Unfortunately the NHL owners as a group are small men with small minds and little vision and they found their perfect tiny commissioner in Gary Bettman. Bettman is a detail guy - that is his reputation as a lawyer and when he was the number 3 guy in the NBA - look at the NBA cap it is the work of an accounting gnome. Bettman has no vision and no feel for the big picture. He cannot lead.
Pete Rozelle was incredibly lucky because the powerful owners of his day, George Halas, the Maras, Bert Bell (also the Commissioner prior to Rozelle) and the Rooneys had vision and they cared more about the NFL then they did for their own interests. Bettman has Wirtz, Jacobs and Karmanos - shudder.
Back when the NHL hired Gary Bettman away from the NBA, Orlando Magic GM Pat Williams wondered how Bettman would fare as the head of the hockey league.
"I gave Gary a hockey puck once, and he spent the rest of the day trying to open it," Williams is quoted as saying.
The game has become dull on many nights because of stifling defence and uncalled obstruction along with the latest group of Michelin men tending goal. In Bettman's world all is right because he believes it to be so. Welcome to Bettmanland where it is always sunny. Here is Bettman maintaining the game is great.
"There's no magic about 8-1 games. The fact that 73 per cent of the time games are played within one or two goals or tied tells you that there's a level of excitement and commitment. And I'm not sure who on the politically correct police ever said that the number of goals you score translate into how exciting the game is. I don't buy into that."
"I think the game is a terrific game. It's a game that gets more than its fair share of criticism, most of it unfair. I don't think there's something fundamentally wrong. I think if you have an axe to grind on the game and you want to selectively quote people you can draw any conclusion you want. If your goal is to be controversial, difficult and critical, you can reach any conclusion you want. But, the fact remains that 20 million people come to see this game. People watch it on television in record numbers..."
Stirring stuff Gary - way to lead and inspire.
Alan Maki writing in the Globe and Mail summed it up best IMHO:
"In other words, hockey is fine. Things are good. You see clouds and the perfect analogy, Bettman sees only what he wants to see. It’s always a wonderful life in Bettman’s world. Present population: one."
Gary Bettman is the problem with hockey. He has needed to form a partnership between the individual owners, and between the owners and the players. He's failed at both, because he's not believable and IMHO he is not respected. It's time for a new commissioner - maybe this time a real commissioner.
Perhaps hockey should look at something revolutionary. How about a Commissioner of the NHL payed equally by both the owners and the players, who's job it is to protect the best interests of the game, and to bring all parties together. Instead we have bureaucrat looking out for the interests of his employers and not the game. Hockey deserves better, the fans deserve better.