Gary Battmen Signs 7 Year Extension

[The Unknown Poster]

This came up in the NHL thread but its pretty important and deserving of its own thread especially as more stories come out discussing his "legacy".

Personally, I dont know him so I cant say I like or dislike him as a person but I think the NHL is infinitely better for having him in that position.  I worry that his extension expires at the same time as the current CBA and how that might embolden the PA to test a new commissioner if, in fact, Gary retires at that time.  In fact, it seems odd they'd time it that way unless Gary agreed to stay on with the caveat that he wouldnt go through another war.

I've heard some discussion of his legacy today and most people point to negatives, that he is unlikeable.  Well, the NHL is larger, stronger with far more revenues, more teams, better TV deals, cost certainty, revenue sharing, stronger Canadian teams etc.  Not every expansion or relocation was perfect but the massive southern expansion was overall a success.

I'd say, time will judge Bettman as a very successful commissioner.

 

NASHVILLE  - Gary Bettman has been accused of being many things during his reign as the NHL’s grand poohbah. Party animal isn’t one of them.

Imagine, then, the number of eyebrows that were raised throughout the hockey world when Bettman, while extolling the virtues of the seemingly endless frivolity going on here in the Music City, noted on Sunday that “the party went on all night.”

Whoa. Hold it right there, Mr. Commish.

Were you out frequenting one of the outstanding Honky Tonks lining nearby Broadway into the wee hours?

It can’t be. If you had been out in that chaos, at least one member of the posse of hockey media here to cover all-star weekend would have spotted you through their bloodshot eyes.

That being the case, how did you know the seemingly-neverending Nashville bash was going on around the clock?

“I heard it,” Bettman said with a chuckle, showing a rare flash of humour.

For the most part, what Bettman has “heard” for much of his lengthy tenure running the NHL is criticism and jeers, most of which have bounced off him like bullets off Superman.

If you are one of the legions of Bettman Bashers out there, then you’ll be booing again at what you are about to read.

Brace yourself.

Gary Bettman, polarizing figure as he might be, has inked a multi-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season, which would complete a stint of almost three decades running the NHL.

You might be giving that news the thumbs down. But obviously NHL owners certainly aren’t. They are the ones who have given Bettman the green light - both figuratively and financially - to lead the league into the next decade.

It’s easy to see why the owners would want Bettman to remain in the captain’s chair. After all, the bottom line for these titans of business is the almighty buck. Always has been. Always will be.

To that end, Bettman’s key to longevity on the job has been the fact that he has put money in the owners’ pockets. In his era as commissioner, the NHL has gone from a $400 million per year business to more than $4 billion.

Bettman, 63, took over the post on Feb. 1, 1993 and will celebrate the 23rd anniversary on the job on Monday.

Under his watch, the NHL has expanded from 24 to 30 teams and has slogged through three lockouts, including the ugly work stoppage of 2004-05 which wiped out the entire season and kept the Stanley Cup from being awarded.

From a business standpoint, Bettman guided the league to a lucrative 12-year, $5.2 billion television deal with Rogers Sportsnet and a 10-year, $2 billion broadcasting pact in the U.S.

According to a source familiar with the situation, Bettman signed the his extension back in September but kept it quiet, as is the norm when it comes to many things involving the commish.

When asked about the reports of his extension during an appearance on The NHL Network Sunday afternoon, Bettman replied: “It’s not news to me. This happened many months ago.

“We’re just excited as a group to be moving the game forward.”

Interestingly, Bettman’s extension will expire in 2022, the same year the current collective bargaining agreement ends. The NHL can exercise its option to end the deal on Sept. 1, 2019. If it doesn’t, the NHLPA can pull the plug on it two weeks later.

Bettman feels one of the strong points of the modern-day National Hockey League is a competitive balance between teams that are superior to the three other prominent North American sports leagues - the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball.

But Bettman’s detractors are more apt to point out the warts that sprouted during his regime. Indeed, Bettman absorbed a significant amount of heat from north of the border on Saturday when he announced that Los Angeles would be awarded the 2017 All-Star Game, opting not to give it to Toronto as part of the Leafs' 100th anniversary celebrations.

With allegations flooding social media that he is anti-Canadian, it must be pointed out that that the league did return to Winnipeg. Of course, the Jets first left Winnipeg for Arizona in 1996, a move that also came under Bettman’s watch.

That’s the way it works with Bettman - you either like him or you loathe him.

However you feel about him, we do know this: he’s not going anywhere for a while.

Deal with it.

 

mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca

[Goalie]

Pretty much. 

[IC Khari]

I'm very excited for another 7 year reign by this guy ... can't wait to see what he comes up with to take the league into the future

[The Unknown Poster]

8 minutes ago, IC Khari said:

I'm very excited for another 7 year reign by this guy ... can't wait to see what he comes up with to take the league into the future

Such as expanded league, increased revenue, huge TV contracts, more Canadian teams?

[IC Khari]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Such as expanded league, increased revenue, huge TV contracts, more Canadian teams?

Ya all that ... what did you think I meant?

[Goalie]

In an Era where all pro sports have had record revenue.... but bettman really isn't that bad in the big picture. Must be doing his job if his bosses (owners including Chipman ) gave him a new extension 

[The Unknown Poster]

7 minutes ago, Goalie said:

In an Era where all pro sports have had record revenue.... but bettman really isn't that bad in the big picture. Must be doing his job if his bosses (owners including Chipman ) gave him a new extension 

Big difference being the other major pro sports are big in the US and hockey isnt.  By every metric, Bettman has been successful.  The majority of reasons people give for hating him are generally not true.

[Goalie]

I think most people don't like him cuz he comes across as being an arrogant smug whining little female dog.... 

 

He's doing his job. I don't mind him but I find him annoying but that doesn't mean that he's doing a bad job. Jets probably aren't here if not for Bettman. Ppl can be bitter and blame him for the original jets leaving but it wasn't his fault that NOBODY wanted to build a new arena or own the team here at that time

[The Unknown Poster]

And while I defend him, I think he didnt try as hard to help the original Jets as he did other teams because he already had a soft landing spot for them in markets he wanted to grow (Minnesota and PHX).  But he sums it up rather well saying you need three things: Arena, owner, fans.  And the Jets really only had one of those, sometimes two.  Never three.

The only thing I remember him doing that was pretty negative was disallowing a large group ownership situation which was proposed to save the Jets.  he later allowed it when the Oilers needed it.  But what the Jets were trying to do was a **** show.

[johnzo]

1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:

Big difference being the other major pro sports are big in the US and hockey isnt.  By every metric, Bettman has been successful.  The majority of reasons people give for hating him are generally not true.

The Dead Puck era started just after Bettman came on board.

Think the guy is fantastic for ownership and I definitely respect his accomplishments in growing the NHL as a business, but as a steward of the game, I'm not big on him.

[The Unknown Poster]

13 minutes ago, johnzo said:

The Dead Puck era started just after Bettman came on board.

Think the guy is fantastic for ownership and I definitely respect his accomplishments in growing the NHL as a business, but as a steward of the game, I'm not big on him.

I dont know...I dont think we can lay much at his feet.  The NHL has *tried* to improve the game.  To me the obvious thing is the increase in talent and the increase in coaching and the increase in size of players and equipment.  And sure, the NHL could have done more to police the equipment.

I know they wont do much about the size because they cant increase rink size.  They seem reluctant to increase size of the net which is a no-brainer.  Too many traditionalists on the Board I guess.  But Bettman knows which way the wind blows and knows what the owners will accept and wont.

Like, a few weeks ago, I think it was Burke who raised a stink about increasing rink size.  What a red herring.  The league wont increase the net size slightly but they will retrofit every arena in the league?  yeah sure.  Just meant to distract the media and fans.

[iso_55]

2 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

And while I defend him, I think he didnt try as hard to help the original Jets as he did other teams because he already had a soft landing spot for them in markets he wanted to grow (Minnesota and PHX).  But he sums it up rather well saying you need three things: Arena, owner, fans.  And the Jets really only had one of those, sometimes two.  Never three.

The only thing I remember him doing that was pretty negative was disallowing a large group ownership situation which was proposed to save the Jets.  he later allowed it when the Oilers needed it.  But what the Jets were trying to do was a **** show.

The best thing that evet happened to  the Winnipeg Jets 2.0 was the Jets 1.0 leaving so the market here could appreciate the team more. It's up to ownership & management to build a winner here now.  Bettman may not have really fought for the old team to keep them here but there wasn't much to fight for over 20 years ago.

Edited February 1, 2016 by iso_55

[iso_55]

That interview Strombo had with Bettman yesterday. Bettman seemed to be even more prickly than usual. Don't know if that was because of John Scott or not but he just seemed to brush off everything that was asked. From expansion to the Scott situation himself. Bettman dropped the mic the second the interview was over while still on camera wanting out of there. No warm & fuzzies in that interview.  

[Rich]

I don't think I've ever seen Bettman give warm and fuzzies!

[iso_55]

I'd love to have known what Bettman & Fehr were talking about.

[The Unknown Poster]

I always enjoy Bettman sparring with Ron Maclean.  Lawless has had some friendly interviews with Bettman. He actually seems like he might be a fine guy to have some beers with and shoot the ****. There are times he shows a wit and sense of humor. But he's not a personable public speaker. 

[Goalie]

Strombo is a fool and outside of Glenn Healey is the worst thing about the new HNIC 

[iso_55]

11 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:

I always enjoy Bettman sparring with Ron Maclean.  Lawless has had some friendly interviews with Bettman. He actually seems like he might be a fine guy to have some beers with and shoot the ****. There are times he shows a wit and sense of humor. But he's not a personable public speaker. 

And sparring with Bettman got MaLean banished to far flung outposts every weekend when we all know he should be on the HNIC panel. It doesn't pay to be a hero sometimes.

[sweep the leg]

Lawless has friendly interviews with Bettman b/c he doesn't ask questions that might upset him.

MacLean asked tough questions that pointed out some problems with the NHL. Bettman never seemed to enjoy that.

[The Unknown Poster]

3 hours ago, iso_55 said:

And sparring with Bettman got MaLean banished to far flung outposts every weekend when we all know he should be on the HNIC panel. It doesn't pay to be a hero sometimes.

I dont think it was interviews with Bettman.  Especially since those were with CBC and now Sportsnet controls HNIC.  Plus, Bettman could have declined and yet he went on every single time and as much as he looked annoyed, he has said he enjoys the tough interviews.  Ron got banished because some executive with SportsNet decided that to appeal to a young demo they needed style over substance.

[iso_55]

I had read that Gary Bettman didn't want MacLean to be part of the main studio panel anymore. Bettman wanted him out so probably a combination of both.

[sweep the leg]

8 minutes ago, iso_55 said:

I had read that Gary Bettman didn't want MacLean to be part of the main studio panel anymore. Bettman wanted him out so probably a combination of both.

I'm not sure I believe that. I can't imagine he would meddle in a decision that far down the priority list.

I think Sportsnet just really thought young Canadians would relate to fitted suits and pointy shoes.

[iso_55]

2 minutes ago, sweep the leg said:

I'm not sure I believe that. I can't imagine he would meddle in a decision that far down the priority list.

I think Sportsnet just really thought young Canadians would relate to fitted suits and pointy shoes.

If I find any links I'll post them.

[sweep the leg]

1 minute ago, iso_55 said:

If I find any links I'll post them.

I didn't mean I don't believe you read that, just that I don't think the story could be true.

[iso_55]

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/10/04/did-rift-with-gary-bettman-cost-ron-maclean-his-hnic-gig