I'm not sure if it's a two-part series when two different people write about it, however Jennifer Conway and I have decided to embark upon a little Canadian/American relation. Because of the impeccable job that Gary Bettman has done with the NHL, we figured it was time to give the man his due—so below you'll find a Canadian's take on what Bettman has done for the game of hockey and the NHL, while Jen has provided you with the American take.
Hope you enjoy...
History has been littered with great leaders, as well as terrible leaders. What makes these leaders hold down a spot in our minds and force us to think about them years after they’ve run their course, is their reputation and the controversy created.
For every leader you’ll find supporters who think that their ‘chosen one’s’ tactics are well thought out, practical, and just what is needed in a dire situation. On the other side of the fence however, there will be those who simply cannot stand that leader—the people who watch with disdain as everything that was assumed good in their own eyes is washed away under a sea of miscommunication and lies.
Canada and the United States are actually closer than we think in this regard—both Steven Harper and George W. Bush have those who are tiring of their incessant actions, while those who approve applaud respectfully from a corner, only coming forth in defense of their Chieftain when the time is right, or the murmurs of discontent get too loud.
In the sports world, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays have John 'Jimy Williams' Gibbons, while if you're Sean Crowe and the rest of the Boston Celtics fans, you have Doc Rivers.
But for Gary Bettman, who are his supporters? The numbers against him seem to rise every day as his eternal struggle to bring new fans to the timeless game of hockey results in fans of the game in it’s purest form leaving and pursuing greener pastures—or at least pastures run by a shepherd who looks nothing like a shrew.
But when was the last time you ever heard someone speak well of Bettman?
We constantly hear of the man’s vision to see hockey to the future—how the sport will begin to thrive and prosper, so much so that it could even move into the realm of international play. We hear about how the game is moving forward while staying “original” and “true to it’s roots” in an attempt to lure the casual fan, and entrench the hardcore.
Needless to say, the NHL is starting to look more dysfunctional than Christmas at Ozzie Osbourne’s house.
Now if we were to say one thing going forward that’s nice about Gary Bettman, it’s that he has the right players going forward. To be able to market around Alexander Ovechkin, Dion Phaneuf, Rick Nash, Sidney Crosby and Joe Thornton is a treat, and from a players’ standpoint, Bettman is in the clear.
Unfortunately I lied—in no way is it possible to give Gary Bettman credit for the players entering the league. If he had assigned each player to their respective team the moment they became NHL eligible, formulated a specific draft list to tell the NHL’s teams who and whom they couldn’t draft, drafted each player for each team, or illegitimately fathered over 700 NHL-caliber athletes, then yes we could give him credit. Unfortunately for Bettman, unless the NHL is one giant puppet show—or athleticism skips a generation in his family—he can’t get any credit in this department.
- B/R Ticket Guide
At least we tried right?
Needless to say, Gary Bettman has done more harm than good to the NHL. The first thing you can bring up is the lockout. Granted, to this story there were two sides, but as the chapters unfolded, the support for either side waned. How can you take the ‘head’ of the league seriously when he wasn’t even involved in the January 2005 discussions that were an attempt to save the season? If he was truly concerned shouldn’t he have been there?
You could also argue that if Bettman was truly concerned about the game, then this wouldn’t have been the second work stoppage that the NHL had faced since the beginning of his tenure.
Following the lockout in 2004-05 though, there were the well-publicized rule changes that have altered the outlook of the game forever—so much so that now when I watch International hockey I have to think twice before asking “but where’s the trapezoid”.
But much has been made of everything that was the lockout and what resulted from it—we’ve all heard how Bettman has hurt the game in general. But what about how he’s hurt the game in Canada?
Now initially, saying something like that would seem ludicrous. Despite the daily soap opera that is the Toronto Maple Leafs (which Bettman has found a way to meddle in—by telling the Leafs not to meddle), the six Canadian teams are very well-off. This past season alone, five of the six Canadian teams were in the top-ten in league attendance, and only two of those were outside of the top-five.
Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto were first, third, and fifth in league attendance, followed by Calgary at six, and Vancouver at nine. The team that missed out on the top-ten was Edmonton, who finished eighteenth, however their average attendance (16, 828) was only 11 off of the maximum capacity of Rexall Place (16, 839).
But let’s go back in time a little, to February 1st, 1993—the day Bettman was hired. After a fairly lengthy tenure, and fast rise in the NBA, he was brought in by the NHL owners to do a number of things: the main ideas being that he was expected to end the labor disputes in the NHL (Gil Stein enjoyed that so much that his book How to Script Your Own Entrance to the Hall of Fame has been placed on the back burner in favor of Strike Me Down Every Decade on the Decade: Gary Bettman’s Journey Through the NHL—The Musical), help finish off the expansion process, and help the game grow roots in the American markets.
But then (much like the Grinch), Gary Bettman had an idea. An awful idea.
Gary Bettman had a wonderful, awful idea.
‘What if’, he thought ‘we commandeer Canadian teams and bring them to the United States while we expand with entirely new teams here too!’
And that’s just what he did.
(Editor’s Note: I’m not creative enough to start talking in rhyme from here on out—just so nobody gets disappointed here).
Before the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, or Nashville Predators were even a twinkle in the Commish’s beady little eyes, he began to pillage the Canadian market.
In 1995, the smallest of the small market teams, the Quebec Nordiques, were forced to part ways with La Belle Province, and move on to the richer pastures of Denver, Colorado. The following year, the Phoenix Coyotes rose from the ashes of the Winnipeg Jets.
Needless to say, the reason for the moves was drawn back to money—being small market teams, neither the Nordiques nor the Jets could keep up with the escalation in player salaries despite the work stoppage in 1994/95, and the owners’ hands were forced into the sale of two beloved Canadian franchises.
Despite the reasoning that the players are what killed these two Canadian teams, it doesn’t explain the fact that players were looking to implement revenue sharing throughout the NHL to help the smaller market teams.
Ten years later, in an effort to save his beloved American small market teams, we’re now looking at a league playing by the rules of the CBA that’s meant to benefit small market teams.
If Bettman truly cared about growing the sport, then America and Canada would be considered equals—especially with the new cap system—when looking to garner consideration for a new franchise.
Today however, he seems hell-bent on expanding the American market to places like Kansas City, while entrenching American teams to the south-side of the border, despite their fiscal liabilities (Just ask Mr. Jim Balsille…).
Sidenote: To be honest, I never agreed with the idea of an NHL franchise in Hamilton or the Kitchener/Waterloo region—it just makes it seem too crowded in Southwestern Ontario, especially with the likes of Detroit, Toronto, and Buffalo, as well as the two New York teams.
I do however agree with buying one of the floundering American teams and moving them to Canada—and if it so happens to come to Hamilton or the K/W area, I guess I’ll just have to roll with it.
Gary Bettman got what he wanted eventually with the implementation of a salary cap, so now the smaller markets can survive. However, it looks more and more like the cap is just life-support for a few comatose patients who are already gone.
Nice try Gary. Just remember—Canada still exists if you ever need to air lift any patients to more fruitful pastures.
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5 months ago
GB to Leafs - Leave Brians Burke Alone!!!!!!
Ken to GB - Are you serious? Isn't this solved already?
Bottom line..too little too late...much like the Lockout...
Great article as always BT
5 months ago
I guess what bothers me the most in this bettman's canadian/american teams project, it is that for most of the canadian teams, hockey is sometimes the only sport out there.
look at Boston, most people watch the Patriots, the red sox and the celtics. Detroit: the pistons, the white sox ... and so on.
he should have some regards toward Canada addressing that matter..
5 months ago
I said most of my comments in the published response, but I've always got another word or two when it comes to Gary Bettman.
It would be interesting to know the number of times Canadian teams had to bail themselves out of trouble (or went down) versus the floundering US teams that were created/assisted when the market didn’t support it. I know that the fans of the Calgary Flames, along with local businesses, kept the team from being relocated numerous times through the ‘90s. And then we would hear that never-ending cash flow that was being divvied up for teams like the Predators and Jackets. In some cases, a few warmer-clime teams have developed solid fans bases; others haven’t. Will Jim Balsillie be the only Canadian businessman denied a chance to purchase a US based team (not once, but twice), or will a comparable US offer come up and be approved?
For all Bettman's talk about the future, he doesn't seem to realise: THE FUTURE IS NOW, and fans are losing patience.
5 months ago
I was worried you were actually going to support this chump--I might have had to remove you from my lineup for that, and you are actually my most favourite writer! Thank God you write a good piece.
I actually like almost all the rules changes after the lockout--I personally don't like tyhe shootout, but recognize it's good for the game. I like that they got at least a little serious about enforcing interference. They need to go farther to address the thuggishness, the fact that penalties are called differently in the playoffs and especially late in games, the disparity between crews, etc., but this was a step in the right direction.
But that's about the only thing I like him for.
5 months ago
Gary bettman should be fired now and they should hire a damn Canadian to do this job.Because your going to make more money in Canada you american asshole.Look 6 Canadian teams almost made as much as 24 american teams.So there is proof that even 10 Canadian teams you would be doing much better.So this Bettman guy is bullshit just like 24 american teams.If it wasnt for Canada there wouldnt be hockey.The fans and money is in Canada.america is not the spot to have this many teams. SO FUCK U BETTMAN.
5 months ago
Ok... I'm going to be the controversial one this time. Gary Bettman DOES have support. Try listening to his XM radio show on Thursdays. You blame him for the lockout? Where is the blame on Bob Goodenow who has mysteriously dissapeared from sight??? The man who wanted the stoppage to last TWO years??? If it wasn't for Bettman, we'd all be watching the AHL and the the Jr leagues because there would be no NHL. You complain about rule changes, and yet they are seriously minimal and approved by both the league and the players. And here we come to the great Divide.... The teams in Canada vs. the teams in the US, even worse, the teams in the SOUTHERN US. Again... Listen to XM Radio. Wait till you hear hockey being discussed intelligently and passionately with a Southern accent. Now, I wasn't a fan when the teams were moved OUT of Canada, but there must have been a REASON they were. Maybe there will be more teams north of the border in the near future, but to say his tenure is a complete failure is a failure to look at the bigger picture of what is happening in the leauge today. Sorry guys.... It's not longer JUST Canada's game. Just like BASEBALL isn't JUST ours. It's global, and it's getting better!
5 months ago
Southern Ontario too crowded?? So bloody what? The demand is there! The NY area has 3 teams, one of them a perennial Cup threat and still they have trouble filling the seats. Fact of the matter is, Southern Ontario is the most densely populated area of the country and the average hockey fan hasn't been able to attend a Leaf game in years. Nearly all of those seats in the ACC have been tied up by season ticket holders forever -- they're business investments and family heirlooms. To get a ticket to the Leafs you have to be supremely lucky, extremely well-connected or able to part with large, large wads of cash. You could plant two new NHL teams in Toronto right across the ACC and I would bet my left kidney the Leafs wouldn't see any difference in their bank accounts. What the Leafs have is essentially a license to print money, and there is plenty of room here for a few more teams. Balsillie had something like 15,000 people already putting down money for seat licenses in mere hours. That man knows a good business opportunity when he sees one-- why Bettman can't see this is beyond me.
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