Bettman holds court on hot-button hockey topics ahead of Heritage Classic

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This article was published 25/10/2019 (2143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — You probably had to be there to believe it: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stood up in to speak in front of hundreds of hockey fans Friday and was greeted with a round of applause instead of a chorus of boos.

“Keep doing that, because I’m not used to it,” Bettman told the appreciative crowd at the Heritage Classic Legacy Luncheon.

The usual negative reaction to Bettman has become somewhat of a running gag these days, with him seemingly embracing the role of villain and milking it. Of course, folks in Saskatchewan hardly have a reason to be negative since he was appearing to promote the first neutral-site outdoor NHL game north of the border.

“This is a place where hockey matters, and we like being in a place where hockey matters,” Bettman said.

As part of the build up to today’s tilt between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames, Bettman publicly held court on a number of hot-button topics of interest to hockey lovers.

A few items of note:

– On the end of Winnipeg’s sellout streak last week, and other non-sellouts in every Canadian market this season, and what that might mean.

“Nothing. Nothing. We’re playing to 95 per cent capacity overall. Occasionally, particularly with dynamic pricing, on a given night, either weather, circumstance, opponents, other things that are going on, it can happen. But the state of our league and all of our franchises, Canadian and U.S., has never been stronger. The lifeblood of our game is people attending our game. And franchises need that support. But we’re not concerned.”

– On the NHL playoff format and whether it needs a revamp in the wake of a handful of recent cases where high-ranked teams meet in the early rounds. Such was the case last year when Toronto fell to Boston in the first round, and a year earlier when Winnipeg took out Nashville in the second round.

“It creates an incredible first and second round. At the end of the day what we want are exciting series, which we get. We have incredible rivalries that get built up. We think the format we currently have has been working extraordinarily well…unless you’re a Leafs fan.”

– On fighting in the NHL, which continues to drop.

“That’s not due to any rule changes. The trend is actually due to the fact, I believe, that because the game is so competitive now, every game is a toss-up. Teams are opting for skill players over, shall we say, one or less dimensional players. And the game is evolving.”

– On whether expansion to Europe could be in the cards.

“Not in the immediate or foreseeable future. There are logistical reasons for that in terms of travel. There are also leagues in those countries and they’re not looking for us to move in and take over. We want to be good citizens in the hockey world. We want to continue to encourage the growth of the game worldwide.”

– On potential participation in the 2022 Olympics in China.

“We’re working on it. We’re going to stay true to our values in North America. And if that means it’s difficult to do business in other countries, so be it. For us, first and foremost, is the game in Canada and the United States. And the values of our game, we won’t compromise for anybody.”

– On what’s next for the NHL?

“Everything we do — marketing, promotion, events — it all starts with the game. And if the game isn’t healthy or exciting or competitive or entertaining, we’ve got nothing. So the focus will always be on the game. But as you look forward, we will need to focus on evolving technology so that all of our fans have whatever experience they want if they’re not at a game themselves.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg