anybody hear maclean interview bettman @ the allstar game ?

[nuckfan insk]

what a load of crap. "with the cap teams can now retain their talent" ??? *** ???
st.louis sure retained pronger, the bolts with khabby, etc..... im not against a cap but the league was better, and more entertaining pre-bettman
go back to basketball

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[Bear of Bad News]

Why should I trust someone who couldn't manage to find one of the other 500 Bettman bashing threads that are out there?

 

[BCCHL inactive]

Bettman put McLean in his place.

Teams CAN retain their talent with the cap. It puts the onus on the teams to not spend 70% of their money on 3-4 players. The average player who thinks he's due a 50% raise in a contract year isn't near as likely to get it anymore because of the cap. His best option is likely going to be staying where he is, or signing somewhere else for the same money as he would get where he is. That would also make his move to a new team NOT a money issue.

I laughed out loud when McLean presented his "horizontal divisions". What a joke. It took Bettman 2 seconds to shoot it dead by saying, "time zones".

 

[Ted Hoffman]

what a load of crap. "with the cap teams can now retain their talent" ??? *** ???
st.louis sure retained pronger, the bolts with khabby, etc..... im not against a cap but the league was better, and more entertaining pre-bettman
go back to basketball

Do you have any clue why exactly St. Louis couldn't retain Pronger? (Hint: it had nothing to do with the salary cap.) Do you realize that Khabibulin was a UFA at the end of the lockout and could sign with whoever he wanted - and he took the biggest contract thrown at him?

The cap had NOTHING to do with either of those situations. Try again.

 

[Crosby87.*]

Bettman put McLean in his place.

Teams CAN retain their talent with the cap. It puts the onus on the teams to not spend 70% of their money on 3-4 players. The average player who thinks he's due a 50% raise in a contract year isn't near as likely to get it anymore because of the cap. His best option is likely going to be staying where he is, or signing somewhere else for the same money as he would get where he is. That would also make his move to a new team NOT a money issue.

I laughed out loud when McLean presented his "horizontal divisions". What a joke. It took Bettman 2 seconds to shoot it dead by saying, "time zones".

Hmm, I noticed Buttman dodging a lot of questions.

 

[devin1487]

Nailed!

It's too easy to jump on the Bash Bettman bandwagon, when in truth lately he's been bad mouthed just because it's the "cool" thing to do by people who callthemselves hockey experts.

Bettmans trying his hardest to break the american market which really should be commended as hockey should be a top 4 sport again. It should also be noted that none of the plans he's put forth are quick 1 year or 2 year plans, lets just sit back and see what comes of it.

As for the interview itself, I say good for Maclean to ask the tough questions and good for Bettman to allow it

 

[Dolemite]

As for the interview itself, I say good for Maclean to ask the tough questions and good for Bettman to allow it

Not the first time this has happened. However, in many of the interviews MacLean has ALWAYS blinsided Bettman with really tough questions. It sounds like Bettman was finally ready for his tough questions this year.

 

[Anthony*]

horizontal divisions?

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Hmm, I noticed Buttman dodging a lot of questions.

I noticed that the people with "clever" nicknames such as "Buttman" don't usually over anything more substantial than that. Go figure.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Bettman wrecked the CBC's computer.

 

[Jazz]

horizontal divisions?

I'm not against the North/South Conference split idea (although I know it will never happen).

But think of some positives:
*From a Canadian perspective - it will increase the frequency of matchups between the Canadian teams in the regular season and the playoffs
*From a US TV perspective - it will guarantee an American team in the Stanley Cup Finals.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

I saw that realignment that Ron put up and it was one of the stupidest proposals I've ever seen in my life.

All the Canadian, Original 6 teams - plus a team in Halifax of all places... North Conference.

All the rejects in the South Conference. That'll really help ratings with Nashville vs. Tampa Bay every second day.

Logistically, it was idiotic. As much as being a Canadian I would love it, that South Conference would just be brutal. TSN, CBC, Sportsnet - would never pick up a game there again.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

*From a US TV perspective - it will guarantee an American team in the Stanley Cup Finals.

That's pretty much a guarantee anyway. They outnumber Canadian teams 24-6. And We've had 4 Canadian teams in the Finals in the last 16 years. The last all Canadian matchup was 17 years ago.

US TV didn't exactly jump all over those odds.

 

[Jazz]

....All the rejects in the South Conference. That'll really help ratings with Nashville vs. Tampa Bay every second day.

Logistically, it was idiotic. As much as being a Canadian I would love it, that South Conference would just be brutal. TSN, CBC, Sportsnet - would never pick up a game there again.

Why are all the Southern teams "Rejects"? You do notice that it will include teams with stars such as St. Louis, Lecavalier, Staal, Kopitar etc....

As for TV, I'm sure TSN would pick up their matchups. Remember that there will still be some intra-conference play, and there are fans who want to see the stars of the game, not just the home team.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

Why are all the Southern teams "Rejects"? You do notice that it will include teams with stars such as St. Louis, Lecavalier, Staal, Kopitar etc....

As for TV, I'm sure TSN would pick up their matchups. Remember that there will still be some intra-conference play, and there are fans who want to see the stars of the game, not just the home team.

OK, I apologize for saying "rejects"... I should have said it as more of "non-traditional" markets. Which no offense but teams like Florida aren't exactly ticket sellers when they visit other cities, or if a game between Nashville and Florida on Centre Ice is probably the last I tune in to.

There are stars to watch, Pittsburgh itself was in that proposal for the Southern Conference. But really, who are most people tuning into? LA vs. Dallas... Kopitar and all, or a game between Ottawa and Vancouver? Edmonton and Toronto? Montreal and NY Rangers?

Or Tampa Bay (St. Louis/Lecavalier/Richards) vs. Atlanta (Hossa/Lehtonen)....

Realistically, the north/south thing is stupid. At least to me - and that's what I'm saying. Not taking away from the players, just grouping the popular teams for TV in one and the rest in another... It's not good.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

And in the same note for stars... how often do we ever see Washington nationally in Canada? Maybe once a year.

Tampa Bay? I can't remember watching them once since the 04 Finals on national TV in Canada. Now, once they're bumped into a division they rarely play this "Northern" conference. Well. we'll never see them again. Until the playoffs.

 

[Jazz]

And in the same note for stars... how often do we ever see Washington nationally in Canada? Maybe once a year.

Tampa Bay? I can't remember watching them once since the 04 Finals on national TV in Canada. Now, once they're bumped into a division they rarely play this "Northern" conference. Well. we'll never see them again. Until the playoffs.

Looking at TSN's remaining national schedule, Tampa has 2 games in what is left in the season, Carolina has 3, and Washington 4

www.tsn.ca

 

[Raoul Duke*]

With as you notice, they're playing either Canadian teams or Original 6 ones. A North/South Conference thing - we'll never see them again. Maybe the one time a year.

Thing that is funny is that we're both fighting against the absurd idea of North/South.... yet fighting over reasons why.

The fact is, it should never happen. Even two people haggling over the different semantics of it - agree.

 

[nuckfan insk]

Do you have any clue why exactly St. Louis couldn't retain Pronger? (Hint: it had nothing to do with the salary cap.) Do you realize that Khabibulin was a UFA at the end of the lockout and could sign with whoever he wanted - and he took the biggest contract thrown at him?

The cap had NOTHING to do with either of those situations. Try again.

ok well ottawa couldnt retain chara, ditto ith vancouver and jovo
colorado with blake, foote, forsburg

 

[Bear of Bad News]

With as you notice, they're playing either Canadian teams or Original 6 ones.

Ummm...so? You said basically that you never see Washington. You never qualified your statement at all. In fact, here's exactly what you said:

how often do we ever see Washington nationally in Canada? Maybe once a year.

Are you surprised that Canadian television prefers to show matchups involving Canadian teams?

 

[Fugu]

Do you have any clue why exactly St. Louis couldn't retain Pronger? (Hint: it had nothing to do with the salary cap.) Do you realize that Khabibulin was a UFA at the end of the lockout and could sign with whoever he wanted - and he took the biggest contract thrown at him?

The cap had NOTHING to do with either of those situations. Try again.

Okay, in the case of Pronger, it might have had more to do with Laurie and the salary dump he felt was needed to sell the team.

As for Khabibulin, do you really believe Tampa would not have offered more if there had been no cap? They had too many players due for re-signing right after the lockout, with a cap set at $39 million. They just came off a Stanley Cup victory and easily could have afforded to move their payroll up to $45+ million level. The cap had more to do with their roster choices last year than anything else.

 

[Alpine]

The interview reminded me of an old Nixon and Breznov (sp) press conference...agree to disagree....
Good points, Gary didn't rule out expansion in Canada, stood by the refs, and said the league is healthier than ever. For those of us that remember the expansion in '67 from 6 to 12 teams all in the States and the WHA. I have to agree.
Just for the record all WHA teams that were absorbed by the NHL only Edmonton remains. Quebec moved on as did Winnipeg and Hartford. But failed NHL teams like Colorado, Minnesota (okay maybe not failed), Cleveland (read Columbus) , Atlanta and San Jose (Oakland, California Seals) have all gotten new teams. So why should Gary rule out Quebec, Hartford, and Winnipeg or maybe KC?

 

[Fugu]

I laughed out loud when McLean presented his "horizontal divisions". What a joke. It took Bettman 2 seconds to shoot it dead by saying, "time zones".

Please explain your interpretation of how time zones factor into the way divisions are set up. Who gets the shaft here, and why is that okay?

 

[Fugu]

Are you surprised that Canadian television prefers to show matchups involving Canadian teams?

Which side of this argument are you taking? Canadian TV does prefer Canadian match ups. Original 6 markets prefer games against their traditional rivals as opposed to the newly legislated rivals. Someone mentioned time zones. Why are two teams from the Eastern time zone in the Western conference, and why will one of those teams never be allowed to move East?


Bettman was brought in to expand the NHL in the US. The reasoning being that expansion was necessary to gain a TV contract in the US. Please reconcile the issues I've listed in my first paragraph to the business mandate given Bettman.

 

[Kevin Forbes]

Please explain your interpretation of how time zones factor into the way divisions are set up. Who gets the shaft here, and why is that okay?

Easy, I live in Halifax (one of the teams on Maclean's list). If my team is playing another team in their division (let's say Edmonton), not only are they looking at handful of hours on a plane, but also a three hour time difference. Travel time and jet lag doesn't make for fun hockey, especially if it's a frequent occurrence.That's just for the players.

Then you have to assume that the thinking of more play in the division continues, so instead of short flights to nearby cities like Boston, my Halifax team is constantly crossing Canada to play their divisional rivals. Travel costs would be increased for every team, with the horizontal rule because of the width of the continent.

Finally, for the fans. I'm in Halifax and I want to watch my team play at home and away. But hey, now half of their games in their own division don't even finish until 2am-3am my time? Oh, well I have to work the next day. I'm not going to watch it. TV ratings in local markets plummet.