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| During Bettman's tenure, four franchises have declared bankruptcy, two ] teams relocated to U.S. cities, the ]-] season was reduced to 48 games due to another labor dispute, and in 2004, he signed a two-year television deal with ] which may not guarantee the league revenue. | During Bettman's tenure, four franchises have declared bankruptcy, two ] teams relocated to U.S. cities, the ]-] season was reduced to 48 games due to another labor dispute, and in 2004, he signed a two-year television deal with ] which may not guarantee the league revenue. | ||
| Bettman was condemned in an obituary as a "skunk" for denying an old man the pleasure of watching his hockey games. Archie Bennitz, the old man in question, fought for Canada in WWII. Bettman is believed to have never done anything selfless. | |||
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Revision as of 05:35, 17 February 2005
Gary Bruce Bettman (born on June 2, 1952 in Queens, New York) is a former NBA executive who took office as the commissioner of the National Hockey League on February 1, 1993. He was brought in to try to give the NHL some of the same success the NBA (where Bettman served as the assistant general counsel under his mentor David Stern beginning in 1981) has had in the United States.
Bettman studied labor relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and graduated in 1974. After receiving a law degree from New York University in 1977, Bettman joined a large New York City law firm.
Bettman's policies in the NHL have included the aggressive (albeit non-traditional) expansion of the league in the southern and western United States. Soon after Bettman took office, the NHL's divisions were renamed to reflect geography (a la the NBA) rather than the league's history (i.e. the Wales & Campbell Conferences). In addition, the league adopted a two-referee system; goal lines, blue lines and defensive-zone circles were moved, and playoff formats were changed.
In 1998, Bettman allowed NHL players to compete in the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. This marked the first time that NHL players were allowed to compete in the Olympics. To serve as a tie-in to the Olympics, the All-Star Game altered the format to become a match-up of players from North America against players from everywhere else in the world. This format was abandoned in 2003 when the All-Star Game returned to the traditional conference vs. conference format.
In 2004 negotiations commenced for a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Hockey League Players Association. As of August 2004, Bettman has consistently demanded what he calls cost certainty for clubs. However, Goodenow, along with most other NHLPA members, calls Bettman's "cost certainty" a euphemism for a salary cap; the union has long opposed a salary cap. The current CBA expired on September 15, 2004 (one day after the World Cup of Hockey final in Toronto). A current lockout has cost the NHL the entire 2004-2005 season.
In January 2005, Bettman was named one of Business Week's five worst executives. Included in the list of reason's were the NHL lockout, the league's poor television contract, and constantly declining revenues.
During Bettman's tenure, four franchises have declared bankruptcy, two Canadian teams relocated to U.S. cities, the 1994-1995 season was reduced to 48 games due to another labor dispute, and in 2004, he signed a two-year television deal with NBC which may not guarantee the league revenue.
Bettman was condemned in an obituary as a "skunk" for denying an old man the pleasure of watching his hockey games. Archie Bennitz, the old man in question, fought for Canada in WWII. Bettman is believed to have never done anything selfless.
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