The Gary Bettman Appreciation Thread

[c-carp]

Yeah way to go maybe in the next 6 years he can make this sport more popular then bowling on American T.V.

The cap is good but give me a break!!!!! The guy has done nothing for hockey in 10 years but now that big teams can't buy small market team players hes the savior to the NHL?

Great job Bettman the NHL has never been stronger.

Well said, he is getting too much credit here and has been during the duration of this thing.

 

[c-carp]

Try to view this whole process from a "smaller" market perspective. If Bettman/owners had caved and not gotten the cap/linkage then Edmonton, Calgary, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, as well as many other franchises would be done...you man not give two $hits about these teams but many many fans do, so stop spewing your hate for Gary Bettman already.

The Key word there and you used it yourself is the Owners didnt cave this time and I am glad they didnt. Why does that make Bettman a savior. I dont get it. The Owners fixed this because they realised they had let things get to far out of hand and they HAD TO DO IT. They had no choice and My city almost lost a team once so I am glad it will be better for smaller markets. I do refuse to put Bettman on a pedestal. I think he has done a horrible job and it is a mistake to give him a pass because of the new CBA.

 

[c-carp]

Why would they be done? Ever heard of revenue sharing?

The Green Bay Packers weren't done without an NFL cap, because the big markets share their revenues.

Bettman saved one thing and one thing only...a lot of money for the owners. He works for them and this was about money, and he did his job really well. Aside from that he hasn't done much for this league or the sport...especially the sport though. It has been as boring as ever for the last couple of years and they haven't fixed it. The best thing Bettman did for the sport was get a national TV contract, which the league no longer has anyway.

However, if they fix the rules and make the game more exciting and this new CBA can make it more affordable for teams to be in hockey-rich markets like Winnipeg rather than Nashvile, than it was worth it at least

It is worth it, but we need to fire Bettman and get a Hockey man as commmisioner. The owners got the CBA now get rid of Bettman. fat chance of that happening though I think.

 

[JayPSU]

Here are the reasons that the game has been reduced to something that is not even remotely marketable.

Expansion: I think this is probably the number one reason for the deterioration of the game. In Bettman's desire to spread the game to cities all across North America, he alienated the diehard hockey fans and thinned out the talent causing the product to be less talented. Bettman's big plan when he came in was expansion, expansion, expansion. Cities that never should have had teams, have them. And to make the game more "attractive" to other cities so that they would want to take on a team, Gary instituted rule changes on the game that took fighting and accountability out of the game. This combined with the fact that the NHL has NEVER enforced its OWN rules on obstruction has turned the game into a game that has watered down talent, no accountability and thus no respect for other players, and a defensive game that more closely resembles football then the game that reached it's peak in the mid to late 80's.

Gary Bettman has single-handedly destroyed a game that I have loved since I was 6 years-old. Something that is very rare for an American boy, and now because of what this game is today, even rarer.

 

[kdb209]

Originally Posted by Randy May
Here Here. Gary Bettman does not nor will not get enough credit for what he has done for the league. I do not like the # of expansion clubs that continued after he was hired nor do I like the change of division and conference names but none of that was entirely his doing...he works for the owners...and he did a kick ass job on this CBA.

Anyone with a law background could have done this. The Owners finally got unified and didnt crack.

Ever think that GB as a major (if not THE major) reason the owners were kept unified and didn't crack. You think it's easy keeping 30 very rich, very egotitical owners with different situations and agendas all on the same page (or at least in quiet dissent).

Remember, it was GB who demanded the supermajority provisions when he renewed his contract with the league. He remembered how he and his bargaining positions were under cut by some of the owners, and he was not going to let that happen again.

 

[SuperUnknown]

Here are the reasons that the game has been reduced to something that is not even remotely marketable.

Expansion: I think this is probably the number one reason for the deterioration of the game. In Bettman's desire to spread the game to cities all across North America, he alienated the diehard hockey fans and thinned out the talent causing the product to be less talented. Bettman's big plan when he came in was expansion, expansion, expansion. Cities that never should have had teams, have them. And to make the game more "attractive" to other cities so that they would want to take on a team, Gary instituted rule changes on the game that took fighting and accountability out of the game. This combined with the fact that the NHL has NEVER enforced its OWN rules on obstruction has turned the game into a game that has watered down talent, no accountability and thus no respect for other players, and a defensive game that more closely resembles football then the game that reached it's peak in the mid to late 80's.

Gary Bettman has single-handedly destroyed a game that I have loved since I was 6 years-old. Something that is very rare for an American boy, and now because of what this game is today, even rarer.

The game doesn't "look" as good (which is something I find disputable) because the players, the coaches, etc have improved so much. It improved so much that now you can't afford any mistake or you get burned by the other team. Which makes it more defensive, more technical and less appealing to many fans. Take the worse team of last year with their coach and strategies and put them in the 1980's and they'd be suddenly one of the best teams.

The game is faster, the players in better shape than ever before. Every NHL coach have a good tactical knowledge of the game. Every team and move is analysed on video. Goaltending is now and art of positioning yourself. Hockey is now like a high caliber chess game.

 

[kdb209]

Here are the reasons that the game has been reduced to something that is not even remotely marketable.

Expansion: I think this is probably the number one reason for the deterioration of the game. In Bettman's desire to spread the game to cities all across North America, he alienated the diehard hockey fans and thinned out the talent causing the product to be less talented. Bettman's big plan when he came in was expansion, expansion, expansion. Cities that never should have had teams, have them. And to make the game more "attractive" to other cities so that they would want to take on a team, Gary instituted rule changes on the game that took fighting and accountability out of the game. This combined with the fact that the NHL has NEVER enforced its OWN rules on obstruction has turned the game into a game that has watered down talent, no accountability and thus no respect for other players, and a defensive game that more closely resembles football then the game that reached it's peak in the mid to late 80's.

Gary Bettman has single-handedly destroyed a game that I have loved since I was 6 years-old. Something that is very rare for an American boy, and now because of what this game is today, even rarer.

ARGHHH. The Big Lies come out again.

1. GB had nothing to do with the first round of expansion. San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa, Florida, and Anaheim were all approved before GB even joined the league. So at worst you can blame him for Nashville, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Columbus.

2. Watered down talent? The league is more talented today than it was before expansion. The 90's expansions also coincided with the biggest influx of talent into the NHL in it's history. There are actually fewer Canadian players in the league today than there were in 1990. So unless you want to argue that Canadians have gotten less talented or that there has been some sort of affirmitive action to sign less talented Europeans and Americans over good old Canadian boys, there is no way you can argue that the league today is in anyway less talented that it was pre-expansion. You want talent watered down by expansion, look at the late 60's, 70's and 80's, supposedly some Golden Age of Dynasties, when the league grew from 6 to 21 teams with little relative increase in the talent pool.

 

[nyr7andcounting]

2. Watered down talent? The league is more talented today than it was before expansion. The 90's expansions also coincided with the biggest influx of talent into the NHL in it's history. There are actually fewer Canadian players in the league today than there were in 1990. So unless you want to argue that Canadians have gotten less talented or that there has been some sort of affirmitive action to sign less talented Europeans and Americans over good old Canadian boys, there is no way you can argue that the league today is in anyway less talented that it was pre-expansion. You want talent watered down by expansion, look at the late 60's, 70's and 80's, supposedly some Golden Age of Dynasties, when the league grew from 6 to 21 teams with little relative increase in the talent pool.

He said the talent has been thinned out, not watered down.

 

[two out of three*]

I think c-carp holds the new record for most consecutive posts in a big time thread with 6. Congrats.

 

[CarlRacki]

Here are the reasons that the game has been reduced to something that is not even remotely marketable.

Expansion: I think this is probably the number one reason for the deterioration of the game. In Bettman's desire to spread the game to cities all across North America, he alienated the diehard hockey fans and thinned out the talent causing the product to be less talented. Bettman's big plan when he came in was expansion, expansion, expansion. Cities that never should have had teams, have them. And to make the game more "attractive" to other cities so that they would want to take on a team, Gary instituted rule changes on the game that took fighting and accountability out of the game. This combined with the fact that the NHL has NEVER enforced its OWN rules on obstruction has turned the game into a game that has watered down talent, no accountability and thus no respect for other players, and a defensive game that more closely resembles football then the game that reached it's peak in the mid to late 80's.

Gary Bettman has single-handedly destroyed a game that I have loved since I was 6 years-old. Something that is very rare for an American boy, and now because of what this game is today, even rarer.

Some facts you conveniently ignore:

1. Gary Bettman has overseen a grand total of four expansions, two of them that were no brainers - Atlanta because of its market size and Minnesota because it's about as much a hockey town as there is in the U.S. Columbus would seem questionable on first blush, but it's turned out to be a strong hockey market. The jury remains out on Nashville. He had nothing to do with Florida, Tampa or Anaheim. Regardless, all these expansions were voted upon and approved overwhelmingly by the NHL owners. These moves were not, as you imply, the result of unilateral decisions by Bettman.

2. NHL expansion has coincided with an unprecedented influx of talent into the league from Europe. In 2003, a full third of the league's players - including half of the all-star starters - were Europeans. Their presence has more than made up for the additional roster spots created by expansion. If anything, the NHL talent pool is deeper than ever before.

3. Contrary to your claim, Gary Bettman has never instituted a rules change. Not one. Rules changes are the made by the NHL Board of Governors with input from the general managers.

But other than those minor problems with your rant, you're right on.

 

[JayPSU]

He said the talent has been thinned out, not watered down.

No, I did say watered down but I was meaning thinned out. I'll give an example, no way in hell does a guy like Radovan Somik have a roster spot on the Flyers back in the 80's. The league has far too many teams in areas that do not like the game anyway. This combined with the idiotic instigator rule, and the inability to enforce obstruction rules has killed this game. None of the rule changes like eliminating the red line would ever be necessary if it wasn't for Bettman. And I've got news for all of you; if they don't crack down on obstruction for real this time, the game will be even MORE defensive and boring with the removal of the red line. Bettman should be fired NOW. He's a great lawyer but an awful hockey man.

 

[ktaylor57]

As far as obstruction goes...isn't it the job of the officiating director to take control of this if referees aren't doing their job? Although you could blame Bettman for not taking action, but whatever.

Expansion...under GB, Minnesota and Columbus are EXCELLENT markets, Columbus is still close to selling out even with a poor team. Once Atlanta and Nashville become more respectable teams, I don't see them having too much trouble drawing fans.

The issue of thinned out talent isn't helped when teams like the Rangers can go out and get Kovalev, Jagr and Lindros and talent gets stacked in a few certain spots while teams like Edmonton can only hold on to their players for six, seven years until they can't afford them any more. That's how I see it. But I do agree with you on how fourth line guys that would not have a job 10-15 years ago do today.

 

[c-carp]

I think c-carp holds the new record for most consecutive posts in a big time thread with 6. Congrats.

Sorry, I wasnt going to say anything and then I did, If I knew how to run them together as one I would have. I have strong feelings on this subject and find it hard not to say anything.

 

[CarlRacki]

No, I did say watered down but I was meaning thinned out. I'll give an example, no way in hell does a guy like Radovan Somik have a roster spot on the Flyers back in the 80's. The league has far too many teams in areas that do not like the game anyway. This combined with the idiotic instigator rule, and the inability to enforce obstruction rules has killed this game. None of the rule changes like eliminating the red line would ever be necessary if it wasn't for Bettman. And I've got news for all of you; if they don't crack down on obstruction for real this time, the game will be even MORE defensive and boring with the removal of the red line. Bettman should be fired NOW. He's a great lawyer but an awful hockey man.

So you mean guys like Ed Hospodar, Daryl Stanley and Paul Guay were good enough for those 80s Flyers teams, but not Radovan Somik?

 

[JayPSU]

As far as obstruction goes...isn't it the job of the officiating director to take control of this if referees aren't doing their job? Although you could blame Bettman for not taking action, but whatever.

Expansion...under GB, Minnesota and Columbus are EXCELLENT markets, Columbus is still close to selling out even with a poor team. Once Atlanta and Nashville become more respectable teams, I don't see them having too much trouble drawing fans.

The issue of thinned out talent isn't helped when teams like the Rangers can go out and get Kovalev, Jagr and Lindros and talent gets stacked in a few certain spots while teams like Edmonton can only hold on to their players for six, seven years until they can't afford them any more. That's how I see it. But I do agree with you on how fourth line guys that would not have a job 10-15 years ago do today.

Oh please, Atlanta and Nashville have better teams than Columbus and Columbus has no problems with attendance. Anyway, the point is that the league has too many teams. I will agree that the financial aspect of the NHL (the CBA) had to change so that huge hockey markets (but very shallowed pocket teams) like Edmonton, Calgary, and Minnesota could compete. And Gary did a great job securing a deal for that purpose, he's a great lawyer. But I'm talking about issues with the actual on ice product. Yes, the director of officiating should be making sure that obstruction is enforced, but because of the collective whining of GM's, he has not. Bettman has refused to enforce rules that have created OBVIOUS problems with the on-ice product. And yes, he was very much responsible for the instigator rule which has removed accountability from the game. Bettman is NOT a hockey man and should NOT keep his job.

 

[SuperUnknown]

No, I did say watered down but I was meaning thinned out. I'll give an example, no way in hell does a guy like Radovan Somik have a roster spot on the Flyers back in the 80's. The league has far too many teams in areas that do not like the game anyway. This combined with the idiotic instigator rule, and the inability to enforce obstruction rules has killed this game. None of the rule changes like eliminating the red line would ever be necessary if it wasn't for Bettman. And I've got news for all of you; if they don't crack down on obstruction for real this time, the game will be even MORE defensive and boring with the removal of the red line. Bettman should be fired NOW. He's a great lawyer but an awful hockey man.

Guys in the AHL would have made the 80s teams. Heck... Ivanans is better than Semenko ever was!

 

[c-carp]

Guys in the AHL would have made the 80s teams. Heck... Ivanans is better than Semenko ever was!

You are clearly Nuts.

 

[SuperUnknown]

Yes, the director of officiating should be making sure that obstruction is enforced, but because of the collective whining of GM's, he has not. Bettman has refused to enforce rules that have created OBVIOUS problems with the on-ice product. And yes, he was very much responsible for the instigator rule which has removed accountability from the game. Bettman is NOT a hockey man and should NOT keep his job.

Obstruction/hooking is something that's hard to trim down. And the rules are tougher on it than they were 10 years ago. Back then, you could literally be dragged a full lenght of ice by another player without getting a penalty. As Larry Robinson said (one of the great players, a hockey man as you say), soon you'll need a Harvard's law degree to know what's a penalty and what's not.

The problem is that players are so much better now that it's harder for a player to differentiate himself from the others. Guys like Joe Juneau who got close to 100 points in the early 90s really didn't have that much offensive talent. The reason they were getting points was because the caliber was a lot lower back then (including coaches, who were more "rah-rah" types than technical types).

 

[c-carp]

Oh please, Atlanta and Nashville have better teams than Columbus and Columbus has no problems with attendance. Anyway, the point is that the league has too many teams. I will agree that the financial aspect of the NHL (the CBA) had to change so that huge hockey markets (but very shallowed pocket teams) like Edmonton, Calgary, and Minnesota could compete. And Gary did a great job securing a deal for that purpose, he's a great lawyer. But I'm talking about issues with the actual on ice product. Yes, the director of officiating should be making sure that obstruction is enforced, but because of the collective whining of GM's, he has not. Bettman has refused to enforce rules that have created OBVIOUS problems with the on-ice product. And yes, he was very much responsible for the instigator rule which has removed accountability from the game. Bettman is NOT a hockey man and should NOT keep his job.

Awesome post man

 

[mooseOAK*]

The problem is that players are so much better now that it's harder for a player to differentiate himself from the others. Guys like Joe Juneau who got close to 100 points in the early 90s really didn't have that much offensive talent. The reason they were getting points was because the caliber was a lot lower back then (including coaches, who were more "rah-rah" types than technical types).

I would like to add that defencemen are bigger and more mobile now than they were 20 years ago which makes it more difficult for the faster forwards to beat them like they used to be able to.

 

[mackdogs*]

Thanks Gary, for saving NHL hockey in Edmonton.

Amen to that, thanks a lot Gary!

Go

 

[NJDevils#4]

Amen to that, thanks a lot Gary!

Go

Thats great that your team was saved. I'm really happy for you. But, you're looking at it from a narrow perspective; clearly happy that he saved your team, but not what he has done to the game. He IS the commissioner...and despite the fact that he does not have 100% of the say...he has enough to assume full responsibility for the state of the league. Look at what Paul Tagliabue has done for the NFL. He has elevated the league to a new high, surpassing baseball in populariy due to intelligent decisions and promoting the product correctly. Bettman has to assume responsibility...it comes with the title of commissionor. The NHL is light years away from where it should be. I"m not comparing the NFL and the NHL, because clearly the NFL is going to be more popular in the US. However, over the past 5-8 years I've seen a number of friends and acquaintances turn away from the NHL due to a product that is less than spectacular and a FA system that hasn't kept players on their teams long enough. The ease at which star players are traded is disturbing as well. There should be an institution in this CBA that makes it harder to trade franchise players.

 

[Montrealer]

He said the talent has been thinned out, not watered down.

Yeah, you big dummy!

"Sir, we don't water down our beer. We thin out our beer."

 

[rekrul]

with no national TV contract Bettman has taken the sport from big 4 team sport to Arena Football/wnba/x-games level, which it was not in 1992. twice as many people watched the game in 1994 than in 2004, all on bettman's watch. Glad he won the labor deal, now go away and let someone else try to bring back the game.

 

[SuperUnknown]

Thats great that your team was saved. I'm really happy for you. But, you're looking at it from a narrow perspective; clearly happy that he saved your team, but not what he has done to the game. He IS the commissioner...and despite the fact that he does not have 100% of the say...he has enough to assume full responsibility for the state of the league. Look at what Paul Tagliabue has done for the NFL. He has elevated the league to a new high, surpassing baseball in populariy due to intelligent decisions and promoting the product correctly. Bettman has to assume responsibility...it comes with the title of commissionor. The NHL is light years away from where it should be. I"m not comparing the NFL and the NHL, because clearly the NFL is going to be more popular in the US. However, over the past 5-8 years I've seen a number of friends and acquaintances turn away from the NHL due to a product that is less than spectacular and a FA system that hasn't kept players on their teams long enough. The ease at which star players are traded is disturbing as well. There should be an institution in this CBA that makes it harder to trade franchise players.

I don't know... Myself, I think that football ain't as exciting now that it was 10 years ago. There are more defensive teams, more lower score games. Less first downs, passing % is down, etc.

As well, the NHL had (and will still have) the more restrictive system for player movement if you compare it to the other big sports.