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Originally Posted by thefoss1957
Dion...3 lockouts.
As to Bettman's "vision", or "savior of small market Canadian teams" & etc...The running joke in the desert, rather than allowing a Canadian interest to take over what was originally a Canadian franchise, even as it was a "ward of the league"
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Bit more complicated of a situation than that. But it is worth noting that the NHL fought for Phoenix recently as it fought for the Canadian teams in the 90s. That may seem counterintuitive, but Bettman nixed a move of the Jets to the Twin Cities in 1995 while the league tried to find another local owner. Unfortunately, the community ownership idea fell through and there was nobody else willing to step up, thus the move to Phoenix a year later. Also, the Canadian Assistance plan is why Calgary, among others, still has a team.
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...forcing franchises into US Southern markets, where any down swing in performance might mean abandonment of the town...(I suspect that Sunrise, FL., will lose it's team sooner than later, and have my doubts for Raleigh or Nashville, down the line)
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This is an example of Bettman's most important (and most successful) job for the owners: he acts as their lightning rod. The plan to put teams in the American south predates Bettman by several years. In fact, San Jose, Anaheim, Tampa Bay and Florida were all processed under Ziegler or Stein. It was under Bettman that Columbus, Minnesota, Atlanta (now Winnipeg) and Nashville came to be. But that was part of what the owners hired him to do.
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...this fixation on Las Vegas, a Fail market that even the NFL, MLB, and NBA, have recognized shortcomings as a fan base, rather than Seattle or Quebec, or Hamilton, all better "hockey" markets, IMO. All these, I feel, reflect stubbornness and poor judgment on Bettman's part.
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Appeal to emotion fallacy. You can't claim Vegas will fail when it hasn't been tried yet. Also, you're just making things up when you say "the NFL, MLB, and NBA, have recognized shortcomings as a fan base". Additionally, I think it is very clear the NHL wants to go into Seattle. Teensy little problem with the lack of an arena plan though. I hope Quebec gets a team eventually, but the odds are they are the landing spot for a team like Florida if it fails.