WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GARY BETTMAN!
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Wednesday marks 30 years on the job as Commissioner of the National Hockey League for Gary Bettman.
And what a 30 years it’s been.
As the longest-serving Commissioner of the four major sports leagues in North America (NHL, NFL, NBA & MLB), Bettman certainly has a lengthy body of work to examine.
To be frank, I have to give him a resounding two thumbs up, although it hasn’t always been that way.
When Bettman was hired on this day three decades ago, I was working as a sportscaster at CKBI in Prince Albert and following the NHL and this hiring extremely closely.
In truth, Bettman got off to a bumpy start. As a basketball guy with a law degree from New York who came from the NBA, he had a steep learning curve.
It was pretty clear he had not a clue about hockey and early on, he oversaw the moves of the Winnipeg Jets to Arizona and the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado.
I hated him for it!
It wasn’t just an opinion of mine; it was clear as a bell that Bettman didn’t realize the important role Canada plays in the health of the NHL. This, I’m sure, is where the tradition of booing Bettman began.
But as the league started to falter, Gary figured it out.
What I’ve read this week about his tenure is that he copied/ripped off the NBA’s Draft Lottery and All Star format, and I’m seeing that firsthand this week in South Florida with week-long All Star festivities. It’s worked. Fans are having a ball and events began Tuesday night with a street fair by the rink. Tonight is an alumni hockey game between former Panthers and a team of former NHLers. There are luncheons, exhibits and events all over the area!
The NHL’s TV contracts in the U.S. over Bettman’s time have been spotty but somewhere along the way he’s made NHL players global stars. That’s another thing I’ve seen firsthand, with many friends whom are NHL Alumni who regularly receive fan mail from all around the globe.
And above all else, Bettman has grown the game, made the owners rich, and increased revenue exponentially.
What’s not to love?
Happy anniversary Gary!
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, YouTube Live and WQEE Radio)
People in Canada who boo Bettman aren’t too bright. If it wasn’t for him breaking the union and getting the hard salary cap, the only teams in Canada would be Toronto and Montreal .
What’s not to love? How about Putin’s recruiters playing in the NHL?
What colour is the sky in your world Tom??
Explain that to me please and while you’re at it provide a synopsis of the at minimum 1000 year history of Eastern Europe and perhaps think long and hard why Russian out of the blue just randomly decided to go and do what they did? I’ll save you some brain power. If you had “neighbours” and there was a neighbourhood bylaw – go with me on this as some of you live in Regina’s finest sewers, butif you happen to be in a good area of town then for all intents and purposes ponder this. At a base level in… Read more »
You guys are free to move to Russia any time you want.
The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having refuted or defeated an opponent’s proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition.
So rather than have the sane, reasonable and rational debate. We’re free to move to Russia.
Why would I move to Russia? I like how things are going here. The reason I don’t have the problems the Ukraine has is because I’m a very good neighbuor. I keep my yard clean, stay on my side of the street, and most important….I mind my own business Tom.
Does the Munroe Wings still in operations at the RGH? If so, someone commit this klown.
Yesterday I mentioned in the modern era Bobby Hull is without question the most important Hockey Player. Without him then forget it because it was his actions that resulted in Gary Bettman inheriting a 21 team league. Gary Bettman on the other hand is the most important, influential, and greatest blessing the professional game of hockey ever had or will have. This guy when he came in the league was an old boys club and the fanbase actually believed the NHL was nothing more than a Canadian/N.E American regional niche sport. L.A was still in the league mainly for somewhere… Read more »