Gary Bettman induction to HHOF is a Travesty to the Game

Dough72

Registered User
Sep 3, 2008
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spearheaded the removal of body checking and fisticuffs and turned the league into an empty husk of what it used to be, when intensity was off the charts compared to what it is now
 
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Peiskos

Registered User
Jan 4, 2018
3,665
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you have a population of 300 million people in the US who prefer football, baseball and basketball over hockey.

and then you have abour 35 million people in canada who prefer hockey over other sports

making inroads into a huge market like the US is going to take time especially when hockey has to compete with other favourites in the US when it comes to the almighty dollar.

Hockey will NEVER be #1 in the US, if that's the goal Bettman has he will be sadly disappointed. Hockey for the most part is too complex with too many subtle nuances for the average American to follow and embrace.

Americans for the most part (not all but most) like slower paced sports like NFL Football with whistles every 5 seconds and NBA basketball with fouls every 15 seconds..not to mention MLB baseball which is less exciting than watching paint dry.
 
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Buds17

Registered User
Nov 29, 2015
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If they expand the playoffs by even 1 team, he should be removed from the HOF immediately.

When Seattle joins, it'll be exactly half of the league's teams that qualify. That's the perfect number for me.

In terms of Bettman, don't like lockouts, but a cap tied to increasing league revenues is a positive for owners and players.
 
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Man Bear Pig

Registered User
Aug 10, 2008
31,003
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Earth
I think it's safe to say that no matter who was in charge, you guys would hate them. All Bettman does is represent the owners, like a lawyer, which he is. He speaks for them. Your hatred is misguided. If you're actually blaming him alone for the lockouts then you dont know what the hell you're talking about. Grow up.
 

NightTrain1

Registered User
Oct 20, 2013
532
579
I love a good ol fashioned Bettman hating as much as the next guy, maybe more so even on most occasions.

But that's just an old pastime of hockey fans to enjoy because its popular and funny. The simple fact is, Bettman is the commish this long because he has done a good job. The league and the players have earned a buttload of money because of him and it continues to grow at steady rates. He has done a lot of unpopular things, but that is the nature of a high position such as his.
 
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Luminiferous

Registered User
Oct 11, 2018
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I don't see an issue with him. I often wonder if someone else could have done more/better. No point in speculating tho.
 

HamiltonNHL

Parity era hockey is just puck luck + draft luck
Jan 4, 2012
20,124
10,634
Bettman deserves to be a part of Hockey history. i have no problem with the Hall of Fame, but he's no Lady Byng candidate
 

luvdahattymatty

Registered User
Apr 8, 2018
511
405
Gramps here. Back in my day guys had off season jobs. Back in my dads day guys got paid only for wins and ties and sometimes goals and fights. The players have done much better. The teams have done much better. The games on TV everywhere. There is much more awareness of hockey in US no doubt.

Don't like the hits and fights out of the game. But love the speed. Don't like the CAP. Don't like his arrogance. Canada is hockey buy we have not won a Cup since 1993. Over 25 years. But I still love the Leafs.
 

Daisy Jane

everything is gonna be okay!
Jul 2, 2009
70,212
9,189
First of All - he didn't induct himself in. the HHOF elected him as a builder.
So let's see what he "built" shall we.

1: He expanded the game to eight markets, securing rich hockey deals in several of those markets, thus seeing the game grow in areas that most people felt (and still think) hockey shouldn't even be - resulting in a generation later to have amazing boons (ie: 1st SouthWestern player to be drafted overall, more americans drafted than Canadians in the top ten, more and more hockey schools growing in the west coast, the first big 4 sport to secure Vegas, and trying to expand into Europe and Asia.

2: hate it or not, he is also the author of the only hard salary cap which apparently a good thing if you're a poor team. go poor teams.

3: NHL popularity compared to what it was growing up is tremendously better during his watch.

People can hate him all they want and I generally feel it's for reasons that are not on him. He works for the owners, and quite frankly a huge chunk of the problems, including the lockouts, were on the players - not on him.
 

dominicmoore19

Registered User
Jun 8, 2010
445
59
Bettman is the best commish of any major North American sports league. He's grown the game immensely and there has been barely any controversy unlike NFL, NBA, MLB. Sure he's an ***hole but he's done nothing but good for hockey.
 

56 Years No Cup

New and Improved Username!
Nov 12, 2007
7,670
6,563
I don't have a problem with Bettman in the HHOF per se, but I do have a problem with anyone whose career is still active being inducted. It just screams "sucking up".
 

TheCLAM

Registered User
Oct 11, 2012
3,945
149
Niagara Falls
Bettman turned around the NHL and made revenues grow exponentially. Tired of the redderick.

Player strikes are irrelevant.. this means the two sides didn't come together collectively. Let's start blaming the PA then too?
 
Gary Bettman saved hockey.

without him, the nhl would be equivalent to the cfl.

the best commissioner in the history of the league.

I'm of the opinion that hockey didn't need saving. It needed preserving. It needed someone with a sense of the past,and respect for the culture of the game within the fabric of this country and few American states.

What I saw, again just my opinion, was a carpetbagger who thought he could implement a generic, one-size-fits-all expansion plan to a sport that is very much settled in its own niche. And he did it all with such condescending panache.

I also understand that these moves were all made upon the behest of the owners (who I think are just as guilty in destroying this league).

I don't know...a glowing puck, a team in Vegas, 2 teams in Florida, and a team in Arizona that barely has a pulse. As a fan, this is not my idea of progress.


The greatest sport on earth being run like a dollar-store in a strip-mall.
 
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zeke

The Dube Abides
Mar 14, 2005
66,937
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I'm of the opinion that hockey didn't need saving. It needed preserving. It needed someone with a sense of the past,and respect for the culture of the game within the fabric of this country and few American states.

What I saw, again just my opinion, was a carpetbagger who thought he could implement a generic, one-size-fits-all expansion plan to a sport that is very much settled in its own niche. And he did it all with such condescending panache.

I also understand that these moves were all made upon the behest of the owners (who I think are just as guilty in destroying this league).

I don't know...a glowing puck, a team in Vegas, 2 teams in Florida, and a team in Arizona that barely has a pulse. As a fan, this is not my idea of progress.


The greatest sport on earth being run like a dollar-store in a strip-mall.

the greatest sport on earth is now a major international sports league, instead of a local domestic minor league.
 

Daisy Jane

everything is gonna be okay!
Jul 2, 2009
70,212
9,189
I'm of the opinion that hockey didn't need saving. It needed preserving. It needed someone with a sense of the past,and respect for the culture of the game within the fabric of this country and few American states.

What I saw, again just my opinion, was a carpetbagger who thought he could implement a generic, one-size-fits-all expansion plan to a sport that is very much settled in its own niche. And he did it all with such condescending panache.

I also understand that these moves were all made upon the behest of the owners (who I think are just as guilty in destroying this league).

I don't know...a glowing puck, a team in Vegas, 2 teams in Florida, and a team in Arizona that barely has a pulse. As a fan, this is not my idea of progress.


The greatest sport on earth being run like a dollar-store in a strip-mall.

the glowing puck was Fox, not the NHL.

every
league is trying to get into Vegas, it was imperative that the NHL was first, and gather a stronghold from MLB/NBA (because you know football runs supreme in America)

It's because no one wants to build/put a team in the downtown core of Arizona. where it's located is crap (now for me that's dumb, same as the Ottawa argument, but it's a legitimate one apparently) - you are also ignoring that Arizona has one of the biggest television contracts for the NHL. yes Arizona.

so... what's wrong with Tampa? exactly? how is that not progress?
 
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NightTrain1

Registered User
Oct 20, 2013
532
579
I'm of the opinion that hockey didn't need saving. It needed preserving. It needed someone with a sense of the past,and respect for the culture of the game within the fabric of this country and few American states.

What I saw, again just my opinion, was a carpetbagger who thought he could implement a generic, one-size-fits-all expansion plan to a sport that is very much settled in its own niche. And he did it all with such condescending panache.

I also understand that these moves were all made upon the behest of the owners (who I think are just as guilty in destroying this league).

I don't know...a glowing puck, a team in Vegas, 2 teams in Florida, and a team in Arizona that barely has a pulse. As a fan, this is not my idea of progress.


The greatest sport on earth being run like a dollar-store in a strip-mall.


It's easy to say that, and it is just as easy to say someone else may or may not have done better or worse, frankly we will never know.

What I do know and understand is that you can preserve and protect something in the tightest of bubbles but you eliminate any growth and it may very well just die in that scenario. Quite literally, if it wasnt for his pushed expansion into Arizona and the continued support in propping that team up the Leafs would not have Auston Matthews. If anybody has watched the short doc on him and how he grew up and what his connection to the game was it is easy to see that both directly and indirectly Gary is responsible for the Leafs franchise player.

Things take time to grow and sometimes must suffer intense failure and hardship and in the end it may still fail entirely. But if you dont try then you dont see the success either and the both the teams and the players would be much farther behind in what they've gotten in return. Carving a path into the southern states is a long road, probably many decades as you are competing with very entrenched sports. The end result is definitely worth it though when signing television contracts, sparking youth hockey and giving players more options to play and earn. I dont specifically blame Bettman though for the complete idiocy of certain owners. As terrible as the entire Florida organization is, just look a little north at the success of the Lightning.
 

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