Drouin Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 This isn't 'for the fans'. You know how much money they're making off this? By the end, they'll make enough so it'll be like the lockout never happened. It's just another money grab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Sure there have been some setbacks under Bettman. I suggest he has done more good than bad. Most fans refuse to acknowledge that the NHL is a business. Bettman has taken league revenue from $400 million to $2.8 billion. As much as the players bitch about being exploited their incomes have soared as well as their numbers. It was Bettman who saved vertially every NHL city in Canada (other than the Laffers) when he created the support fund or revenue sharing. Memories fade quickly now that the dollar is at par and not 65 cents. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Umm..from my humble pov..yes, you CAN do enough of them. Indeed sir, you may already HAVE done ENOUGH of THEM!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck_trevor16 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Bettman don't care about the fans.....it all $$$$ only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 "Ya just can't get enough. Just can't get enough. Just can't get enough. Ya just can't get... ...Okay maybe you had enough." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaches Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 I hope you're kidding. We're talking about the Commissioner of the league. Show some respect for this seasoned hockey lover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 It's not that we don't know it's a business. I think most people's problem with Bettman is that he doesn't know it's MORE than a business. Also, as a Globe & Mail article points out, Bettman did NOT save Canadian teams with revenue sharing and it did not exist when the dollar was 65 cents. In fact, Canadian teams are being used to prop up his toy franchises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck_trevor16 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I hope you're kidding. We're talking about the Commissioner of the league. Show some respect for this seasoned hockey lover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sikes Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I hope you're kidding. We're talking about the Commissioner of the league. Show some respect for this seasoned hockey lover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I think he's talking about when Bettman lobbied Ottawa to creat the Canadian currency-assistance program to save Edmonton, Ottawa and (possibly) Calgary. I think the dollar was at .62 cents then. Trust me, I'm loathe to defend the man, but he has done some things right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Definitely. I wondered about that too, whether the effort was indeed to help the teams, or simply forward thinking for the coming league-wide revenue sharing and inevitable recovery of the Canadian dollar. Personally I think both. I mentioned it last year in the Lockout thread, but Jon Gatehouse's biography of Bettman, The Instigator, was a fascinating read for an in-depth look at his time as Commissioner. I recommend it and I'm thinking about re-reading it before the start of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 The game in LA is retarded. It doesn't get that cold there for outdoor hockey, does it? Are they going to be skating in slush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFrame14 Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 i'm probably in the minority of those who really don't care if it's a cash grab or not, it's still a spectacle and i'll watch regardless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 The game in LA is retarded. It doesn't get that cold there for outdoor hockey, does it? Are they going to be skating in slush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpcurtly Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 The game in LA is retarded. It doesn't get that cold there for outdoor hockey, does it? Are they going to be skating in slush? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Pretty stupid move by him, he's really ruining the novelty of an outdoor game this way. Suddenly it's not such a special thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 Ah, I see. Thank you for the correction. Though I would say that unlike the markets currently being propped up, helping Canadian markets survive during a lower dollar period was in the league's best interest and the program in its entirety was probably paid back with interest just by Toronto's revenue sharing contribution from this year alone. (The one article I could find said 3 teams qualified for $2.7M which I think was shared among them. I think last year or the year before the Canucks alone contributed $10M to revenue sharing.) And I'm sure Canadian fans were still contributing a significant amount of money to the NHL through merchandising even when the loonie was low. But fair enough. We'll give credit to Bettman for one smart move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uber_pwnzor Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 He probably never play hockey so he has no idea how it play...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 I might acknowledge Bettman's support program for weaker teams but the role the NHLPA played here should not be forgotten. Support has been a key negociating item thru all the CBA's. Obviously they want jobs retained and I am sure they want expansion so their membership goes up. Much of the Bettman criticism has little basis IMO. I think the key issue for debate is where future growth and financial stability will come from. As a Canuck fan I could easily be against further expansion and actually support contraction as it would improve chances of a CUP in Vancouver. On reflection one has to view expansion positively as it has improved the game hughly with the Euros coming in with different approaches to the game. I have to bite my tongue saying that however. Where will hockey be in 20 years? If Bettman is successful with his plan to expand revenues by signing USA media contracts we could easily see another 10 teams in the NHL. Players could be making money like NBA, MLB and NFL athletes. It will be a far cry from the Gordie Howe vision of playing the game on winter ice in Saskatchewan. I guess it will be the Canadian equivalent of getting out of the ghetto like black kids making it to the NBA. I guess the alternative would be failure and a shrinking of the NHL back to a regional league. Perhaps more successful raiding of NHL players by the KHL and other Euro leagues. The accepted view of hockey in Canada is that it is our game. Yet the majority of Canadians have never played the game in any serious way. The future of N. American hockey lies in the USA and we as Canadians can only hope that we retain some influence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Doughty Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 I'm surprised he didn't pitch an outdoor game in phoenix or florida. He wants to grow the game no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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