NHL Commissioner Tells Board to “Prepare for His Retirement”
It is being reported that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be stepping down soon. The controversial NHL Big Cheese has held that position since 1992. At this weekend’s Board of Governors meeting, he informed the group to “Prepare for his retirement.” No timetable as of now is known. Will he go another season after this one? Or might he step down soon after the NHL calendar year ends in 2025. Also, who is a strong candidate to replace him? We will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, here are some of the good and bad highlights of Bettman’s tenure. Let the boooooing commence.
Bad:
Since Bettman’s Legacy is filled with troublesome times, we will start with the negative. Many NHL fans look upon Gary as a villain. Many others outright hate the man. That aside, here is some of his notable struggles and issues he has dealt with.
Bettman has had THREE work stoppages under his tenure including one just a year after he took the job. The NHL lost half a season as he promised the league owners he could instill a salary cap. He failed. Years later, Bettman finally got that cap at a huge cost. Hockey fans lost the entire 04-05 season to a lockout. The only major sport in America to date that has lost a full season to labor issues.
As far as expansion and relocation, it hasn’t all been a good look. Atlanta became a two time failure as their second run with the new Thrashers was a disaster as well. Worse yet, as talk of more expansion heats up, Atlanta is often discussed as a possibility again. Quebec City, which will always hate Bettman, are a true hockey loving city that will probably be passed over. Gary shows a real prejudice towards Canada it seems. The NHL lost 2 Canadian teams in Bettmen’s first three years on the job. Also, no Canadian team has won a Cup while he has been in charge. That is probably a coincidence but conspiracy theorists believe otherwise. And what about the mess in Arizona? Years and years of struggles with that franchise, culminating with the team playing in a 5,000 seat arena to stay afloat. Now in Utah, they seem to be on the right track. But another long time fan base must deal with losing their franchise. At least Winnipeg got a team back.
Now onto all the advertisements. New ads on the ice in each corner are an eyesore. Some teams have now adopted ads on their jerseys which is a crime against humanity. Especially the classics. I certainly hope the Sabres never succumb to that travesty. FInally, we now get projected ads on the boards. These distractions have been toned down a bit lately and don’t glitch nearly as often like when they first began. But these overabundance of advertisements shoved down out throats are ridiculous. The all mighty dollar is what Bettman is all about, not the integrity of
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