Bettman got 4% raise last year

[Crazy_Ike]

He deserves every penny he makes. An incredibly talented individual [mod: deleted].

It will be a sad blow to the league when he retires, which will probably be sooner rather than later as he is not in perfect health. Still, by far the best person for the NHL, the fans, and hockey in general to get through this next CBA, which hopefully won't be too adversarial now that the biggest problem the league had is no longer around (Goodenow and the NHLPA hawks).

The amount of work he has put into growing the NHL and his employers' team values is insane. His ties to big American money (the people who can afford NHL teams) are extensive allowing the league to continue to grow. He kept the league growing through the worst recession in eighty years and managed to rescue a good TV deal from the disaster that was the dead puck era.

MOD

He will also always have critics. Critics, unlike haters, don't actually hate the person they just disagree with decisions made. That's okay. What critics can't deny, however, is that every decision Bettman ever made has had a calculated risk/reward basis and is therefore defensible. IOW you may not agree with him but you can't point to a single thing and say "there was no reason to do that".

I'm glad he was able to stay around long enough to bring hockey back to Winnipeg, a place he never wanted to leave, and I suspect should things get in order in QC in time he will do the same thing there. Jets fans, like many Oiler, Flame, and Senator fans, understand that without Bettman, there would be no hockey in their cities.

While things don't always go perfectly in the real world, IMO Bettman has done the best that anyone could have been realistically expected to do, and every alternative anyone has ever mentioned would not have come even close. In the areas that he has expertise in, he has been an unstoppable juggernaut, in those he doesn't, he has delegated well.

It won't happen but another eighteen years of Bettman would be absolutely fine for the league. Whenever he chooses to go, he's earned a great retirement and a big thank you from every real hockey fan out there.

 

[JMROWE]

I see a Hamilton resident is a bit upset that they didnt get a team under bettman

You are damn right I am upset we deserve an NHL. team in Hamilton more than any other city in North America & the only reason why there is not is the illegal mob like tatics of MLSE. & to a lesser extient the Sabres when it comes to so called teritory rights & what really gets me mad is that the NHL. tolerates these mob like shake downs they have been doing for years & don't have the balls to stand up to them .

 

[knorthern knight]

What are his accomplishments?

Just like a good computer sysadmin, if you don't notice him, that's the best praise that can be given.

• And Atlanta was entirely under his watch,

  How many of us were psychic enough to know way back when that ASG were a bunch of litigious #### who lied through their teeth about wanting the Thrashers?

• as was Boots

  Boots fooled a lot more organizations than the NHL, including professional auditors.

  On May 29, 2008, the San Jose Mercury News broke the story that federal authorities were investigating Boots. A day later, Bergeron’s DGB Investments filed a lawsuit alleging Boots committed “complete fraud.†Others followed. Security Pacific Bank, the Private Bank of the Peninsula, Modern Bank, Heritage Bank and AEG Facilities all filed lawsuits.

• Moyes

  This is getting into psychic territory again. The US economic meltdown took down Chrysler and GM and a whole bunch of banks. It hit the sunbelt especially hard.

• OK Hockey et al.

  ??? I'm relatively new to this board. What does "OK Hockey" refer to? Oren Koules' default on Tampa Bay? Again, this boils down to an extreme economic meltdown.

There's a common thread in some of your examples. It would be nice if the NHL was prestigious enough that they could attract 30 guys with Thomson's money, who wouldn't be phased by the economic meltdown. Unfortunately, the NHL is #4 in the sunbelt, and beggars can't be choosers when it comes to franchise owners. The NHL had to settle for mere multi-millionaires hard. The most extreme recession since 1929 hit a lot of those multi-millionaires, especially those in the sunbelt.

 

[tbcwpg]

You are damn right I am upset we deserve an NHL. team in Hamilton more than any other city in North America & the only reason why there is not is the illegal mob like tatics of MLSE. & to a lesser extient the Sabres when it comes to so called teritory rights & what really gets me mad is that the NHL. tolerates these mob like shake downs they have been doing for years & don't have the balls to stand up to them .

Why does Hamilton DESERVE an NHL team more than any other city in North America? What is it about that city that puts them above the rest?

Bettman has done a pretty decent job. He's the face of the ownership group and gets booed an awful lot, but when people boo him it's like yelling at the manager at your local McDonald's because the McRib was discontinued.

 

[Crazy_Ike]

There's a common thread in some of your examples.

There's a second common thread to all the examples - they've all been debunked or answered when Fugu mentioned them before.

Some, for years and years.

I applaud your latest effort, however, as futile as it will be. For some people, the fact it happened at the same time as Bettman was around is enough to blame him for it.

 

[KevFu]

What are his accomplishments?

(And Atlanta was entirely under his watch, as was Boots, Moyes, OK Hockey et al.)

"Under his watch" doesn't necessarily mean anything. Tons of bad things happen in life "under someone's watch." It doesn't mean any of them are preventable.

What about Atlanta's problem was (a) Bettman's fault or (b) preventable by Gary Bettman?

Atlanta was a product of owners wanting out, and no one wanting to be a tenant at their arena.

What can be done when an owner runs his team into the ground? MLB and the Dodgers basically show "not much" until things reach crisis mode.

Surprise Surprise People actully defend this clown & shift the blame on others the fact is that this guy & his yes men has done more harm than good for the NHL. .

It's not like we can compare it to anything else. Is the NHL better off now than it was under Zeigler? (And remember that half of what Bettman takes the rap for was set in motion by Zeigler). Most of us would say "No, it's not, because I don't like teams in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, and Georgia."

But (a) Bettman only put teams in ATL, NASH, CBJ and MIN; Zeigler put teams in SJ, FLA, TB, ANA, and OTT.
And (b) we're applying a massive double-standard to relocation.
If ATL is a failure, then WIN, QUE, MIN, and HAR were failures.
If Bettman "allowed" WIN, QUE, MIN and HAR to move because of an anti-Canadian agenda, then ATL was allowed to move by Bettman because of a anti-south/pro-Canadian agenda. You can't have it both ways.

Aubut, Karamanos, Green, Shenkarow, and Atlanta Spirit failed their markets.
COMSAT, Karamanos, Green, Burke/Gluckstern, and Thompson relocated the teams.
Bettman, with no other options, rubber stamped the deal (which is debatable, since it's BOG and not specifically Bettman)

When other options WERE available (EDM, OTT, PIT, NASH, NYI, every other team sold that didn't move), no relocation happened. No movement clauses were put in, keeping teams from moving.

This is circumstance, not agenda. And no evidence exists to suggest that anyone else would have prevented any of these things from happening.

But evidence DOES exist to show that the NHL has the best CBA of any sport. That's good. That's GREAT.

The only reason why Winnipeg got the Jets back is because of David Thompson & 20+ billions .

And also because of the failures of Atlanta Spirit Group, the combination of a strong Canadian dollar & new CBA (which Bettman got) that allows markets without large corporate revenues to be competitive, and all the people who looked Minnesota and Atlanta, realized that building an NHL suitable arena was a criteria for getting a team back (partly because they heard Gary Bettman say as much) and acted.

 

[tarheelhockey]

In the areas that he has expertise in, he has been an unstoppable juggernaut, in those he doesn't, he has delegated well.

I'm going to cherry-pick this out of a long post that was largely accurate.

Bettman has delegated very poorly in the area of player safety and discipline. Colin Campbell botched his responsibilities too many times to count, and don't even get me started on the War Room. Enforcement of rules is an area where Bettman has dropped the ball hard.

 

[Fugu]

Just like a good computer sysadmin, if you don't notice him, that's the best praise that can be given.

• 
  How many of us were psychic enough to know way back when that ASG were a bunch of litigious #### who lied through their teeth about wanting the Thrashers?
• 
  Boots fooled a lot more organizations than the NHL, including professional auditors.
• 
  This is getting into psychic territory again. The US economic meltdown took down Chrysler and GM and a whole bunch of banks. It hit the sunbelt especially hard.
• 
  ??? I'm relatively new to this board. What does "OK Hockey" refer to? Oren Koules' default on Tampa Bay? Again, this boils down to an extreme economic meltdown.

There's a common thread in some of your examples. It would be nice if the NHL was prestigious enough that they could attract 30 guys with Thomson's money, who wouldn't be phased by the economic meltdown. Unfortunately, the NHL is #4 in the sunbelt, and beggars can't be choosers when it comes to franchise owners. The NHL had to settle for mere multi-millionaires hard. The most extreme recession since 1929 hit a lot of those multi-millionaires, especially those in the sunbelt.

Your list sounds like a list of excuses. It's his job to make the league look good and manage owners.


After a while, it's awfully convenient to always blame someone else for the failures but give him credit for the achievements, a list I'm still waiting to see. Also, no, a commissioner that doesn't get noticed isn't doing his job well. In fact, he's the face of the league, not Crosby.

 

[Fugu]

Perhaps you should look up the word "industry" and then rethink this statement.


Nice job not bothering to respond to any of the facts presented to you...and continuing to not understand the purpose and use of punctuation.

Perhaps you're the one that should address the points made without obfuscatory comments about someone's grammar, or highlighting your misunderstanding of Bettman's job.

He's a commissioner, not a CEO. He does not have P&L responsibility for the 30 teams that make up the NHL, nor does he "hire" the team executives and owners. In fact, the owners do that and hired him.

So once again, he's nowhere close to having the responsibility of a CEO, a label that was rather carelessly thrown out.

 

[Fugu]

There's a second common thread to all the examples - they've all been debunked or answered when Fugu mentioned them before.

Some, for years and years.

I applaud your latest effort, however, as futile as it will be. For some people, the fact it happened at the same time as Bettman was around is enough to blame him for it.

Pssss, Ike? Just because you claim things have been debunked doesn't actually make it so.


I'd applaud your latest efforts to drag a few more worshipers to your Bettman altar, but I'd prefer a little more substance instead of the typical "Bettman is Perfect" message you deliver.

What are his accomplishments? It's been 18 years, surely you can come up with a long list-- with specific, objective examples of course.

 

[hdtrax]

...but when people boo him it's like yelling at the manager at your local McDonald's because the McRib was discontinued.

And now, much like the Jets, the McRib is back!

 

[tarheelhockey]

And now, much like the Jets, the McRib is back!

 

[jessebelanger]

Pssss, Ike? Just because you claim things have been debunked doesn't actually make it so.


I'd applaud your latest efforts to drag a few more worshipers to your Bettman altar, but I'd prefer a little more substance instead of the typical "Bettman is Perfect" message you deliver.

What are his accomplishments? It's been 18 years, surely you can come up with a long list-- with specific, objective examples of course.

Fugu it's a fruitless arguement. Just as Ike attributes the leagues successes to Bettman and ignores its failures, you do the opposite. He'll state that poor owners were not his fault, you'll state that the leagues dramatic increase in revenue over the past 18 years was "bound to happen regardless". He'll state that the current CBA was key to the NHL's growth over the past 5 years, you'll state that there are major flaws in the current system.

It's too much of and .

At the end of the day - we all love watching the NHL. We're all interested enough to keep posting on this board. Barring some ownership changes and a relocation every 10 years or so, the franchises are pretty stable. To me - that's a sign of a successful league.

 

[edog37]

You are damn right I am upset we deserve an NHL. team in Hamilton more than any other city in North America & the only reason why there is not is the illegal mob like tatics of MLSE. & to a lesser extient the Sabres when it comes to so called teritory rights & what really gets me mad is that the NHL. tolerates these mob like shake downs they have been doing for years & don't have the balls to stand up to them .

you do understand that every sports league is set up the same way. There is little free enterprise when it comes to pro sports. Entitlement mentality will get you no where.

 

[5lidyzer19]

He's a commissioner, not a CEO. He does not have P&L responsibility for the 30 teams that make up the NHL, nor does he "hire" the team executives and owners. In fact, the owners do that and hired him.

So once again, he's nowhere close to having the responsibility of a CEO, a label that was rather carelessly thrown out.

I'm not sure why you're making such a big deal out of semantics. Of course he doesn't hire the owners. The board of directors (the owners...) hire and have the power to fire HIM. He doesn't need to hire the team exectives to be a CEO.

The responsibilities of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's Board of Directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure. They can be far reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority.

Typically, the CEO has responsibilities as a communicator, decision maker, leader, and manager. The communicator role can involve the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as the organization's management and employees; the decision making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. As a leader, the CEO advises the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to year operations

an official chosen by an athletic association to exercise broad administrative or judicial authority: the baseball commissioner. a person authorized to perform certain tasks or endowed with certain powers

The owners hired Bettman with the mandate of selling the game in the U.S. market, end labor unrest, complete expansion plans, and modernize the views of the "old-guard" within the ownership ranks.

 

[JMROWE]

Why does Hamilton DESERVE an NHL team more than any other city in North America? What is it about that city that puts them above the rest?

Bettman has done a pretty decent job. He's the face of the ownership group and gets booed an awful lot, but when people boo him it's like yelling at the manager at your local McDonald's because the McRib was discontinued.

Because we where promised a NHL. franchise 20 + years ago if we built an arena we did build that arena & we where all set for the NHL. but Ballerd & Knox pissed & moaned about it & so the NHL. broke its promise . The fact is Hamilton is the largest unserved NHL. market in North America & deserve an NHL. team more than any other city such as Quebec City , Kansas City , Houston & Seattle & reason I say this because Hamilton would be the 5th largest (Richest) NHL. market onlly behind the leafs , canadians , red wings & Rangers .

 

[5lidyzer19]

I say this because Hamilton would be the 5th largest (Richest) NHL. market onlly behind the leafs , canadians , red wings & Rangers

Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, and Vancouver?

 

[PlagerBros*]

Because we where promised a NHL. franchise 20 + years ago if we built an arena we did build that arena & we where all set for the NHL. but Ballerd & Knox pissed & moaned about it & so the NHL. broke its promise . The fact is Hamilton is the largest unserved NHL. market in North America & deserve an NHL. team more than any other city such as Quebec City , Kansas City , Houston & Seattle & reason I say this because Hamilton would be the 5th largest (Richest) NHL. market onlly behind the leafs , canadians , red wings & Rangers .

Why does it "deserve" an NHL team? Simply because it's a big area? An area that is in the Leafs market. An area that was championed by someone who refused to play by the rules the NHL set forth? I don't see anything that shows Hamilton "deserves" an NHL team.

 

[cassius]

Reading through these threads is always a treat.

Bettman is so underappreciated its ridiculous

 

[Fugu]

I'm not sure why you're making such a big deal out of semantics. Of course he doesn't hire the owners. The board of directors (the owners...) hire and have the power to fire HIM. He doesn't need to hire the team exectives to be a CEO.

So it's not about semantics, but you post this, with your own selective highlighting:

The responsibilities of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's Board of Directors or other authority, depending on the organization's legal structure. They can be far reaching or quite limited and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority.

Typically, the CEO has responsibilities as a communicator, decision maker, leader, and manager. The communicator role can involve the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as the organization's management and employees; the decision making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. As a leader, the CEO advises the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day, month-to-month, and year-to year operations

Bettman cannot motivate and hire/fire MLSE's employees. He doesn't preside over their day-to-day organizational matters. Each of the 30 teams has their own President/CEO, Sr. VP, etc., who report to the owner, and these people do the things you highlighted above.

That said, he does have control over the area where the 30 separate business entities cooperate. The business is a type of joint venture or consortium of 30 separate business entities who cooperate in having a specific sports league. His power is actually limited to the areas defined by the league's constitution and by-laws. There is a substantial amount of power within that role, but there are things the commissioner cannot do unless the right is expressly granted in the constitution, usually limited to an area that affects all the other teams.

 

[Fugu]

Fugu it's a fruitless arguement. Just as Ike attributes the leagues successes to Bettman and ignores its failures, you do the opposite. He'll state that poor owners were not his fault, you'll state that the leagues dramatic increase in revenue over the past 18 years was "bound to happen regardless". He'll state that the current CBA was key to the NHL's growth over the past 5 years, you'll state that there are major flaws in the current system.

It's too much of and .

Yes, but if you let Ike have free reign, who knows what he might say?


I just like pointing out that if you add franchises, revenues will grow as well, or if the CAD increases by 40%, you're bound to get some bump, depending on the time period under discussion. Hence my request as to what is specifically being credited here. I mean, if we can't blame him for the expansion, then why does he get credit for the additional revenues when you add 8 teams, which together add $60 MM/yr in HRR?

I also pointed out before that national TV money grew, then fell flat for about a decade, and now is back on track, which if adjusted for inflation and that it took 18 yrs to get here is hardly a massive accomplishment.

At the end of the day - we all love watching the NHL. We're all interested enough to keep posting on this board. Barring some ownership changes and a relocation every 10 years or so, the franchises are pretty stable. To me - that's a sign of a successful league.

Isn't that the issue though, Jesse? There have been some painful ownership changes/issues since the lockout, and are we really only looking at one relocation? (Or even the dreaded word--- contraction?)

I don't know, tbh, but we have some unresolved and pressing matters with at least one franchise, and possibly some problems with another 1-2 in foreseeable future.

 

[LadyStanley]

Yes, but if you let Ike have free reign, who knows what he might say?

And free rein.

 

[Fugu]

And free rein.

Yes, that too. Reign and rein, but not rain.

 

[rmchahn]

I'm surprised at the number of Bettman supporters. Must be Americans.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I'm surprised at the number of Bettman supporters. Must be Americans.

Yeah, I've seen two already who are from Winnipeg, America.