Can we put all of the blame on NHL Commissioner Betmann?
December 12, 2012 by Ron Andruff
Comments (6)
The New York Times states that "Bettman was hired 20 years ago Wednesday [today]. Since his first full season as the commissioner in 1993-94, 2,224 regular-season N.H.L. games have been canceled because of lockouts in 1994-95, 2004-5 and 2012. That is 9.7 percent [of all league games scheduled under his tenure]"! Incredible at best; intolerable at worst...
20 years is a long time... Boards of companies large and small, governments, and other institutions around the world all realize that 'fresh blood' is needed to invigorate them from time to time and thus have governance rules that call for rotating their officers. In a normal course of business, a chief executive would have been replaced 3-4 times during the two decades that Mr. Bettman has been running the NHL.
So why do the NHL owners not recognize this significant anomaly...? What power does Bettman have over them?
In my view, the 2012-13 season is done. IF they were to call the players back, a 3-month season is NOT a season... So we can kiss hockey good-bye for this season.
I also believe that the owners will wake up from the Bettman nightmare and we will see a new Commissioner in the very near future. How could it be otherwise?! The damage to the NHL, its fans, and the game itself is incalculable. The wisest thing that the owners can do to earn any goodwill back from the fans is to cut loose the person who is now the focus of all of the ire that continues to build...
My two cents!
The NY Times article is here: http:/
Thanks for posting this, Mark. I just don't think there is such a thing as 40 games and then playoffs. The first 10-15 games the guys will just be getting back into "NHL pace" game conditioning and sloppy hockey; there will be tons of injuries because the guys will be trying too hard; then we'll see a couple weeks of reasonable hockey before play-offs kick in... Nothing of a season, injured players and then what? There is no glory for a team that wins the Stanley during a truncated season. (The Rangers hold that current distinction and what have we seen from them since?!)
Thank you Mr. Bettman (and the 8 owners blocking the players' return)!! A half season serves only the owners; almost everyone else connected to NHL hockey lose.
Ron Andruff 4509 days ago
Ron, I see Bettman's new book was released in Sept:
re: "The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the League and Changed the Game Forever"
And from Amazon.com's description: "By taming the NHL’s famously fractious owners, all but busting its players’ union, and by enforcing lawyerly discipline on everything from trash talk to Jim Balsillie’s efforts to crash the party, Bettman has become a figure of almost unrivalled power in the business of sport. His influence shapes leagues in other countries, dictates the schedule of the Olympic Winter Games, and spills onto the ice itself with innovations such as the shootout and a second referee, and with crackdowns on obstruction and headshots."
Hmmmm....now there's a 'legacy' for ya ??!!
Mark Syme 4506 days ago
It's hard to read Amazon's book description without gagging! Particularly the 'busting the players' union" part... I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Bettman's days at the helm of the NHL are numbered. I just can't see how he'll get past this lockout and all that it has cost - whether they actually resume play after Christmas or not. And that will be a welcome change when it finally comes!
Ron Andruff 4506 days ago
Bettmans tenure in the NHL has been marked as mentioned by 3 lockouts that will soon account for more than 10% of the games under tenure. This in of itself should be reason enough to recognize that it is time for a new commissioner. The aspect that is blocking it is the fact that Bettman as lined the coffers of some of the most influential owners. (Toronto, Montreal, NY, Boston) and thus those owners are "happy"
The other issue here is actually the owners themselves. Owners like Jeremy Jacobs (Boston) and Craig Leopold (Minnesota) are the reason that this lockout has lasted so long. Immediately before the lockout began both of these owners specifically offered mammoth contracts to numerous players knowing full well that there stance would be to not "make these players whole" and have them subsidize their own contracts through pensions etc. Owners need to do "good faith" business just as required in any business. At this point they have not.
So when you combine Bettmans negotiating tacts along with the owners trying to "one up" the players has caused this lockout to drag on longer than necessary. At this point a shortened season would be to bring revenue back to the league in some small amount, get players some money and lastly and most importantly to provide some sort of product for NBC who signed a mammoth agreement to cover the NHL. In the end it will be a watered down product and whoever wins the Stanley Cup will have an asterisk next to it! Its just a shame...real shame.
Alex Olsen 4506 days ago
Thanks for the insights, Alex. I wasn't aware of Boston and Minnesota, but your comments fully support my theory that owners put themselves in untenable positions with the salaries they throw around. Hey, I was pro, so I can appreciate a player's 'market value' and that the period to earn as much moolah as possible is short - so if the cash is being offered I'll take it! But I also appreciate that owning a hockey team is a business that is similar to all other businesses in that it must make the number work...
So, if I understand what you're saying, Alex, all of fan disappointment, the enormous economic loss to every NHL city - this lockout - comes down to rich people making promises they can't keep and then unleashing Bettman to try to clean up their mess.
That is more than a shame, that is immoral.
Ron Andruff 4505 days ago
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From this hockey blog dated Nov 17.....http:/
"According to sources, many owners are completely against Bettman’s negotiation tactics. The unmeasurable damage the lockout has inflicted upon the NHL’s image as a professional sport will already result in a catastrophic drop in the league’s revenue this year. In fact, an important issue to be discussed in future meetings if a deal is within grasp will be determining who bites the bullet and how this revenue losses will be shared among owners and players. But some revenues are better than no revenues at all and I have learned from an NHL source that if Bettman doesn’t get a deal done soon (AKA before the new year), the owners could mutiny.
Bettman only needs the support of 8 owners to continue the lockout crusade and as of right now some of the most powerful and influential owners who are against the lockout and would be in favor of a deal on current terms that were already discusses are starting to talk. Word is being spread among owners to end the lockout despite of Bettman’s tactics, but not everyone is a believer. As of right now, I have received confirmation from official NHL source that the following team owners are AGAINST the lockout and Bettman’s negotiation tactics: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, Rangers, Ottawa, Philly, Pens, San Jose, Toronto, Vancouver and Caps. For one or more reasons, all of these owners have expressed dissatisfaction towards Bettman and his CBA negotiations in a more or less official and a more or less strongly expressed manner."
What?.....just '8 owners' needed to continue with this fiasco???
re: 'dissatisfied owners'....sure makes one wonder how this list reads now?
As an ambassador to the game, Bettman's like having Rush Limbaugh as a Walmart greeter....
The IIHF world junior tourney starts Dec 26 from Europe....I'm 'all in'
Mark Syme 4509 days ago