Gary Bettman close to 5 year extension to remain commissioner of NHL through end of 2027 season

[Owenay]

Bettman's been emperor of the NHL since the year I graduated high school 28 YEARS ago. The Minnesota North Stars we're still a team and 44 year old Zdeno Chara was 15 years old when Bettman became king.
#TermLimits

 

[lawrence]

He will be 75 by the end of the 2027 season. I think this will be his last contract.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Clown. He gets credit for the natural growth of a major 4 sport (and the best game in the world) when he’s screwed up pretty much every major decision. Yes, the owners make more money now. Hooray capitalism. Now, think of the actual issues presented- what has he actually handled correctly? Because I have a laundry list of his mess ups.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Goat

 

[Cursed Lemon]

In a world of revolving doors at every level, somehow Bettman manages to hang in there.

 

[Rcknrollkillnmachine]

Greasy character but that's why the BOG have him there.

The Teflon Don.

 

[powerstuck]

Almost 60 million people added to US population and sports market in his tenure so far

Sold the Islanders to a fraud worth 60 grand. ESPN has a documentary on that joke.

Sold out league to corporate America, ads everywhere

Priced out the average joe from most games

10 year Arizona ownership debacle because of ego

Growing the game on the outdoor network

Downplaying conclusions and sexual assault

Only major sports to have a fully canceled season on top of multiple lockouts.

Fined a billion dollar organization 2 million dollars for the largest sex scandal in hockey history, half that being a charity tax write off.

I guess that’s good leadership lmao. (Sarcasm) Hope you work for Honda or something and get a kickback and their partnership with the NHL.

Okay fine, all good points.

But consider this, Gary Bettman has 32 bosses. Of all points you mentionned, most if not all benefit greatly and financially the 32 of his owners...why would they sack him ?

It's like you have a leadership position in your company, you bring in new clients, new income, and your boss comes and tells you, eh...it's been 30 years, it's time for a change and sack you.

 

[LeHab]

Still a very sharp mind, glad to see him around for a while.

Handles boos like a boss.

 

[pigpen65]

Lol, reward for his great work handling the Chicago scandel

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Even take away his handling of the recent scandals. He could be the greatest commissioner in sports and at a certain point I think you need someone new with a different perspective. Long past time for him to step away.

 

[DeysArena]

Bettman is an outstanding boardroom politician.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Why do people talk about him like he makes decisions or something lool I never understood the hate, he plays the villain quite well imo , a penguin-esque character.

 

[Rubi]

Oh goody. More Bettman.

 

[beowulf]

Time for someone new, he is getting older and should just retire.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Bettman has passed the biggest test, which is not screwing up the on-ice product.

You may not like the OT or standings formats, but NHL hockey is still really fun to watch.

I wanted Bud Selig gone in baseball, but that may have been shortsighted. MLB is a disaster now with awful rule changes and a decaying in-game experience.

Who knows what the next NHL commissioner will bring? Playoff shootouts? Putting a corporate name on the Cup? It could be much worse.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Ads help the respective fans’ teams pay their favorite players in a competitive player talent marketplace?

Except salary cap?

more ads does not equal more better

 

[sawchuk1971]

probably the only knock about bettman is not bringing a lucrative US TV contract that pays the same as the NFL and NBA...somewhere in the billions..

he was hired to get the same TV money as the big 3...he failed imho...

 

[BMOK33]

At his age I'm honestly not sure why he is not more interested in retiring

 

[sawchuk1971]

both stern and now silver have been massive amounts better for the NBA then bettman for the NHL. i’d put bettman a smidge above goodell, personally. manfred is probably above both of those two, had to deal with the aftermath of the steroid era, but then kind of botched the astros punishment by letting them keep the championship. NBA is by far the best run sports league, the rest have all been mired in various levels of scandal and haven’t handled it particularly well

kinda ironic that bettman used to work for the NBA....

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

Average? Name a better commissioner in any sport in any timeframe, taking into account corruption they were apart of

this.

what is the word for when ppl overly criticize a role they have absolutely zero clue how to do themselves

the booing and hate Bettman gets is pathetic

 

[sawchuk1971]

I think some of the owners of that era are the reason for the lack of growth, and the NHL had several anti-union owners, from Norris, Wirtz, Ballard etc. They also stifled growth, wanting bigger shares of the pot.

Campbell managed to expand the league to 18 teams in his time in office. Compared to 28 in the NFL, 24 in the MLB and 18 in the NBA at that time. In a league where revenue sharing wasn't even an idea, and the NHL was treading into some very unknown markets already, probably beyond its growth potential.

He's also the first to get the game broadcast in the U.S., and helped its growth, though it was funny to read that NHL owners cancelled their original contract with CBS because they didn't want the NHLPA getting a share of the TV revenues. Those old codgers were the worst I tell you.

Campbell is a legend who started in hockey, grew with the NHL postwar, became a villain in the Maurice Richard suspension, but always understood the game.

Bettman is a businessman who started in basketball, used his marketing expertise to grow the game, and probably thinks he is the best commissioner of all time, for the growth he has created in the U.S, hence staying on to eclipse the aura of Campbell. God help us if the NHL ever names a trophy after him, because he's not really good for hockey, as much as he is good for business.

i made a thread some time ago where i advocated or predicted that the stanley cup name be renamed the bettman cup after bettman passes.......i did not find any supporters though...

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

People like Bettiman are losers. Live their life for their job and act like it transcends all parts of life.

The league will go on without him soon, but let him waste what little time he has left

Ot, but when will this site stop redirecting? It’s ridiculous.

lol… what a weird take. Who knows how much Bettman is at the office. Ur just applying ur very limited knowledge of him as if it is his entire existence. that’s like me suggesting u live for just posting in a forum. Idk wtf u do elsehwer


And that loser is leaving a more significant legacy than say, a random dude on the internet talking about how much of a loser the nhl commissioner is. Not to mention…. Everything goes on without everyone eventually.
Weird take man.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

league revenue hasn’t really grown that much though. for the sake of comparison, apple revenue has grown 900% in the past ten years, while the nhl has grown revenue 60% over that same time period. to keep it to the realm of sports, nba revenue grew about 120% over that time, 2x the rate of the nhl

Yea. I always compare things with one of the greatest outcomes to gain a fair assessment.

the average growth between all major leagues is what ur looking for, not Apple. :|

 

[GM Armchair]

Can’t wait to see how much the game is destroyed after his next contract is up.
Posting this again since some mod was offended by my opinion.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

Money talks, and Bettman has made cartloads of it for the owners.