Bettman Killing the NHL

Commissioner Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman has been the commissioner of the National Hockey League since February 1, 1993, when he replaced Gil Stein, bringing an end to the era of league presidents, and moving towards owner appointed commissioners. There is no denying that he has done done some good for the league and the game of hockey, and that he does
 have intentions to improve the game, but he is single handedly killing the league.

The team owners hired Bettman with the mandate that he would make the game more popular in the United States, complete the plans for expansion, and stop the labor issues between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Association.

When Bettman took power the league had already expanded to 24 teams, and was about to announce the addition of teams in Florida (the Panthers) and Anaheim [the Mighty Ducks (now called the Ducks)]. Bettman led the league on the Sunbelt Project, a plan to add teams to Southern American areas. Teams were added in Nashville (Predators), Atlanta (Thrashers), Minnesota (Wild), and Columbus (Blue Jackets), bringing the NHL to 30 teams. Bettman also oversaw the relocation of four franchises during the 1990s part of his tyranny, the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas (now the Dallas Stars), the Quebec Nordiques to Denver (now the Colorado Avalanche), the Winnipeg Jets to Glendale (now the Phoenix Coyote), and the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh (now the Carolina Hurricanes). What happened of the teams that came to be under Bettman?

 ‘‘Time is running short, and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon’’ 
           -Gary Bettman on a possible lockout if no deal is reached by 9/15/12

The Florida Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996 (where they were swept in 4 games by Colorado). They have been to the playoffs three times since then. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks (now Ducks) won the Stanley Cup in 2007. The Nashville Predators have never lasted 6 games into the second round of the playoffs. The Atlanta Thrashers never won a playoff game, and have since relocated to Winnipeg. The Minnesota Wild have not had any real playoff success, but they are doing well non-the-less (hockey is huge in Minnesota). The Columbus Blue Jackets also haven't won a playoff game, and just finished last in league standings. The Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, but have had a very low attendance recently. The Colorado Avalanche have won two Stanley Cups (1996, 2001), and are doing fine in Colorado. The Phoenix Coyotes just made it to the third round of the playoffs, but they have the worst ownership in sports history, and very low attendance. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Cup in 2006, and are doing fine. There have been five Stanley Cups won in that group, but I tried to keep it positive, and not explain the massive headache that these teams are causing.

 There have been two lockouts under Bettman, one that reduced the 1994-95 season to 48 games instead of 82, and one that cancelled the entire 2004-2005 season. As of right now, Bettman has said that the NHL will once again lockout its players if a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) isn't reached by September 15 (the day the current CBA expires).

Bettman's current salary is $7.984 million, more than the majority of the league's players. That's a pretty big paycheck for someone that could be arrested for two counts of attempted homicide, on on the NHL, and the other on the game of hockey. How do we stop this madness you ask?