Gary Bettman talks an Olympics dis, expansion rumors and whether we're going to see another lockout

[Killion]

ask the fans in Quebec City why they still do NOT have a franchise and turn their noses up AT ANY OTHER LEAGUE , including their own junior team in QC call it Leafs syndrome, K

Dont hafta ask, know exactly why.... They dont wanna support ANYTHING out of Montreal, insulting actually that the Habs would stick their Farm Club, their not yet ready for prime time & washouts in QC... like handing a starving man a half eaten sandwich. Rude. Insensitive. Like their 2nd class citizens or something. They dont want your leftovers, half baked rookies & burned out vets. Its a proud & loud market, they deserve the best, can support the best, not interested in someone elses hamburger least of all that of the Montreal Canadiens. Rather eat glass. Same thing exists in Hamilton & the surrounding environs when it comes to the Leafs. That the NHL has left the low hanging fruit left to rot on the vine for so long absolutely beggars belief. Billions have been lost, never captured, and the longer it goes on, that their denied entry, the more they lose. What business does this? Insane.

 

[mouser]

.... is that right eh? According to Gary Bettman who admitted on the stand during the Moyes BK in Arizona Hamilton would very likely be a Top 5 Revenue Club. But ok HUTCH. "No longer a hockey market"..... Let me ax you somethin here.... how much sense does it make for the Habs to be dropping their top farm club into Southern Ontario in the first place? Isnt that Leafs & Sabres "territory"? Even for old guys living there who grew up with nothing but a steady diet of Leafs & then Leafs & Sabres games starting in 1970, you do realize Hamilton was actually "Red Wings Territory" for years with its Junior Team sponsorships, while in places like St. Catharines (Chicago), Kitchener/Waterloo (Rangers) & so on people related to, supported their Junior clubs NHL affiliates right?

So for multi-generational fans, like Father Like Son, a kid from the Hammer or anywhere else in SW Ontario as likely if not more likely to be a fan of the Rangers, Black Hawks, Red Wings, Bruins (Niagara Falls) and so on. There are other issues as well, with no love lost with a huge swath of people living outside of the 416 area code (Metro Toronto) and closer 905 residents in some cases. Like to kick them out of the Canadian Federation in fact. Separate, please... Made absolutely no sense for the Canadiens to be planting a flag in Hamilton, or for the Oilers to at one time doing so in Toronto with the old Roadrunners & so on. All kinds of examples of dumb thinking on that level. Cant see Vegas hanging on to the Chicago Wolves for long.

I don't put a whole lot of stock in that statement. The NHL had a vested self interest in court to exaggerate how much a Hamilton franchise might be worth.

 

[Negan4Coach]

I love you Betteman. Now if you could only get in a time machine and go back to 2013 and prevent NHL players from taking part in the bullshit "World Championship" games so that Eric Staal doesn't have his knee and his will to live simultaneously destroyed by that Alex Edler character.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

I think pretty much anyone paying attention has been predicting a lockout at the opt out date.

The only thing that will save us at this point is a double bluff, as both sides don't want to initiate, and will assume the other side will.

The reason players are not playing in the olympics is 75% on the IOC, and the remaining 25% is divided between the IIHF and NHL.

 

[JMROWE]

Hamilton is no longer a hockey market..... why would the Canadiens back out of that market and even Andlauer's reward is a OHL Franchise

Hamilton is still a strong hockey market & the only why the Canadians left was because they where planning a move to Laval to be closer to home besides the OHL. Bulldogs are doing far better than the AHL. Bulldogs on & off the ice & average about 4000 a game that is well above the OHL. average which is about 2500-3000 a game reason for that is more people in Hamilton are more inclined to support an OHL team than an AHL. team so in this case it is an upgrade not a downgrade for Hamilton .

Hamilton is a city about 776,000 people bigger than a lot of USA. cities that have more than one major sports franchise so Hamilton is due for NHL. franchise which is all they want to go along with the Bulldogs & Tiger Cats .

 

[Ciao]

Bring on the lockout,

Until the NHL takes control of it's business it wil just keep happening, they way they were beat up last time was embaressing,

They have to be ready to shut the leauge down for a few years......trust me, the players will crack, but you cannot have this stupid amount of revenue going to players, that's not how you run a business,
N.T.C and N.M.C have become a joke, THIRD LINERS get them now!

No two players should be able to make the % of cap that Kane and Toews do, it's complete BS

They have to put the greedy leeches in the NHLPA who would have KILLED the game dead in 2004 had they gotten thier way,

Thank god Trevor Linden (The true hero of that lock-out and the main reason we have the league as it is today, not that he'll ever get credit for it) The ONE person who was able to see reason

There is no longer a Linden in the NHLPA you have that Baseball shark, that union must be crushed

It's interesting that you should feel that way.

How much is "too much" for a pro athlete? Half the gate? That's essentially what the NHLPA as whole is drawing right now. Are you thinking the players should get less than half, or is there a hard number on player salaries that you would say is the limit of what is acceptable no matter what the owners make?

I doubt that the NHL actually wants to crush the union. The biggest threat is that the NHLPA would decertify, thereby ending the salary cap entirely. And, terminating all other restraints of trade, such as the entry draft, that are not collectively bargained.

As a Leafs fan, I wouldn't really mind survival of the fittest. The Leafs earn the most money, and it wouldn't bother me at all if they could spend as much as they like.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Hamilton is still a strong hockey market & the only why the Canadians left was because they where planning a move to Laval to be closer to home besides the OHL. Bulldogs are doing far better than the AHL. Bulldogs on & off the ice & average about 4000 a game that is well above the OHL. average which is about 2500-3000 a game reason for that is more people in Hamilton are more inclined to support an OHL team than an AHL. team so in this case it is an upgrade not a downgrade for Hamilton .

Hamilton is a city about 776,000 people bigger than a lot of USA. cities that have more than one major sports franchise so Hamilton is due for NHL. franchise which is all they want to go along with the Bulldogs & Tiger Cats .

nope, and who's the owner??????????????

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

As you may know, the NHL isn't having games airing nationally on NBC or NBCSN during the Olympics. The NHL could conceivably sign a deal with another broadcaster to air games nationally during the Olympics which would last for the duration of the Olympics. Turner Sports anyone?

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

As you may know, the NHL isn't having games airing nationally on NBC or NBCSN during the Olympics. The NHL could conceivably sign a deal with another broadcaster to air games nationally during the Olympics which would last for the duration of the Olympics. Turner Sports anyone?

NO IT CANNOT, Z Turner has TNT and the NBA, AND it's not just NBC/NBCSN it's all NBC Properties

 

[golfortennis]

Bring on the lockout,

Until the NHL takes control of it's business it wil just keep happening, they way they were beat up last time was embaressing,

They have to be ready to shut the leauge down for a few years......trust me, the players will crack, but you cannot have this stupid amount of revenue going to players, that's not how you run a business,
N.T.C and N.M.C have become a joke, THIRD LINERS get them now!

No two players should be able to make the % of cap that Kane and Toews do, it's complete BS

They have to put the greedy leeches in the NHLPA who would have KILLED the game dead in 2004 had they gotten thier way,

Thank god Trevor Linden (The true hero of that lock-out and the main reason we have the league as it is today, not that he'll ever get credit for it) The ONE person who was able to see reason

There is no longer a Linden in the NHLPA you have that Baseball shark, that union must be crushed

This is a golden sombrero. Baseball term for striking out all four times to the plate in a game.

You seem to forget that this business is not like most in that the players are the product. You cannot just put a sweater on any old hick and people will pay money to watch it. AS far as NTCs, where does it say that a player must be given one if asked?

That baseball shark agreed to the luxury tax, and the MLBPA is still quite powerful. After all there was a work stoppage just last...... century.

The NHL's problems begin and end within the owners ranks. They can't keep their house in order, and expect the players to bend over to save them from themselves.