Bettman's performance is wildly over-rated. Compare his performance to the other big 4 sports and you could maybe argue MLB as somewhat comparable to the NHL in performance but the NBA and NFL franchise values and league exposure have grown exponentially bigger compared to the NHL. NHL has been a non-entity in US nation wide coverage for a decade until this year.
I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday and had to giggle at a comment that he made when discussing Covid restrictions and stadiums being full. He distinctly pointed out that all THREE sports are playing now including basketball which is inside. All three sports being basketball, football and baseball.
I know that a lot of folks here are much more opinionated and more vocal (ie. interested in speaking at length on this) but I'll start this thread with a quick and straightforward opinion:
Gary Bettman needs to resign.
As a hockey fan listening to his responses and comments on the Chicago situation it does very little in inspiring confidence that the NHL is going to move forward at an appropriate pace in changing the culture of hockey.
This is ridiculous
The culture of hockey goes far beyond Bettman’s reach
Gary Bettman has done more for hockey than probably any non-player in the last 50 years.
Trying to pin the entire culture of the sport on one person is lazy and dishonest.
I don't think anyone is questioning his role in growing the sport. But the NHL is facing a growing reptutational crisis because of how the league and Blackhawks botch their handling of the Beach disclosure. And what we learned today about its non-investigation into the Akim Aliu matter shows the league is committed to lip service, not actual change.
Bettman is the face and voice of the old boys' club. He's incapable of convincing anyone that the NHL is taking these issues seriously.
The culture of hockey goes far beyond Bettman’s reach
You're right and as such the NHL should just be a free-for-all in terms of all the garbage that exists in lower leagues, right? Why bother being better or setting a standard for other leagues to look up to.
Hockey is not a very diverse sport and neither is the fanbase. We will see just how much pressure there will be on Bettman because right now it seems this entire story is getting scant coverage in the US.
Everyone is upset there was no follow up with Akim Aliu, but how many people asked or even cared since Peters was sent packing?
If there is to be some sort of reckoning for the sport, IMO it will start with fans and sponsors.
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Bettman's performance is wildly over-rated. Compare his performance to the other big 4 sports and you could maybe argue MLB as somewhat comparable to the NHL in performance but the NBA and NFL franchise values and league exposure have grown exponentially bigger compared to the NHL. NHL has been a non-entity in US nation wide coverage for a decade until this year.
It wasn't a matter of growing, it was a matter of surviving.
The Canadian Assistance Plan, Revenue Sharing, Salary Cap, most small-market teams, including Calgary, would likely be gone by now if it wasn't for Bettman on these issues
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Originally Posted by InternationalVillager
The NBA forced the sale of the LA Clippers with a issue of similar importance I would say.
Well sure...but it was the owner of the team that was the perpetrator. Then his fellow owners wanted him out of the league. It most certainly wasn't David Stern making that decision.
So unless there is evidence that Rocky Wirtz knew about all this, then it is not a comparable situation.
Well sure...but it was the owner of the team that was the perpetrator. Then his fellow owners wanted him out of the league. It most certainly wasn't David Stern making that decision.
So unless there is evidence that Rocky Wirtz knew about all this, then it is not a comparable situation.
There appears to be a big difference in the way that ownership functions and manages things in the NHL as compared to other leagues. NHL owners are very hands off and removed. It is pretty rare for an NHL owner to make the news while the other major leagues are a very different story.
There appears to be a big difference in the way that ownership functions and manages things in the NHL as compared to other leagues. NHL owners are very hands off and removed. It is pretty rare for an NHL owner to make the news while the other major leagues are a very different story.
Agree. The NFL owners are the worst, constantly filing suits against each other and the league.
I think Gary is a bit unlikable, but his job is to grow the game and he has done that very well. If your mad about the NHL and the lack or a real consequence than stop watching and supporting the owners who give him direction.
If I was an NHL owner, I'd be pretty disappointed with Bettman's performance today. He made the NHL owners look like they don't care about what happened and that it is a big inconvenience.
The $2 million fine compared to the fines for teams attempting a competitive advantages looks like winning is what is really important and if people get hurt along the way, it is not okay, but we won't get too upset about it.
I would have hoped my well paid representative could do a better job than that.
Well sure...but it was the owner of the team that was the perpetrator. Then his fellow owners wanted him out of the league. It most certainly wasn't David Stern making that decision.
So unless there is evidence that Rocky Wirtz knew about all this, then it is not a comparable situation.
For sure it wasn’t Stern since, as mentioned above, he was gone. But I think Silver pushed that move hard.
Gary is a figurehead for people behind the scenes that pay him handsomely. He couldn't by himself change hockey culture even if he wanted to.
This is patently false. There is an overwhelming majority of owners who own an NHL franchise because Gary facilitated their golden ticket. There is also a long line of Jim Balsilies amoungst others who wouldn’t or are still waiting for their chance.
He is the most power human in hockey and he has always been reactive rather than proactive because he thinks he is the smartest man in the room.
And you know what? He probably is the smartest.
However he can’t use his brain to adjudicate himself out of every problem, especially when his league looks like a group of insular, empathetically bankrupt, racist bigots.
He can and should do a lot more as this is on his watch.
It’s banal and tiresome watching him evaluate everything as either liability or a legal pissing match to sharpen his own ego.
This is patently false. There is an overwhelming majority of owners who own an NHL franchise because Gary facilitated their golden ticket. There is also a long line of Jim Balsilies amoungst others who wouldn’t or are still waiting for their chance.
He is the most power human in hockey and he has always been reactive rather than proactive because he thinks he is the smartest man in the room.
And you know what? He probably is the smartest.
However he can’t use his brain to adjudicate himself out of every problem, especially when his league looks like a group of insular, empathetically bankrupt, racist bigots.
He can and should do a lot more as this is on his watch.
It’s banal and tiresome watching him evaluate everything as either liability or a legal pissing match to sharpen his own ego.
Please prove it then. It's astonishing how may people don't understand Bettman is an employee of the league hired by the owners. Not the other way around. He has as much power as he has backing from a majority of owners. Any major changes to the league are done so by ownership majority.
Last edited by Erick Estrada; 11-01-2021 at 07:13 PM.
I don't see anything wrong with Bettman's response. I think them not associating with Kennedy may be their best choice because some people may associate his sexual abuse with the NHL which obviously isn't true.
It sucks but non hockey fans probably wouldn't know that it happened in juniors and just associate it with the NHL.
