Gary Bettman w/Max Kellerman

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

yes, he’s been excellent. Grown the game to make the players and owners richer than ever before

Ya man, 3 lockouts have done wonders to grow the game.

Every major sport has grown in revenue/profit- you’re giving credit to a corporate chimp for the growth realized from our need for entertainment, but sure- the scheduling issues, the complete lack of transparency, the old boys culture, the concussion issues, and once again, the numerous lockouts- ya, this empty suit has done wonders for the game by shutting it down because the billionaires weren’t earning enough.

 

[OG6ix]

In the second video Kellerman said sports where you don't know who the champions will be are the most exciting. He pumped the NHL tires while taking a shot at the NBA? Maybe he's pissed that Stephen A got him kicked off the most popular show on ESPN.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Ya man, 3 lockouts have done wonders to grow the game.

Every major sport has grown in revenue/profit- you’re giving credit to a corporate chimp for the growth realized from our need for entertainment, but sure- the scheduling issues, the complete lack of transparency, the old boys culture, the concussion issues, and once again, the numerous lockouts- ya, this empty suit has done wonders for the game by shutting it down because the billionaires weren’t earning enough.

lol, you must be like the countless others on this website that think Bettman is some sort of oligarch dictator that rules over the league like some buffoon.

What’s mind boggling to me is how people don’t realize he works for the owners. He’s not making these decisions solely on his ‘best-interest’

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

lol, you must be like the countless others on this website that think Bettman is some sort of oligarch dictator that rules over the league like some buffoon.

What’s mind boggling to me is how people don’t realize he works for the owners. He’s not making these decisions solely on his ‘best-interest’

No shit, he’s in the owners’ pocket and that’s why he keeps his job. What confuses me is how people think that’s a good thing/good for hockey.

 

[Jozay]

I want Iguodala

Classic moment

 

[TheBeastCoast]

lol, you must be like the countless others on this website that think Bettman is some sort of oligarch dictator that rules over the league like some buffoon.

What’s mind boggling to me is how people don’t realize he works for the owners. He’s not making these decisions solely on his ‘best-interest’

So you think he has been a great commissioner and should get credit for building the sport during his run...but not receive any of the blow back for the bad that happened because he is a mouth piece for the owners? You can't have it both ways. He either gets credit for the good and the bad(and make no mistake the lockouts are bad) or he gets credit for nothing.

 

[pb1300]

Doesn't fill my pockets or the pockets of fans in the real passionate hockey markets. What product do they pay for? It hasn't given them many fond memories of the game during Bettman's primetime shitshow.

Whats your definition of "real passionate hockey markets?" Does a that market have to be in the North? Does it have to have four seasons? Snow in the winter? What is it? Because no city with an NHL team would have success if they put an inferior product on the ice. And what pockets are they supposed to be filling? You are looking for compensation from the team you root for?

Gary Bettman's job is to please the owners, and try and build the game. He has done that. Could it be advertised and commercialised more, sure, but you'd be taking away from the integrity of the game. The NHL will never be in the same league as the NFL, but it can dent the NBA and MLB. It just needs to keep improving on its marketing, and try to make the personality of its players a bit more available.

 

[KingsFan7824]

It doesn't matter who the commissioner is in terms of the popularity of the NHL. It's a league of rich kids, Canadian farm boys, and Europeans/Russians. Nobody cool plays hockey. The only time anyone in sports media will talk about it, between their daily debates about QB's in the NFL and LeBron that take up 23 hours and 45 minutes, is if something bad happens. Then they can rip on the NHL for 5 minutes, and use the remaining 10 to ask if LeBron is the GOAT again. We don't really know if he is or not.

 

[Voight]

Max Kellerman outside of Boxing is a complete donkey, he talks about every sport and knows nothing about any of them. Surprised he knows what hockey is.

Dude almost had a nervous breakdown when the Raptors won the title in 2019. He was so convinced they sucked and Kawhi wouldn't play out the season that when they beat the Warriors..... due ate his foot and then some.

 

[Voight]

There's a reason Bettman has been the commissioner since forever. He's really good at his job. Probably the best ever.

Nope. That would be Clarence Campbell.

 

[MuckOG]

No shit, he’s in the owners’ pocket and that’s why he keeps his job. What confuses me is how people think that’s a good thing/good for hockey.

The NHL Commissioner, by definition, is hired by and works for the owners....so of course, he would be in their pocket.

 

[FMichael]

Makes me like GB even more. He’s been excellent for the NHL.

Must agree.

Why people continue to boo him makes no sense...He's done well for the league (both owners and players)...Prior to his appointment as Commish - the NHL was in the 'Stone Age' and now the league is very relevant.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

This is the first time I've thought about Max Kellerman since I was flipping around radio stations a few months ago and found out that he'd taken a seat on ESPN's morning drive time show. I settled on NPR's "Morning Edition".

Hopefully I don't have to think about Max Kellerman for a few more months.

He's the light beer version of Colin Cowherd with the "pay attention to me" takes.

 

[FMichael]

I saw your other reply. You think the Leagues growth is why Bettman has done well? Any fanbase and Nationall broadcasted sport is going to grow somewhat. You need to compare its growth to like Leagues and other sports to get a sense. With context, the NHL is getting slaughtered. Shouldn’t be surprising since Gary cheaped out and w**red out the NHL to places like OLN and NBC(who could give two craps about hockey).

It's silly to compare the NHL to rival leagues since the NHL has been and always will be #4 - better off changing the measuring stick to league revenues and Nielsen ratings.

The NBC did a fine job...Anyone old enough should recall how ESPN showcased Poker Tournaments instead of NHL games back in the early 2000s...NBC made Crosby/Ovechkin/Winter Classics a 'thing'.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Bettman is well spoken but he has done a piss-poor job "growing the game" taking the NHL to markets that don't and will never care about the sport of hockey. He completed this harebrained venture so the league could get this TV deal.

He boasts amenity with the NHLPA when the league has missed an entire season and a huge chunk of another over collective bargaining disputes under his watch as commisioner of the NHL.

His revenue sharing model in a salary cap league has ###### Canadian teams for 27 years. His business model is a steaming pile of shit.

Gary Bettman is full of shit. That's his legacy.

there is so much misinformation here I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, when NHL started expanding to so called markets that will never care about hockey, Gary Bettman was, let me check… in high school. Check when Flames and Kings came in to the league.

Also how are you gonna accuse him of doing piss poor job growing the game when you make ir very apparent in the same sentence that you dont want to see the game grow and just flat out declare that some markets will never care? Ever been to any of those markets?

This is dangerous nationalism. Nothing more.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

But I’m sure your argument is much better “DUrRrrr they makE millions of dOllars so Gary must be doing a GReAT JoB”

Because that’s his job maybe? Some absolute lunacy around here

 

[Beau Knows]

Bettman's been good, not amazing, but good. Expansions into places like Nashville were genius, but 3 lockouts really is a lot.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Bettman's been good, not amazing, but good. Expansions into places like Nashville were genius, but 3 lockouts really is a lot.

People need to look at the owners for the lockouts

 

[MessierII]

People need to look at the owners for the lockouts

The owners don’t negotiate. That’s what they pay Bettman for.

 

[SensFactor]

Only thing that Max knows is Boxing. He has a deep understanding for the history of the sport. However, outside of that he's just a loud mouth.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

The owners don’t negotiate. That’s what they pay Bettman for.

They were very much involved

 

[Beau Knows]

People need to look at the owners for the lockouts

Yes, obviously he doesn't just do whatever he wants with 0 input from the owners. Same goes for the good things he's accomplished, so I'm not sure what your point is.

 

[vancityluongo]

Bettman comes across as well as he does because most of us are used to hockey men speaking about the sport in utter cliches, whereas Gary is a seasoned business executive with clear communications training.

I think that's all there is to it for this interview. It's refreshing to hear someone who is articulate, even in their canned answers. Calling Max out for having a myopic ESPN-centric view was masterful. Would eat my hat if Jim Benning ever used the word myopic lol.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Yes, obviously he doesn't just do whatever he wants with 0 input from the owners. Same goes for the good things he's accomplished, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Those responsible for lockout are primarily the owners

 

[Melrose Munch]

Hockey and ESPN can help each other

ESPN can do better to promote the sport and make it more mainstream

The NHL can use ESPN to diversify it's fan base, because let's face it, hockey is the least diverse and most expensive.

Everyone needs to come together here to succeed.