Why do the players despise Gary Bettman?

[shveik]

The coaches and the players are every bit as much to blame as Gary for the clutch and grab...Where Gary has failed is to get the refs to call it, and continue to call it...until the guys with the really thick skulls eventually get it, then and only then will we see a skilled player get around a big D who can't keep up, and then maybe a scoring chance may occur...

How can you blame the players and coaches for this? Are they supposed to refuse the clutch and grab and not be as efficient in this environment? Well, then their team would lose, and they will lose the jobs to other players and coaches that do not mind using clutch and grab.

 

[thinkwild]

Its pretty easy to despise Bettman though. I thought it mostly started because of the last lockout. Fans booed him ever since. Has Bettman ever walked on the ice and not been booed? Whenever he presents a cup, does he not get booed? Seems to me its been happening ever since the first lockout he perpetrated, and then the constant threats for the last half decade about doing it again has not endeared him any to fans.

Bettman was once happy with the current agreement too. He would flash all these stats about how spending doesnt help you win, and that any owner losing money its their own fault. He would sell the NHL as the best buy in sports. And many bought. Then, because of the Sakic offersheet, he said the NHL lost control. But that problem is already stopped, and the results returning to normal.

I think the philisophical underpinnings of the expired CBA that Bettman and Goodenow negotiated were brilliant for an NHL model. Only because I've heard and know no better though. If it didnt work, and there are problems pending for my Sens without changes I would think, then specify the problems and fix it. As to me the players did, although i recognize its not recognized by many who simply dismiss it using the owners spin lines. But tweaks and luxury taxes and soft caps are what the vast majority of fans it appeared to me seemed to support, and seems logical and in team building best interests.

Im not enraged with bettman for what he has done, i dont even blame him for expansion, I think at the time thats what all owners, players, and fans, and me, wanted. It had to be done to stop 16 of 21 teams making the playoffs rendering the regular season meaningless and the prevailing joke.

Im enraged with Bettman for lying about that now, and purposefully selling the league short with lies singulary designed to win a labour battle in a very sneaky, extortionist way. The changes he and the owners are proposing seem to me to a deathblow to the team building concepts of pro hockey and will vastly change the game in the interests of easier accounting for billionaires.

This idea of 30 equal teams, while it sounds like a noble cause, I think is anathema to Pro sports. As long as there is equality of opportunity to develop, thats whats fair. Not forced talent equality through artificial financial rules that bear no relation to the cycle of proper team building that leads to such great success in the NHL model. Bettman never discusses this. Maybe if he did he could sway me.

 

[misterjaggers]

Why do the players despise Gary Bettman?

Because demonizing the opponent is a common union tactic to help rally the rank and file.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Because demonizing the opponent is a common union tactic to help rally the rank and file.

It is not just the players and he has been criticized for a number of years, long before this dispute.

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.

Sports Illustrated's Kostya Kennedy summed up the criticism when he wrote this a few years ago: "Bettman is a bottom-line commissioner. He's deeply concerned with generating revenue for his owner-employers, regardless of the cost to the product on the ice."

Or as former Sharks GM Dean Lombardi told Kennedy in that same column: "Of course it's a business but it's also a sport of passion, and we have to acknowledge that. The way this league has become all about selling, selling, selling has taken away some of the fire."

"It's a garage league," Mario Lemieux said five years ago.

Or this from Brett Hull: "The game sucks. It's boring. I would never pay to watch this."

The list of complaints is long.

The league expanded too fast and into many non-traditional hockey markets. There are too many teams and the season is too long. The games are boring because of the trap and clutching and grabbing. The low scoring defensive struggles are driving away fans and failing to attract new ones. Canada lost franchises in both Winnipeg and Quebec. The widening economic gap between big market teams and small market teams is growing and could signal a possible end for more Canadian franchises and some small market teams in the United States. Some say rules changes like moving the nets out from the end boards, eliminating the instigator rule and instituting the two-referee system have hurt the on ice product, not helped it.

Critics even criticize how Bettman handles criticism. They say he ignores facts and puts a positive spin on everything. Throw out a criticism of the game and Bettman will have an answer.

For example, low scoring games?

Bettman's response: "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."

It's the same approach he's been taking for years. A few years ago, one of Bettman's "the game is fine" speeches drew this response from Allan Maki of the Toronto Globe and Mail:

"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."

 

[Hasbro]

Like I've said, I wish he'd make his resignation a bargining chip.

 

[Sammy*]

It is not just the players and he has been criticized for a number of years, long before this dispute.

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.

Sports Illustrated's Kostya Kennedy summed up the criticism when he wrote this a few years ago: "Bettman is a bottom-line commissioner. He's deeply concerned with generating revenue for his owner-employers, regardless of the cost to the product on the ice."

Or as former Sharks GM Dean Lombardi told Kennedy in that same column: "Of course it's a business but it's also a sport of passion, and we have to acknowledge that. The way this league has become all about selling, selling, selling has taken away some of the fire."

"It's a garage league," Mario Lemieux said five years ago.

Or this from Brett Hull: "The game sucks. It's boring. I would never pay to watch this."

The list of complaints is long.

The league expanded too fast and into many non-traditional hockey markets. There are too many teams and the season is too long. The games are boring because of the trap and clutching and grabbing. The low scoring defensive struggles are driving away fans and failing to attract new ones. Canada lost franchises in both Winnipeg and Quebec. The widening economic gap between big market teams and small market teams is growing and could signal a possible end for more Canadian franchises and some small market teams in the United States. Some say rules changes like moving the nets out from the end boards, eliminating the instigator rule and instituting the two-referee system have hurt the on ice product, not helped it.

Critics even criticize how Bettman handles criticism. They say he ignores facts and puts a positive spin on everything. Throw out a criticism of the game and Bettman will have an answer.

For example, low scoring games?

Bettman's response: "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."

It's the same approach he's been taking for years. A few years ago, one of Bettman's "the game is fine" speeches drew this response from Allan Maki of the Toronto Globe and Mail:

"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."

Get a clue there Bud. The commissioner doesnt set the rules, the GM's do. Using your rationale on the playability issue, Gil Stein & Ziegler were great commissioner's & Clarence Campbell was a dog.. And while Williams quote is cute, its virtually irrelevent to how one is as a commissioner.
Nice rhetoric though, however not very well thought out.
Ya, the players dont like him cause the NHL is defensive & clutch & grab.
Has nothin to do that spoiled babies just arnt getting there way as they have.
Too funny.

 

[Brewleaguer]

Get a clue there Bud. The commissioner doesnt set the rules, the GM's do. Using your rationale on the playability issue, Gil Stein & Ziegler were great commissioner's & Clarence Campbell was a dog.. And while Williams quote is cute, its virtually irrelevent to how one is as a commissioner.
Nice rhetoric though, however not very well thought out.
Ya, the players dont like him cause the NHL is defensive & clutch & grab.
Has nothin to do that spoiled babies just arnt getting there way as they have.
Too funny.

I don't see where he/she said that.
Bettman and the powers that be in the NHL recommends rule change to all 30 team org, then they say yes or no then he signs them in to 'law' if they approve.

The players don't like him cause he spends to much time trying to figure out how to open up a puck..... :lol

 

[Sammy*]

I don't see where he/she said that.
Bettman and the powers that be in the NHL recommends rule change to all 30 team org, then they say yes or no then he signs them in to 'law' if they approve.

The players don't like him cause he spends to much time trying to figure out how to open up a puck..... :lol

No, he only cites a bunch of quotes about clutching & grabbing & the quality of game to back up up his ridiculous implication that the reason the game is bad is because of Bettman.

 

[guymez]

Why? Cause they thought that that hollow offer would get a deal done, not because they thought it was "fair".
And I'm not saying the players were obliged to open it up, but with the benefit of hindsight, it sure in the heck was not a "fair" deal, otherwise the dispute would not be where it is today.
If the players were concerned about "fairness" 9which they of course are not obliged to), when the owners are bleeding tons of $$$ and ask the NHLPA if they can discuss a new deal, the "fair" thing to do as opposed tp **** & pillage for the next 3 years is to try & negotiate a "fair" deal.
By the way sonny, its your hero that is yammering about a "fair" deal. Make no mistake, he could care less about fairness, he wants to make the best possible deal for his constituents, & if that means the the owners get crushed in the process, c'est la vie. To believe otherwise is naive in the extreme..

Exactly.
The day the NHLPA voluntarily omits any/all inflationary parameters in their proposals...is the day they can be viewed as having the best interests of the game and the fans in mind. IMO only then can they claim they are after a fair deal. Based on the last few years, it couldn't possibly be more obvious, that their (NHLPA) only concern is themselves.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Get a clue there Bud. The commissioner doesnt set the rules, the GM's do. Using your rationale on the playability issue, Gil Stein & Ziegler were great commissioner's & Clarence Campbell was a dog. And while Williams quote is cute, its virtually irrelevent to how one is as a commissioner.
Nice rhetoric though, however not very well thought out.
Ya, the players dont like him cause the NHL is defensive & clutch & grab.
Has nothin to do that spoiled babies just arnt getting there way as they have.
Too funny.

Unlike you I do have clue. The GM's only have the power to suggest rule changes to the Commissioner. He can initiate rule change procedures without suggestions from the GM's.

The Commissioner is responsible for the changes - he brings them before the BOG for approval. If the Commissioner recommends a rule change the BOG invariably goes along. He takes input from the GM's but ultimately it is his call.

Bettman has announced crackdowns on obstruction on several ocassions, only to back off.

As I pointed out the criticism of Bettman comes from players, management and the media as well as fans.

 

[Sammy*]

Unlike you I do have clue. The GM's only have the power to suggest rule changes to the Commissioner. He can initiate rule change procedures without suggestions from the GM's.

The Commissioner is responsible for the changes - he brings them before the BOG for approval. If the Commissioner recommends a rule change the BOG invariably goes along. He takes input from the GM's but ultimately it is his call.

Bettman has announced crackdowns on obstruction on several ocassions, only to back off.

As I pointed out the criticism of Bettman comes from players, management and the media as well as fans.

God you are silly. He takes his marching orders with respect to the game from the Owners & GM's.
Your agenda is making you look sillier & sillier all the time.

 

[djhn579]

Unlike you I do have clue. The GM's only have the power to suggest rule changes to the Commissioner. He can initiate rule change procedures without suggestions from the GM's.

The Commissioner is responsible for the changes - he brings them before the BOG for approval. If the Commissioner recommends a rule change the BOG invariably goes along. He takes input from the GM's but ultimately it is his call.

Bettman has announced crackdowns on obstruction on several ocassions, only to back off.

As I pointed out the criticism of Bettman comes from players, management and the media as well as fans.

Are you saying that Bettman unilaterally decides what rule changes should be made? Do you have any proof of this?

Everything I read only shows that GM's meet to discuss rule changes...


NHL general managers agreed Tuesday to suggest five significant on-ice improvements to a blue-ribbon panel comprised of coaches, players, executives and members of the media.

http://www.cbc.ca/pcgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2004/02/10/Sports/nhl040210


All those ideas that the NHL's general managers had been proposing to revive scoring are on hold.

Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations, expressed disappointment that an on-ice issue had been linked to the CBA. The league's original committee on producing the rule changes in February included three union representatives -- Mike Gartner, Steve Larmer and Al MacInnis -- although those members were not allowed to vote.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04178/337936.stm


ONTARIO, CANADA--Following a vicious hit by the Canucks’ Todd Bertuzzi on Colorado’s Steve Moore, the NHL rules committee has convened to weigh several rule changes in an attempt to stop the escalating violence. One change being discussed is a permanent ban on manslaughter, the popular practice that has been a staple of hockey since the early 70’s. If the ban is instituted, it could change the face of the league forever.

http://www.thebrushback.com/Archives/manslaughter_full.htm




NHL general managers met as a full group for three hours before breaking off into four rooms to discuss potential rule changes. No topic was too taboo to talk about.

http://www.allsportnews.net/news.html?view=1686

ARTICLE 22
Participation in Development of Playing Rules
Two representatives of the NHLPA shall be invited to attend and to participate in all meetings of the General Managers Committee in which playing rule changes are addressed.

http://www.nhlcbanews.com/cba/article22.html

 

[Brewleaguer]

No, he only cites a bunch of quotes about clutching & grabbing & the quality of game to back up up his ridiculous implication that the reason the game is bad is because of Bettman.

Well the obstruction rule took center stage from clutching and grabbing thats been going on, and Bettman and NHL officials said over the past 2-3 years that the league would clamp down on it, which they did for about a month or two in to a season, then it seems like the rule just went away.
C&G slows the game way down.
I think there is more that Bettman has done to hurt the game besides rule changes though.

 

[David Puddy]

Amazing as it may be for some people on this board to believe, the players actually care about the NFL. And while their pockets have been filled in the last decade -- more so a case of arbitration and free-agency than anything Bettman's done -- they've seen the league mis-marketed and mismanaged by a basketball guy, who seems more concerned with the next labor deal than with TV ratings that rival the yule log.

NFL? Maybe Roenick really cares about the NFL.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Are you saying that Bettman unilaterally decides what rule changes should be made? Do you have any proof of this?

Everything I read only shows that GM's meet to discuss rule changes...


NHL general managers agreed Tuesday to suggest five significant on-ice improvements to a blue-ribbon panel comprised of coaches, players, executives and members of the media.

http://www.cbc.ca/pcgi-bin/templates/sportsView.cgi?/news/2004/02/10/Sports/nhl040210


All those ideas that the NHL's general managers had been proposing to revive scoring are on hold.

Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations, expressed disappointment that an on-ice issue had been linked to the CBA. The league's original committee on producing the rule changes in February included three union representatives -- Mike Gartner, Steve Larmer and Al MacInnis -- although those members were not allowed to vote.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04178/337936.stm


ONTARIO, CANADA--Following a vicious hit by the Canucks’ Todd Bertuzzi on Colorado’s Steve Moore, the NHL rules committee has convened to weigh several rule changes in an attempt to stop the escalating violence. One change being discussed is a permanent ban on manslaughter, the popular practice that has been a staple of hockey since the early 70’s. If the ban is instituted, it could change the face of the league forever.

http://www.thebrushback.com/Archives/manslaughter_full.htm




NHL general managers met as a full group for three hours before breaking off into four rooms to discuss potential rule changes. No topic was too taboo to talk about.

http://www.allsportnews.net/news.html?view=1686

ARTICLE 22
Participation in Development of Playing Rules
Two representatives of the NHLPA shall be invited to attend and to participate in all meetings of the General Managers Committee in which playing rule changes are addressed.

http://www.nhlcbanews.com/cba/article22.html

Thank you for proving my point.

The committee make suggestions and Bettman decides which to bring forward to the BOg.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

NFL? Maybe Roenick really cares about the NFL.

Yeah, I read JR's in like 3 or 4 fantasy football leagues.

 

[Winger98]

Are you saying that Bettman unilaterally decides what rule changes should be made? Do you have any proof of this?

I don't want to talk for anyone, but what I think is being said is that Bettman has far more power than is officially recognized. The owners brought the guy in to manage the game to new levels of success and have put all of their faith in him getting them a air-tight CBA this time around. I have to think that whatever "suggestions" he may make behind the scenes to improve/change the game are given considerable weight. Where the league is now, on and off the ice, is a place he has had the largest hand in shaping.

As for the original thread topic, I think the players dislike Bettman because they look at him and see someone who would knife his mother for a better bottom line and who has no real passion for the sport. Whether it's true or not, I doubt any of us will ever know for sure. I know I don't get the feeling from him that he really cares about the sport, but I also get the feeling he would take the dispassionate and distant approach to damn near any business he would take part in. I think Bettman could be a great numbers guy, but I'm not sure he was ever really cut out to be the leading man.

 

[Sammy*]

Thank you for proving my point.

The committee make suggestions and Bettman decides which to bring forward to the BOg.

You are a joke. Where does it say that. Furthurmore, geez, I wonder why it has to be brought to the B of G.
Sillier & sillier. Each day, you get more & more disingenuous.

 

[Hockeyfan02]

Darren Pang said on the day of the lockout that many players don't feel he is a "hockey guy". Ray Ferraro said he went up to him during the all-star break a year or two ago and said "hey commisioner" and Bettman didnt know who he was. I remember when presenting the cup to the Wings in '97 he mispronounced Yzerman. I dont think it's despising as much as it is not respecting him. The players just see him as someone who doesnt know much about hockey running the best hockey league there is.

 

[Trizent]

I suppose that Swedish Elite League boring hockey on SportsNet is bad because of Bettman as well.

 

[zeppelin97]

The players need to blame someone for the degrading of the NHL. Might as well blame the one whose steering the boat.

Isn't poker pulling in better ratings? The quality of the game is not good. I would say that its even bad.

Blame the CBA on the money troubles. It most definately is the cause of revenue losses. Keep in mind the CBA has nothing to do with the quality of the game. Something Bettman has no clue on improving. If the NHL can win a good CBA does that solve the quality of the game issues? Will ratings continue to plummet? Maybe...

From a players point of view, bettman's worst crime is being useless. What has Bettman done for the league? A lucrative tv deal? You mean the non-guaranteed NBC deal? Being the first commisioner to lockout a sport for an entire season?

Sure, Goodenow can be blamed for greed, but so can Bettman (both sides are trying to get most $$$ out of the CBA). Of course Goodenow has NO power over the NHL game, and its quality.

 

[X8oD]

Sure, Goodenow can be blamed for greed, but so can Bettman (both sides are trying to get most $$$ out of the CBA). Of course Goodenow has NO power over the NHL game, and its quality.

sure he does

Lower Player demands result in lower ticket prices and player expenses, which result in higher revenue, which results in more advertising, which results in a bigger audience, which results in higher TV ratings, which results in even More Revenue.

For the last, 6 years, players went into the offseason with just 1 wish $$$$$$$$$$$$$. When they dont get paid, players hold out. Hard to promote your game when your top guys arent playing.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

For the last, 6 years, players went into the offseason with just 1 wish $$$$$$$$$$$$$. When they dont get paid, players hold out. Hard to promote your game when your top guys arent playing.

How many actual holdouts has the league seen over the last 6 years ???

Havlat, Gaborik, Yashin, Fedorov, Allison, Niedermayer .....

An average of maybe one per season ....

 

[djhn579]

Thank you for proving my point.

The committee make suggestions and Bettman decides which to bring forward to the BOg.

I didn't see anything in any of these links that prove your point. Please show me some proof of what you are saying.

 

[YellHockey*]

Lower Player demands result in lower ticket prices

Spoken like someone who's never taken any courses on economics.

Completely backwards.