Comments on: Gary, Unharried

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:10:55 +0000

Any chance Bettman will expand a team out to London? It’s knackering trying to follow the Hawks at 2am every other night

By: siouxinpa

siouxinpa — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:16:12 +0000

TMNT poodle = AWESOME!

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:25:45 +0000

Picking up on Tom Curran’s comment, I think when Bettman came into the league and he changed the division and conference names from Campbell, Wales, Patrick, Adams, Smythe, and Norris to the current geographical categorization, he was perceived as doing something akin to what Eric Mangini did when he tore down the mural of Browns legends in the team practice facility upon arriving in Cleveland. That’s not going to win you a lot of fans, and it certainly feeds the belief that Bettman is trying to popularize the game at the expense of the real die-hard fans. That said, I agree that he’s done a rather good job, generally speaking, in a rather thankless role.

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:45:55 +0000

Honestly I haven’t seen anything that Bettman has done that makes me think he’s as much of an insufferable douche; it’s just the way he looks in almost every photo he’s in. Personally the only thing I’d like to see him do (and he probably cant do anything about) is fixing the total mess that is actual TV coverage of the NHL. Most NHL “packages” come with 4 games a season in HD, if you dont have one you’re lucky to see your local team’s home game while ESPN shows poker and the local sport’s affiliate airs the high school diving tournament held at the rec center last week.

By: Tom Curran

Tom Curran — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:04:37 +0000

I think the “Hate Bettman” crowd(my membership is paid in full)are the hardcore hockey fans who just don’t like him because he’s not a hockey guy. Can you picture old Gary hunkering down with some cold suds and a meat lovers grease wheel cheering on the Rangers? Kinda like picturing Mike Tyson teaching public speaking isn’t it! He has the stench of a potential Ranger fan!!
Great piece on THN Justin! The guys on the ice have to make the change themselves for sure!!
P.S. most dog owners really are bat-shit crazy!!

By: angus

angus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:21:04 +0000

Yes, but you also can’t run a proper business with consistent losses. Putting a team in Hamilton may not add new fans (I disagree and say that it will), but it surely will add more money to the league than Phoenix does. How much will ultimately decide the expansion/relocation fee that the NHL will seek.

By: AiH

AiH — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:21:24 +0000

If you want to grow the NHL you have to do it by adding new fans. You can’t do that in Canada. You have to do that in the United States, possibly Europe. That is what Gary Bettman is trying to do.

Q: How many new NHL fans would the league have added by moving a team to Hamilton?
A: Somewhere around zero

By: JD

JD — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:38:10 +0000

That poodle shot is quite disturbing..

By: Neil

Neil — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:18:49 +0000

I’ve never checked, but Gary (and others) insist Edmonton, Ottawa, and possibly Calgary would not have made it through the tough times without some profit-sharing scheme from Gary that emphasized the Canadian teams.

There is a perception in Canada that Bettman is willing to take a chance on sunny American cities that don’t really like hockey but not on snowy Canadian cities begging for NHL clubs (while they go insane for the Manitoba Moose). Why roll the dice in Phoenix and Nashville (?) but not Hamilton or Winnipeg where the passion is there already?

Personally, I think it’s just money. If the U.S. doesn’t watch, the league tanks, if it takes off in the U.S., everyone is gonna get rich(er). Mostly American ownership, mostly American interests. Canadians already obsess about hockey way too much, why work to boost a market you already have?

Still, watching these “sunbelt” teams take million-dollar profit-sharing cheques while begging their fans to come watch for $10 a seat (and Gary swats away potential buyers) is painful when it fails. I agree with many Canadians that Gary is all about growing the game in the U.S. but I think this is a reasonable business decision, not proof of the paranoid Canadian delusion that Gary is out to screw Canada.

It seems like the only things Balsillie ever had going for him were his money and the Canadian willingness to follow ANYONE into battle against Gary.

By: angus

angus — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:44:12 +0000

Gary’s stubborness with regards to expansion is his only real blemish. Most of the owners didn’t want Balsille, and they are the ones who sign Gary’s paychecks.