[News] NHL has begun preparations for Gary Bettman's eventual retirement

[Locke]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

But the crowd is still going to boo the new commissioner when they present The Cup right?

Like tradition must live on.

Agreed. That should just be part of the Job Description.

"You seem like a good candidate but how do you feel about being booed by 20,000 people?"

I like it. It revs my engine!

[Paulie Walnuts]

Hopefully we get someone who doesn't have the dinosaurs like Lou in his ear and listens more to what fans and players want. Crosby has been talking about 1-8 playoff format for a long time, time to go back.

Bettman saved the Flames and all Canadian teams with the cap. The economic stuff he has done for the game is great, but he is out of touch with the on-ice product. Need someone more progressive.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Hopefully we get someone who doesn't have the dinosaurs like Lou in his ear and listens more to what fans and players want. Crosby has been talking about 1-8 playoff format for a long time, time to go back.

Bettman saved the Flames and all Canadian teams with the cap. The economic stuff he has done for the game is great, but he is out of touch with the on-ice product. Need someone more progressive.

Progressive in what ways? What else needs to change?
I am in favor of expanded playoffs which he is opposed to. I'm hoping that changes soon.

And I would strongly advocate for a complete ban on fighting.

Beyond that though - what else are we talking about?

[Red_Baron]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

But the crowd is still going to boo the new commissioner when they present The Cup right?

Like tradition must live on.

If his successor is Daly, his prior affiliation with Bettman will make it easier for the fans to continue the tradition as the current response by the fans to the commisioner is similar to a dog barking when they hear a doorbell.

If they go in another direction, it may take some time to restore it.

[Jordan!]

Best commish in sports

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Bettman is the very definition of a whipping boy for fans. Everything that's wrong with the game gets blamed on him. It detracts from actual valid criticism of things he actually does wrong (and even there it's unclear what is him and what is the board of governors).

Gary is the owner’s lawyer. It’s his job to be hated. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks, and that’s why the only time he looks sad is when the boos aren’t as loud as he expected.

Every second the fans spend hating Gary is a second they aren’t hating the owners.

I would argue that, relative to the popularity of his sport, Gary is actually the best commissioner of the four.

Goodell has the mightiest sports juggernaut in the world - easy gig.

Adam Silver has allowed the NBA to get so soft and spoiled that players now work from home.

Rob Manfred doesn’t understand why his players would want to win the World Series.

Gary, meanwhile, has taken a fringe sport mainly played by hick Canadians and the Soviets and turned it into a 32 team league that is as stable as any of the other big three.

In just 30 years.

They’re going to talk about him in business schools for the next hundred years.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Posting that gif in this thread without a) considering b) checking if Gary Bettman is Jewish is insane to me, but different strokes.

I suppose you fully research every single person you post about in terms of their cultural and religious background? Furthermore, why would I care if he’s Jewish? When I gave context to the gif, his religion had no bearing on the message. This is you being offended over nothing, and I won’t post on it anymore but that’s gotta be a ####ty way to go through life. You do you man.

[Roof-Daddy]

Bettman has grown on me over the years, and I love how he reacts to being booed all the time, smirking and almost hamming it up.

[Since1984]

As much as I dislike his little shaky face, he did more for the game of hockey and Canadian franchises than most will give him credit for. Enjoy retirement! (silently booing)

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Losing the flames was a possibility but not a guarantee. The billion dollar business has now made it expensive for the average person to go to games, the TV broadcasting deals are ridiculous in Canada, games are frequently shown in 720P due to old technology, multiple lockouts, NCAA contracts structured so players can sign as free agents after 4 years.

These are all things in his control where he has dropped the ball.

a. The NHL is below the NFL and NBA in ticket price and above MLS and MLB. Your complaint is about pro sports.

b. Who knows what you mean by "ridiculous". But what were your alternative contracts that you had in mind?

c. The bandwith to stream a live event in 4K is huge. Just going from 720 to 1080 would probably double costs. And even if they broadcast to the provider in a higher def, the provider often throttles the broadcast down to save $. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX75uEq9IdU

d. Lockouts are as much on the players as owners - and they provided the cap structure that a lot of teams seem to need. And FYI as far as number of lockouts/strikes go: MLB:9, NFL: 8, NBA: 4, NHL: 4

e. This is pretty nitpicky. The number of drafted players that go that route is extremely small.

[D as in David]

Everyone knows Trudeau is responsible for 720p. Fata him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Gary is the owner’s lawyer. It’s his job to be hated. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks, and that’s why the only time he looks sad is when the boos aren’t as loud as he expected.

Every second the fans spend hating Gary is a second they aren’t hating the owners.

I would argue that, relative to the popularity of his sport, Gary is actually the best commissioner of the four.

Goodell has the mightiest sports juggernaut in the world - easy gig.

Adam Silver has allowed the NBA to get so soft and spoiled that players now work from home.

Rob Manfred doesn’t understand why his players would want to win the World Series.

Gary, meanwhile, has taken a fringe sport mainly played by hick Canadians and the Soviets and turned it into a 32 team league that is as stable as any of the other big three.

In just 30 years.

They’re going to talk about him in business schools for the next hundred years.

I'd agree. And Law Schools for that matter.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

a. The NHL is below the NFL and NBA in ticket price and above MLS and MLB. Your complaint is about pro sports.

b. Who knows what you mean by "ridiculous". But what were your alternative contracts that you had in mind?

c. The bandwith to stream a live event in 4K is huge. Just going from 720 to 1080 would probably double costs. And even if they broadcast to the provider in a higher def, the provider often throttles the broadcast down to save $. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX75uEq9IdU

d. Lockouts are as much on the players as owners - and they provided the cap structure that a lot of teams seem to need. And FYI as far as number of lockouts/strikes go: MLB:9, NFL: 8, NBA: 4, NHL: 4

e. This is pretty nitpicky. The number of drafted players that go that route is extremely small.

A) Agreed, it is all sports that are expensive, and Bettman is the guy in charge of hockey who has the ability to change that, if that were his priority (it isnt).

B) The Canadian TV contracts have no options for streaming at a reasonable price. Hopefully Amazon assumes this deal in the future and bundles it in with prime memberships. The regional blackouts, excessive price and cumbersome navigation of finding the broadcaster (formerly NHL center ice vs sportsnet vs prime vs cbc vs tsn) are all things the NHL could negotiate in contracts but they don’t. The fan experience takes a back seat to money.

C) Invest in your product to improve the product. Very simple concept.

D) The goal should be no lockouts, not fewer lockouts than other businesses.

E) He’s the top dog for these negotiations, nitpicky or not. Maybe it isn’t important to you but it might be important to others.

[Shazam]

I thought vampires lived forever.

[GioforPM]

Bettman is 72, Daley is 60. I imagine if Daley wants it it's his, at least for a while, unless there's a real star out there that the BOG has their eye on.

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

I suppose you fully research every single person you post about in terms of their cultural and religious background? Furthermore, why would I care if he’s Jewish? When I gave context to the gif, his religion had no bearing on the message. This is you being offended over nothing, and I won’t post on it anymore but that’s gotta be a ####ty way to go through life. You do you man.

You posted a nazi salute.

Even if Gary Bettman wasn't Jewish it would still be unacceptable.

Not buying the ignorance plea. This is a hate symbol and nothing else.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

A) Agreed, it is all sports that are expensive, and Bettman is the guy in charge of hockey who has the ability to change that, if that were his priority (it isnt).

B) The Canadian TV contracts have no options for streaming at a reasonable price. Hopefully Amazon assumes this deal in the future and bundles it in with prime memberships. The regional blackouts, excessive price and cumbersome navigation of finding the broadcaster (formerly NHL center ice vs sportsnet vs prime vs cbc vs tsn) are all things the NHL could negotiate in contracts but they don’t. The fan experience takes a back seat to money.

C) Invest in your product to improve the product. Very simple concept.

D) The goal should be no lockouts, not fewer lockouts than other businesses.

E) He’s the top dog for these negotiations, nitpicky or not. Maybe it isn’t important to you but it might be important to others.

You have no idea what they negotiated. Whcih applies to all your other points. You seem to think only one side has agency in all these issues.

[Infinit47]

Assume this means they've hired an old priest and a young priest for the exorcism..

[getbak]

Daly himself is 60 years-old. I think the only way he'll take over is if Bettman is forced to step down for health reasons before they can execute a transition plan.

Since February 1 is Bettman's 32nd anniversary, I could see him announcing he'll retire after a 3 year transition to a new Commissioner after 35 years in office.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

You have no idea what they negotiated. Whcih applies to all your other points. You seem to think only one side has agency in all these issues.

Actually we know exactly what was negotiated, it’s the product we see before us. The omission of my points in the contracts Bettman has negotiated I feel has worsened the fan experience and that’s why I feel he has done a poor job for the consumers of his product.

Both sides of course have agency in this, but this thread is about Bettman and not those other sides, hence the discussion being focused on him. That’s called discussing the topic at hand.