Lazlo Hollyfeld
The jersey ad still sucks
- Mar 4, 2004
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If that's your take I'm skeptical you actually read it because your characterization is patently false.I've read the book, by Jonathan Gatehouse.
You seem to be misremembering the content if you think it somehow tells the story of Bettman controlling the Board of Directors. I'm sure this collection of billionaires often take their marching orders from one of their employees.
If people in this thread want to pretend that Gary Betteman runs the league and the Board of Directors follow him, rather than vice versa, you are are certainly entitled to do so, but it doesn't make any of it remotely true.
I couldn't find portions of the book online to quote but even in a quick book review by Hockey Writers there is just one of the endless examples of Bettman's role. Heck if you even bother to read any of the blurb's about the book, they contradict your depiction of the NHL commissioner.
After reading The Instigator, there should be no doubt left that many of the things we’ve heard about Bettman are true. Unlike past presidents of the league, he has, as Gatehouse points out, ‘succeeded in transforming (the NHL) as a business.’ While he does represent the NHL’s owners, he is not simply a passive figurehead. Gary Bettman has an active vision around which everything revolves.
Reviewing The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the NHL and Changed the Game Forever - The Hockey Writers Hockey Books Latest News, Analysis & More
Gary Bettman fought for the future of the NHL and hockey in Canada. Hockey fans alike owe a debt of gratitiude to Mr. Bettman.
thehockeywriters.com
Bettman's job is to provide vision and direction for the league and get the 32 owners on board, not the other way around. He was specifically brought in to transform the NHL and he has. Obviously they participate but when necessary he gets the owners in line through cajoling, tradeoffs, sweet-talking, political strong-arming, and more than anything the promise of greater profit. Your argument is akin to saying a CEO only does what the board of directors tell him to because they pay his salary. It's simply incorrect.
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