http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/nhl/bettman.html
Gary mentions lower ticket prices half a dozen times at least in this interview.
http://www.nhlfa.com/news/nr07_03_05.asp
"I believe with the right economic system, many, many, if not most of our teams, will actually lower ticket prices. I believe we owe it to our fans to have affordable ticket prices. . . . More than a majority of our teams would use the opportunity of economic stability to lower their ticket prices"
http://www.nhlcbanews.com/transcripts/pressConfSep15.html
"I stand here today to say that we owe it to hockey's fans to achieve an economic system that will result in affordable ticket prices
http://www.nhl.com/fancentral/livechat/transcripts/bettman101304.html
"We believe that a partnership is critical for the future of our game. A partnership will ensure 30 healthy and competitive franchises with affordable ticket prices. This is a goal that we will not abandon."
Need more?
Once again, I have to ask: If he felt the need to mislead the people on ticket prices during his PR campaign, what else did he mislead them on? And if he didn't mislead us on anything else, why weren't the other goals he mentioned noble enough to stand on their own?
You mentioned the Ducks' attendance specifically. Going by ESPN's numbers, Anaheim was 23rd in attendance the year before the lockout with an average of 14,987, 24th last year with an average of 15,106, and are currently 21st with an average of 14,881 and are in 1st place. So if losing a season was worth a one year boost of 119 fans per game and having a drop off once the team is competitive, I guess the system is working great.
In fact, of the teams in the bottom half of the NHL in attendance in 2003-04, only Calgary and Buffalo moved into the top half in 2005-06.