The legacy of Bob Goodenow

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I get it, I mean, I wasn't born yesterday of course. But if you are wondering the problems that the NHL has and has had for decades, it is that there aren't enough people at the top that truly love the game and have its best interest at heart. Now, you can say Bettman doesn't need to love the game, and fine, but that's the point I am making. So many of hockey's problems have stemmed from this.

you see, this is a common problem I see from people who think this way. People like yourself and others would rather have someone who ‘loves the game’ like a Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Kariya, etc.

Why would a former player want to do that? Gretzky’s reputation has a blemish already with his poor coaching resume.

the league needs business-type personnel to run the league, not the other way around

 

[FerrisRox]

you see, this is a common problem I see from people who think this way. People like yourself and others would rather have someone who ‘loves the game’ like a Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Kariya, etc.

Why would a former player want to do that? Gretzky’s reputation has a blemish already with his poor coaching resume.

the league needs business-type personnel to run the league, not the other way around

If you tasked me with making a list of fifty things I wanted in a good Commissioner candidate "loving the game" wouldn't be there.

It's completely irrelevant and quite possibly would be detrimental to doing the job well.

 

[Big Phil]

If you tasked me with making a list of fifty things I wanted in a good Commissioner candidate "loving the game" wouldn't be there.

It's completely irrelevant and quite possibly would be detrimental to doing the job well.

you see, this is a common problem I see from people who think this way. People like yourself and others would rather have someone who ‘loves the game’ like a Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Kariya, etc.

Why would a former player want to do that? Gretzky’s reputation has a blemish already with his poor coaching resume.

the league needs business-type personnel to run the league, not the other way around

How has that worked out with the lawyer types?

You can be a smart business man and still have love and respect for the history of the game.

 

[CrosbyIsKing87]

I was never a fan of Goodenow. He didn't care at all about the game or the fans. All he wanted to do is make more money for the players. You can say that was his job but what good does it do to make money in the short term if you screw the game and fans over long term in the process? He wouldn't have cared if five teams folded during that 2004-05 lockout if it meant killing the salary cap. He misread the situation badly and deserved to be fired. I understand the importance of a union and I wouldn't trust the owners either. But he had a scorched Earth policy. While I also have issues with Bettman (and the owners - they were much more to blame for the 2012 lockout) he at least has stepped in and fought to keep certain franchises where they were, my Pittsburgh Penguins being one of them. Lots of bad things during his time though - 1994, 2004, 2012 lockouts, ridiculous player safety standards, CTE denial, sexual abuse scandal, I'd personally rather see someone with a hockey background be commissioner. Someone who at least grew up with the sport and maybe played it.

 

[Randy Marsh]

Here's what I think: The 1994 Work Stoppage was in no way Bettman's fault. He was hired for the specific reason to implement a salary cap, and the owners and players both knew they were going to come to a head, etc. In a sense, Bettman was hired specifically to oversee a work-stoppage that would lead to a salary cap. So, I don't fault him for the 1994-95 period -- anybody the Board hired was going to be hired to do exactly the same thing. He did what he was hired for.

But after that...? There has been an entire season wiped out (never happened in any other major-professional sport in N.A.), and half of another one. Of course, Bettman tried to avoid it and tried to work between the two camps, but the fact is -- he failed.

He's earned tens of millions of dollars for his job, and he's failed miserably, despite his (presumably) best efforts. There is literally nothing worse for a pro-sports League than having an entire season wiped out.

Agreed with the bolded. From what I remember, both sides agreed to extend the existing CBA for a year after Bettman started so he could get his bearings. It was done as an act of good faith.

The most laughable part of the 2005 lockout was Bryan McCabe saying the players would sit out for the rest of their lives before they accepted a cap.