion, these guys all love the sport of hockey and know how it should be played
Gary Bettman had nothing to do with the addition of the Panthers or the Ducks. Both cities were already awarded those franchises in late 1992, before Bettman took charge on February 1, 1993, even though their inaugural seasons were under Bettman.
People dont understand Bettman works for the owners not the players. He has been an amazing leader for the NHL. Yes the Fan hate him for what he has done and is doing, but the game is a lot better. Also the owners put up so much capita and splitting the revenues 50/50 is crazy. John Carlson just signed a 6 year $24 million dollar contact...JOHN FREAKING Carlson!!!
No one knows this yet (including the press) but the Yotes' equipment has entered the MTS center! I'm not kidding. Be ready Winnipeg ... the announcement is coming soon. Get your season tix for September! Remember that you heard it here first! :)
@M4nBearFrog It would be really hard to get fans to see a new team out in new markets in Canada, when you already have established franchises like Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. It's like putting a new team in Michigan and expecting that fanchise to flourish, when they already have a devoted fan base to the Wings. All these newer expansion teams are more about creating a market were it didn't already exist, in hopes of a long term revenue growth. Phoenix being the exception.
Well let me tell you this. The MLB has had 8 labor disputes, the NBA 4 and the NFL and NHL have had 3. And he has grown the NHL's profits dramatically. None of the teams he added are failing. Once Florida start making the playoffs again, they'll pick up fans again. They won there division last year. Atlanta were bad, but now you have Winnipeg. No complaining there. Nashville sold out 20+ games last year. They've also shown they're a top team. Minnesota sold out 409 straight games, from their 1st
He refused Balsillies offer because if Balsillie was able to get the Coyote out of bankruptcy, he would have moved them to Hamilton and the NHL if they were lucky would have maybe gotten $100 mill for it. If the NHL waits and expands there or now since they own the coyotes & put them up for auction there, they will get anywhere from $500-800 mill. You do the math, which one would you pick.
A couple of things. First, if some owner was really pushing to try to move the team to let say Las Vegas, he'd probably have a much easier time doing so because you're still in the USA. I understand he wants to expand through the USA, but the market dictates where you should go, and profit would come by moving the Coyotes from financial troubles and a low fan base. Second, if fighting is hindered any more that will make hockey much worse. It's as much as part of the game as scoring.
Absolutely! It's a thankless job, and he's easy to blame, but it's a stable, well-run league with a salary cap. Small market teams are competitive, game has grown. Not sure what his detractors are looking for? Game is way better today than it was 20 years ago, faster, better action.
@M4nBearFrog Canadian university, probably a bit biased. Still even as an American (and an Avs fan since the moved to Denver) I'm inclined to agree. The clock is ticking on Phoenix and eventually there won't be anything Buttman can do to save them. They will be headed to Quebec soon enough. Hamilton will get one soon enough as well.
Living in Quebec, I say yeah! But there's one problem: No one in Quebec will put up the money for a new arena and the government won't help either. I don't believe the NHL will ever come back here.
Que, Winn, Hart, Minn, lockouts, failing teams in the sunbelt (For YEARS), players slowing leaving for the KHL, Boots, Versus over ESPN...Hockey has done well in spite of him. Phx/Ballsilie battle will be his Waterloo.
As a Minnesota fan I still hate that man, It doesn't matter that we got a new Hockey team, we never should have lost the Northstars to begin with. Gary I hope you are run out of the league tarred and feathered. You removed Hartford, You removed Quebec City, You Removed Minnesota, and you moved teams to Dallas, Phoenix, and Raleigh, and they are all FAILING MISERABLEY.
Lost Quebec City but look at how that turned out...Avalanche with 2 cups and had an incredible sell out streak for the first 7 or 8 years or somethin...yeah two lockouts...but during the second one was what the NHL needed to get a hard cap so it would create a competitive balance in the league..he didnt give the NHLPA what they wanted and fuck it all up again..he actually held in there until the players finally gave in to what the NHL wanted to do.
season to 2010. In the last 2 years, they haven't sold out just 2-4 games. They will continue to sellout this upcoming season with the big stars they added. They'll also make the playoffs (but probably won't challenge teams like Vancouver and St. Louis). Anaheim pick up plenty of fans when they're doing good. Even when they're not, they fill over 85% of the arena. They won a Cup too. And when they make the playoffs this year, attendance will increase. Plus don't forget their prospects.
@edmoil12 perhaps you should continue to do a little more investigating then. i think the 24 teams in the states will be folding before the teams in canada. US is headed for a 2nd depression.
Phoenix is already on it's way to Winnipeg. Now all we need is: ATL to Quebec City. FLA to Milwaukee, move Columbus to the East. Make the Central Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, STL, Nashville. Give NSH a few more years to get their shit together, if they can't get a substantial audience, move them somewhere else. If the league expands I expect the top U.S. prospects to be Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Seattle, while in Canada it'll be Quebec City, Hamilton, and Halifax.
Hockey has become a joke. There are club owners who dont want to win because then they would have to pay high player bonuses. Phil Esposito has said this.
+BeetleswithanA Yup I know what you mean that it doesn't mean as much to me now as it did before it's not the same now,It's gone down hill and it's all because of this man,Bettman's a Weasel !
Stupid ideas: Hockey in Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, two teams in Florida, Dallas, Carolina Smart ideas: Winnipeg, Seattle, Southern Ontario, Quebec City, Portland, Hartford
MN is probably the best hockey state, even Canadians recognize that, not sure if Bettman does. I can't believe he is still struggling to save the Coyotes when he did nothing to save the North Stars, Nordiques, Whalers, and Jets.
Don't give me that crap. Balsillie can't be trusted, which is why all 30 owners shut him out. Balsillie doesn't care about getting another team in Canada...he just wants a team in Hamilton. Phoenix can and will be successful. Even if the Oilers or the Senators missed the playoffs as many years as the Coyotes have, the fans wouldnt show up either.
people who h8 Bettman.... can thank the NHL OWNERS... they run the show and hired Bettman...Bettman is the h8 magnet while the owners sit in the background and gets told what to do (ie. EXPAND THE LEAGUE).
@gullywheel Although I agree that it sucks no one thumbs up'd this, but the Quebec Ramparts which is a QJMHL team(minor league) averages over 12,000 fans per game. That's more than the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islands averaged this year for NHL teams. Just because there's more people, doesn't mean they give a shit about hockey!!
bettman may appear to be a jerk, and i dont agree with all the expansion to the south, not to mention he's american..but he seems like a good guy and he's a very smart buisness man. his apology for the shortened season this year was very sincere and well said.
This is why George is the new host of HNIC. He is a soft interviewer and doesn't ask the tough questions that a Ron Mac lean would ask . Go watch one of the interviews Maclean did with Bettman. He asks the questions Canadians want answers to. George is soft and in it for himself . When the new TV deal came in Bettman made sure that Mac lean was replaced and did so with a softer unconfrontational sap like Strombo. Replacing Ron was a HUGE loss for HNIC. And all these corporate monkeys that surround George like Kypreos , Healy etc...do nothing for Canadian Hockey and will never challenge the NHL'S front office with important issues the way Ron did. Canadians should be pissed that Ron was let go because all this does is help Bettman and company take this league further away from Canadians with absolutely NOBODY there to challenge them!
Helmet comes off, fight is over ... keep helmets on and kill your hands. Oh yeah, makes perfect sense. It's enforcing trick situation -- catch 22 to deter fighting.
Well that's flattering you compare me to Jesus... But, what does this have to do with criticizing a guy who is destroying a sport I love? Come on? 2 lock-outs? 4 relocated teams? losing major tv deals? In 16 years of service? That's doing a good job? Compare to say Clarence Campbell who served 34 years. 2 teams were relocated in his 32nd year of duty. 1 team folded in his 33rd year of duty. 0 lockouts. and gained TV deals. The popularity of the NHL & Hockey expanded it from 6 to 18 teams
@MrTommypops Definitely no dummy, he's smarter than the average no doubt. There's a whole lot of business bull shit behind the scenes that 99.78% (made up statistic) don't understand. We're just not privy to all the information, we see the hyper simplified version of the knowledge required to make most decisions. Hopefully we'll see a team there at SOME point...Hamilton deserves one big time. Leafs "fans" deserve to be able to go to a hockey game once and awhile.
Bettman is NOT hockey guy. He IS anti Canadian. WHO, in their right mind, could put hockey in southern markets with NO interest? He set the bar SO high, for Winnipeg, and they met that benchmark, that Canada, should be his "sweet spot"!
The New Arena concept is a hoaks. There's nothing wrong with Quebec Colisee or Winnipeg Arena.... The reason they say the teams need a new arena is so Corporate Sponsors can purchase the naming rights, which gives the building tenants millions of dollars per year (which the NHL & Bettman probably get a good cut of)
well for one he has been a part of 2 going on 3 lockouts during his tenure not what i would consider growing the sport but hey, i was more interested in hearing your reasoning on how he built the sport because the franchises he added all are failing and cant even fill their stadiums look at the (thrasers, panthers, coyotes,dallas and more) The sport grew because of the players and the product that was put on the ice not the business decisions made by bettman
@Sithlord703 Hamilton will get a team down the road. Cherry said it on CC during the finals and frankly I'm going to believe that Cherry knows something we don't know. He wouldn't put his reputation on the line if he wasn't absolutely sure Hamilton was getting a team down the road.
gonzee, if Bettman can't drop a minor grievance for the sake of letting a successful businessman run a team properly (instead of run it into the ground, as Bettman is keen to do), then he shouldn't be running the NHL. Case closed.
@VancouverChokers Bettman doesn't want to move a team to Hamilton because he's affraid that Toronto and Buffalo will lose fans to Hamilton, also the Owners of the Leafs and Buffalo don't want Hamilton to get one,and neither do the fans of the Leafs and Sabres. So yes the Nords are next.
I just don't get one thing, the Thrashers, Panthers and Coyotes are doing so bad. They need to move. Why doesn't Gary do something about it? There needs to be more Canadian teams! Only 6 teams to 24? That's crap! And Canada is supposed be a hockey nation!
you said it. bettman's handlers probably made sure that george s. didnt ask the questions that everyone wants to know. and you should be ashamed george - come on everyone was expecting the hard hitting questions
"Come on? 2 lock-outs? 4 relocated teams? losing major tv deals? In 16 years of service? That's doing a good job?" Hey ECWinWWF; don't forget the US$273 million in total League-wide losses in the season prior to the lockout. What else do we have? A diluted product, and one franchise that has accumulated losses of US$200 million (the price of an NHL franchise nowadays!) since being relocated from Canada to one of Bettman's 'Great, great maawkets!'.
You know nothing. The Quebec Remparts, a junior team, have more attendance during week days then the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado won the cup the year they moved, and you say that it was impossible for them to win, even with Sakic Forsberg, Lemieux (top ten goal scorer in playoffs) even without Roy they would have went more close to the final then the Habs. Bring back the Nord's in Badaboum City.
Wow, how many people would keep their job if they lost their company $273 million? I don't know what the NHL financial status was prior to 1993, but I imagine it couldn't have been all that bad..the league wouldn't have lasted 76 years if they were losing money or not have been popular. For 25 years of the NHL's existance they survived on just 6 teams (4 of which were in the US) - low and behold all 6 of those teams still exist in their original markets. I wonder how much Bettmen himself lost?
@edmoil12 we could support about 10 - 12 teams here in canada. we can support them. and actually no, inflation is upon us this year. you'll see the price of gold and silver go up drastically in the next few months, and at a certain point, they dollar in the USA will drop quite i bit more than the canadian dollar
Yep, Bettman is keen to running teams into the ground alright. Colorado went straight to the ground with their 2 cups and one of the longest sellout streaks, Columbus went in to the ground with the real good fan base they have there, as well as Minnesota, and Carolina...give me a fuckin break. People are blind
@mirlin235 I'd think if Seattle can spruce up its arena they might get a team down the line and that's just as good as having a team in Victoria. Problem is the Key Arena is a dump.
Politicians don't get booed as much as you. They boo you because you're terrible for the game.
I sure wish we had someone who actually likes hockey running the NHL
The only applause Gary will get.
anyone know the name of the song that plays at the beginning? it plays at the beginning of every strombopoulos vid
Sad day for America. Gary Bettman found in his house... alive
i am not hockey fan because i am From Puerto Rico you know we play here basketball and baseball
but i think the NHL what they need to do is
get more franchises in the north states of USA and Canada
is common sense snow play hockey
hot summer play basketball or baseball
thanks for uploading this....i missed it on tv but i'm always down for Bettmans BS
Does anyone know if he still does his radio show?
Must be nice for him to get applause for a change
@M4nBearFrog I'm inclined to agree, Canada deserves more teams and would have a better bottom line than keeping some of them in the US. I'd love to see Quebec or Winnipeg a team again. I tend to believe northern BC, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland could probably support new hockey teams as well. Phoenix needs to move, I really hated the idea of the NHL throwing 20 million dollars to keep a team in a losing market and hell as much as I hate to say it, Atlanta could stand a franchise move as well.
How prophetic at least as far as Atlanta went. Your comment aged well.
Hate him or like him (mostly hate), Bettman was the greatest commissioner in the NHL's history. He took the revenue from $400M to $3.2B. He expanded the league to 30 teams, saving as many in Canada as he could. He helped make hockey more known around the world. But he has run his course. We are headed towards our 3rd lockout. That will put us in 3rd place in the 4 major leagues in total lockouts. He is trying to keep a failing team in Phoenix rather than move it north. Time for a new commish
Kinda miss 24 teams. Only 8 teams missed the playoffs, and every team had at least a few first line players and top pairing defensemen. Some teams now are legit AHL teams
Bettman says you have to look at the owner, the arena and the market. So tell me about the owner (or lack of) and market (there isn't one) in Glendale, AZ??!!
Bettman was so cheap that he couldn't even give him an authentic jersey. He had to give him a crappy replica
@factorx90 why?
I think Bettman is a good guy at heart. Hes done alot of negative things, but also positive things. He has made the NHL a ton of money, and atleast recently relocated a team to canada. If he was truely bad at his job, he wouldnt be there right now. There is more to his job other than pleasing the NHLPA (who is equally at fault for the lockouts).
This is how I was expecting this to go:
Bettman:I brought you a present!
George:Did you get me the Nashville predators?!?!
Bettman: *Puts jersey back* YOU FUCKING SAID YOU WOULD'NT BRING THAT UP!! *leaves*
@leaf98 You may hate him but hes is apparently a well respected man in the business. I heard (ESPN doc) that the commissioners from NFL, MLB and NBA actually look up to him. Hes is apparently one of the best commissioners in sports. I guess he excels in the business part of his job.
bettman did not ruin the game of hockey, he brought 6 new clubs, insigniated rules and changes that made a lot more teams competitive and significantly increased NHL revenue, everyone is hard on him because the guy before them was harsh, not many people have a true understanding of how he has grown the game.
@sonrac1 So does Phoenix and they were nearly moved twice. Atlanta also has a long term deal with their arena and they just moved. I dont think it has anything to do with that, it has everything to do with the money involved, and who the prospective is and what they have to offer.
im going to be so happy when theirs a new commisioner
Yes, but we're talking about teams that Bettman added. Dallas were added to the NHL in 1967. They were called the Minnesota North Stars. They also have had success. They were apart of the Devils/Wings/Avs/Stars era where they were pretty much the only teams making the finals. And remember. The Stars attendance only went down 2 years ago. It will go up when they make a push for the playoffs with their new and improved team. Phoenix were added in 1972 as Winnipeg. They should be relocated though,
Bettmans job is not to please Canadians giving them teams wherever they want them. Many Canadians feel that since their town likes hockey, that they should automaticly have a team there, and that is way oversimplifiying things. Bettman answers to the owners, and in my judgement he has done a good job.
Three things?
City: Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
Market: over 500,000 people + within 30 minutes of Toronto (whose team has a mile-long waiting list to get NHL tickets)
Arena: Copps Colosseum
Owner: Jim Balsillie
So why did Bettman refuse to consider Balsillie's offer???
Say what you want about Bettina. The league has prospered since he took over. I think it is funny how whenever he presents the Stanley Cup no matter the city, he always gets booed. Lol. But from hearing a lot of hockey guys talk about him they say he is super smart and a great leader. Brian Burke said he’s one of the smartest guy he’s ever worked for and knew everything about the league and every scenario.
While Bettman has made mistakes in a few markets, that being Atlanta, Nashville and Phoenix he has made some brilliant moves in bringing the NHL to Columbus and back to Minnesota. Yes Canada lost a couple teams but trust me...It was the best thing for those two teams...I'm from Winnnipeg and I can tell you that we were nowhere close to affording a new arena and considering how bad it was back then...the Jets moving out of town was the best thing for the city
@erimac1000 well then why does winnipeg have no team? Because not enough people.
Moving the Jets to phoenix, would be like moving the Dallas cowboys to yellowKnife
If I was commissioner- 1. Cap player contracts to $10m/yr and 7 years to get rid of stupid long contracts. 2. Move Phoenix to Quebec City. 3. Put in no touch icings. No icing is worth a career. 4. Make the replay booth relevant. What point is it having them if the ref has final say? 5. Bring Europeean refs for less biased games. 6. Accidental headshots suspendable, intent to injure brings fines and charges. 2 hand a guy on the street, you would be in jail. 7. Have Mick Magoo investigated. There
Oh and how so? Care to elaborate?
I was talking about week days, during week days TODAY, not between '96 and '01 when they won SC, IN 2010 they struck to have 11 000 attendance on week days, that sucks.
How many of the new Bettman teams get revenue sharing? Tell us those numbers
My ballots for commissioner:
1)Trevor Linden
2)Wayne Gretzky
3)Roger Nielson
just my opinion, these guys all love the sport of hockey and know how it should be played
R.I.P. to Roger. It still sickens me what Bobby Clarke did to him.
even with their big push to the Conf. Finals last year. Again, Bettman didn't add these 2 teams. They were added way before he became Commissioner
Gary Bettman had nothing to do with the addition of the Panthers or the Ducks. Both cities were already awarded those franchises in late 1992, before Bettman took charge on February 1, 1993, even though their inaugural seasons were under Bettman.
People dont understand Bettman works for the owners not the players. He has been an amazing leader for the NHL. Yes the Fan hate him for what he has done and is doing, but the game is a lot better. Also the owners put up so much capita and splitting the revenues 50/50 is crazy. John Carlson just signed a 6 year $24 million dollar contact...JOHN FREAKING Carlson!!!
The CBC should be ashamed of themselves for giving this half wit Gary Bettman valuable air time. The sooner the NHL is rid of him the better.
No one knows this yet (including the press) but the Yotes' equipment has entered the MTS center! I'm not kidding. Be ready Winnipeg ... the announcement is coming soon. Get your season tix for September!
Remember that you heard it here first! :)
Why should the players take a 24% pay cut and 11% revenue sharing reduction when league revenues have risen since the last lockout?
FIRE BETTMAN
@M4nBearFrog It would be really hard to get fans to see a new team out in new markets in Canada, when you already have established franchises like Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. It's like putting a new team in Michigan and expecting that fanchise to flourish, when they already have a devoted fan base to the Wings. All these newer expansion teams are more about creating a market were it didn't already exist, in hopes of a long term revenue growth. Phoenix being the exception.
How come he was never asked abt Winnipeg getting an NHL team?
Well let me tell you this. The MLB has had 8 labor disputes, the NBA 4 and the NFL and NHL have had 3. And he has grown the NHL's profits dramatically. None of the teams he added are failing. Once Florida start making the playoffs again, they'll pick up fans again. They won there division last year. Atlanta were bad, but now you have Winnipeg. No complaining there. Nashville sold out 20+ games last year. They've also shown they're a top team. Minnesota sold out 409 straight games, from their 1st
8:10 commercial skip...
He refused Balsillies offer because if Balsillie was able to get the Coyote out of bankruptcy, he would have moved them to Hamilton and the NHL if they were lucky would have maybe gotten $100 mill for it. If the NHL waits and expands there or now since they own the coyotes & put them up for auction there, they will get anywhere from $500-800 mill. You do the math, which one would you pick.
A couple of things. First, if some owner was really pushing to try to move the team to let say Las Vegas, he'd probably have a much easier time doing so because you're still in the USA. I understand he wants to expand through the USA, but the market dictates where you should go, and profit would come by moving the Coyotes from financial troubles and a low fan base.
Second, if fighting is hindered any more that will make hockey much worse. It's as much as part of the game as scoring.
Bettman really isn't all that bad. He's just made the scapegoat everytime something happens that people don't agree with
Absolutely! It's a thankless job, and he's easy to blame, but it's a stable, well-run league with a salary cap. Small market teams are competitive, game has grown. Not sure what his detractors are looking for? Game is way better today than it was 20 years ago, faster, better action.
@M4nBearFrog Canadian university, probably a bit biased. Still even as an American (and an Avs fan since the moved to Denver) I'm inclined to agree. The clock is ticking on Phoenix and eventually there won't be anything Buttman can do to save them. They will be headed to Quebec soon enough. Hamilton will get one soon enough as well.
Living in Quebec, I say yeah! But there's one problem: No one in Quebec will put up the money for a new arena and the government won't help either. I don't believe the NHL will ever come back here.
@GarshardJeVard You have no idea the enormous fanbase that Winnipeg had. They were one of the most popular teams in Canada, and most missed.
Que, Winn, Hart, Minn, lockouts, failing teams in the sunbelt (For YEARS), players slowing leaving for the KHL, Boots, Versus over ESPN...Hockey has done well in spite of him.
Phx/Ballsilie battle will be his Waterloo.
As a Minnesota fan I still hate that man, It doesn't matter that we got a new Hockey team, we never should have lost the Northstars to begin with. Gary I hope you are run out of the league tarred and feathered. You removed Hartford, You removed Quebec City, You Removed Minnesota, and you moved teams to Dallas, Phoenix, and Raleigh, and they are all FAILING MISERABLEY.
Lost Quebec City but look at how that turned out...Avalanche with 2 cups and had an incredible sell out streak for the first 7 or 8 years or somethin...yeah two lockouts...but during the second one was what the NHL needed to get a hard cap so it would create a competitive balance in the league..he didnt give the NHLPA what they wanted and fuck it all up again..he actually held in there until the players finally gave in to what the NHL wanted to do.
season to 2010. In the last 2 years, they haven't sold out just 2-4 games. They will continue to sellout this upcoming season with the big stars they added. They'll also make the playoffs (but probably won't challenge teams like Vancouver and St. Louis). Anaheim pick up plenty of fans when they're doing good. Even when they're not, they fill over 85% of the arena. They won a Cup too. And when they make the playoffs this year, attendance will increase. Plus don't forget their prospects.
@edmoil12 perhaps you should continue to do a little more investigating then. i think the 24 teams in the states will be folding before the teams in canada. US is headed for a 2nd depression.
ummm who's a Bettman fan?
Phoenix is already on it's way to Winnipeg. Now all we need is:
ATL to Quebec City.
FLA to Milwaukee, move Columbus to the East. Make the Central Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, STL, Nashville.
Give NSH a few more years to get their shit together, if they can't get a substantial audience, move them somewhere else.
If the league expands I expect the top U.S. prospects to be Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Seattle, while in Canada it'll be Quebec City, Hamilton, and Halifax.
How did he get into this position, was he voted? If so, by whom? And how ca we get rid of him? He HAS TO go!!
anybody have a spare 50 cal firing sniper rifle? I think i'd know a way to put it to good use
@whytie42 I'm a Rangers fan and it would suck to see the Islanders move. Ship Phx and Atlanta up north.
Hockey has become a joke. There are club owners who dont want to win because then they would have to pay high player bonuses. Phil Esposito has said this.
I can't be bothered with hockey anymore and it is probably because of this man.
BeetleswithanA bettman sucks
+BeetleswithanA Yup I know what you mean that it doesn't mean as much to me now as it did before it's not the same now,It's gone down hill and it's all because of this man,Bettman's a Weasel !
Stupid ideas: Hockey in Phoenix, Nashville, Atlanta, two teams in Florida, Dallas, Carolina
Smart ideas: Winnipeg, Seattle, Southern Ontario, Quebec City, Portland, Hartford
MN is probably the best hockey state, even Canadians recognize that, not sure if Bettman does. I can't believe he is still struggling to save the Coyotes when he did nothing to save the North Stars, Nordiques, Whalers, and Jets.
Don't give me that crap. Balsillie can't be trusted, which is why all 30 owners shut him out. Balsillie doesn't care about getting another team in Canada...he just wants a team in Hamilton. Phoenix can and will be successful. Even if the Oilers or the Senators missed the playoffs as many years as the Coyotes have, the fans wouldnt show up either.
people who h8 Bettman.... can thank the NHL OWNERS... they run the show and hired Bettman...Bettman is the h8 magnet while the owners sit in the background and gets told what to do (ie. EXPAND THE LEAGUE).
@gullywheel
Although I agree that it sucks no one thumbs up'd this, but the Quebec Ramparts which is a QJMHL team(minor league) averages over 12,000 fans per game. That's more than the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islands averaged this year for NHL teams. Just because there's more people, doesn't mean they give a shit about hockey!!
bettman may appear to be a jerk, and i dont agree with all the expansion to the south, not to mention he's american..but he seems like a good guy and he's a very smart buisness man. his apology for the shortened season this year was very sincere and well said.
calm down. The majority of the 2 bil comes from the american fans. do you want to watch a hockey season where 6 teams play over and over?
This is why George is the new host of HNIC. He is a soft interviewer and doesn't ask the tough questions that a Ron Mac lean would ask . Go watch one of the interviews Maclean did with Bettman. He asks the questions Canadians want answers to. George is soft and in it for himself . When the new TV deal came in Bettman made sure that Mac lean was replaced and did so with a softer unconfrontational sap like Strombo. Replacing Ron was a HUGE loss for HNIC. And all these corporate monkeys that surround George like Kypreos , Healy etc...do nothing for Canadian Hockey and will never challenge the NHL'S front office with important issues the way Ron did. Canadians should be pissed that Ron was let go because all this does is help Bettman and company take this league further away from Canadians with absolutely NOBODY there to challenge them!
Thumbs up if you know Quebec and Winnipeg can support a team better than Atalanta and N.Y islanders
dallas and phoenix both had worse attendance records than Columbus last season
The only bad team Bettman added is Columbus. They are probably 29th in prospects. They are the only team he added that should relocate
Helmet comes off, fight is over ... keep helmets on and kill your hands. Oh yeah, makes perfect sense. It's enforcing trick situation -- catch 22 to deter fighting.
Well that's flattering you compare me to Jesus...
But, what does this have to do with criticizing a guy who is destroying a sport I love?
Come on? 2 lock-outs? 4 relocated teams? losing major tv deals? In 16 years of service? That's doing a good job?
Compare to say Clarence Campbell who served 34 years. 2 teams were relocated in his 32nd year of duty. 1 team folded in his 33rd year of duty. 0 lockouts. and gained TV deals. The popularity of the NHL & Hockey expanded it from 6 to 18 teams
SEAN AVERY ROCKS!
@MrTommypops Definitely no dummy, he's smarter than the average no doubt. There's a whole lot of business bull shit behind the scenes that 99.78% (made up statistic) don't understand. We're just not privy to all the information, we see the hyper simplified version of the knowledge required to make most decisions.
Hopefully we'll see a team there at SOME point...Hamilton deserves one big time. Leafs "fans" deserve to be able to go to a hockey game once and awhile.
I think White Horse, yukon, should get a NFL team because even that makes more sense than Phoenix having an NHL team.
Bettman is NOT hockey guy. He IS anti Canadian. WHO, in their right mind, could put hockey in southern markets with NO interest? He set the bar SO high, for Winnipeg, and they met that benchmark, that Canada, should be his "sweet spot"!
The New Arena concept is a hoaks. There's nothing wrong with Quebec Colisee or Winnipeg Arena....
The reason they say the teams need a new arena is so Corporate Sponsors can purchase the naming rights, which gives the building tenants millions of dollars per year (which the NHL & Bettman probably get a good cut of)
well for one he has been a part of 2 going on 3 lockouts during his tenure not what i would consider growing the sport but hey, i was more interested in hearing your reasoning on how he built the sport because the franchises he added all are failing and cant even fill their stadiums look at the (thrasers, panthers, coyotes,dallas and more) The sport grew because of the players and the product that was put on the ice not the business decisions made by bettman
LOL
@Sithlord703 Hamilton will get a team down the road. Cherry said it on CC during the finals and frankly I'm going to believe that Cherry knows something we don't know. He wouldn't put his reputation on the line if he wasn't absolutely sure Hamilton was getting a team down the road.
gonzee, if Bettman can't drop a minor grievance for the sake of letting a successful businessman run a team properly (instead of run it into the ground, as Bettman is keen to do), then he shouldn't be running the NHL. Case closed.
@VancouverChokers Bettman doesn't want to move a team to Hamilton because he's affraid that Toronto and Buffalo will lose fans to Hamilton, also the Owners of the Leafs and Buffalo don't want Hamilton to get one,and neither do the fans of the Leafs and Sabres. So yes the Nords are next.
I just don't get one thing, the Thrashers, Panthers and Coyotes are doing so bad. They need to move. Why doesn't Gary do something about it? There needs to be more Canadian teams! Only 6 teams to 24? That's crap! And Canada is supposed be a hockey nation!
Sean Avery is NOT representative of a Canadian hockey player. That guy was an embarrassment to the game.
you said it. bettman's handlers probably made sure that george s. didnt ask the questions that everyone wants to know.
and you should be ashamed george - come on everyone was expecting the hard hitting questions
"Come on? 2 lock-outs? 4 relocated teams? losing major tv deals? In 16 years of service? That's doing a good job?"
Hey ECWinWWF; don't forget the US$273 million in total League-wide losses in the season prior to the lockout.
What else do we have? A diluted product, and one franchise that has accumulated losses of US$200 million (the price of an NHL franchise nowadays!) since being relocated from Canada to one of Bettman's 'Great, great maawkets!'.
You know nothing. The Quebec Remparts, a junior team, have more attendance during week days then the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado won the cup the year they moved, and you say that it was impossible for them to win, even with Sakic Forsberg, Lemieux (top ten goal scorer in playoffs) even without Roy they would have went more close to the final then the Habs. Bring back the Nord's in Badaboum City.
To call this guy a snake is an insult to snakes everywhere!
Wow, how many people would keep their job if they lost their company $273 million?
I don't know what the NHL financial status was prior to 1993, but I imagine it couldn't have been all that bad..the league wouldn't have lasted 76 years if they were losing money or not have been popular. For 25 years of the NHL's existance they survived on just 6 teams (4 of which were in the US) - low and behold all 6 of those teams still exist in their original markets. I wonder how much Bettmen himself lost?
isn't there 2 teams in the NBA who actually share an arena? LA/golden?
I agree, I think Ont. can handle another team,
@edmoil12 we could support about 10 - 12 teams here in canada. we can support them. and actually no, inflation is upon us this year. you'll see the price of gold and silver go up drastically in the next few months, and at a certain point, they dollar in the USA will drop quite i bit more than the canadian dollar
@VancouverChokers I'm not doubting it, but Bettman doesn't want it
George how could you shake his hand!!
Toronto and region(Golden Horseshoe) can handle 2 teams.N.Y.C region(18 mil) has 3. Golden Horseshoe(9 mil) can have 2
Yep, Bettman is keen to running teams into the ground alright. Colorado went straight to the ground with their 2 cups and one of the longest sellout streaks, Columbus went in to the ground with the real good fan base they have there, as well as Minnesota, and Carolina...give me a fuckin break. People are blind
@mirlin235 I'd think if Seattle can spruce up its arena they might get a team down the line and that's just as good as having a team in Victoria. Problem is the Key Arena is a dump.
"Gary Bettman has his fans." Really, George?
Never before have I heard a man talk so much, but say so little.
Professional politician in action.