1. Bettman was hired by the owners; he'd have to be fired by the owners as well, and they have no desire to do that at the moment - especially since he helped them win significant concessions from the players in the lockout.
2. Bettman can't force Bill Wirtz or any other owner to give up control of their team barring fraud or illegal activities. Being an ******* owner isn't enough.
3. As much as everyone *****es here about Bettman, ... how many of those people have either (A) quit going to hockey games, or (B) quit watching hockey? I'm betting the answer is "damn few, if any".
4. kdb209 has rolled out numbers showing how revenues have grown tremendously since Bettman became commissioner. That's irrelevant to the anti-Bettman group, it's the fact that he's not doing what they think he should be doing that's proof enough in their minds that he should be fired.
When the league actually starts seeing revenues drop, then maybe you'll see it - until then, as long as the money keeps pouring in those who hate him have a better chance of passing out holding their breath than they do of seeing him get canned.
Excellent post.
People may dislike him for whatever reason, but, Bettman has always come through on his mandate:
-His biggest accomplishment prior to the NHL was orchestrating the NBA cap, and, a big reason why he was hired was to improve the financial landscape for the owners, and get in a better CBA. He got precisely what he promised the owners. If any job, if you go out and deliver on your biggest promise in the biggest way, your job is going to be safe for a little while.
-The NHL has fallen short of its goal of the big television contract, but, it has grown it's awareness in the States. Revenue growth has been tremendous for the owners. For all the complaining by people that the game should be bigger, the NHL is much farther ahead from when he took over.
-Bettman has actually been extremely protective of franchises, despite the accussations by some that he doesn't care about the existing fan base. The last team to be relocated was the Hartford Whalers. The other major sports see a higher degree of franchise movement.
The NHL could do a lot of things better, IMO, but, overall, Bettman has achieved most of his objectives. The owners have certainly benefitted from his tenure, to the point that if he decided today to step down from the position, his protege, Bill Daly, would almost certainly be the guy to get the job.