Why is Gary Bettman still the commish?

Question

He is done nothing but f*c* over the NHL and yet he still has a job?? During his tenure he has made fighting alomost non exsistant, screwed up the playoff scheduled, had 2 lockouts, and just plan sucks!!!

Answer 1

don cherry for commissioner. whos with me. go wings

Answer 2

I have to agree with the other posters on this. He made the owners happy by breaking the NHLPA and forcing on a salary cap. Unfortunately the owners can't see past the short term bottomline to look at the big picture and the big picture is not pretty.

The NHL is in danger of becoming a "niche" sport ala the MLS , the Artena Football League and Lacrosse Leagues. The Stanley Cup playoffs should be a premier athletic event, yet outside of Canada, who gets to see the games as they are shown on Versus( formerly the tree network) which not everyone gets. The fact that the Stanley Cups are relegated to a second rate cable station is a direct result of Bettman's decision to shut down the League for a year.

Some more of Bettman's failures in leadership must be mentioned:

Over expansion: Bettman either expanded or permitted teams to move to non-traditional hockey markets. This diluted the talent and leaves the League in several markets that could collapse if and when interest fades( Hello Florida and Phoenix)

The All-Star game fiasco: Why oh why did the show the All-Star game( one of the league's best marketing opportunities) on a WEDNESDAY? I have several friends who are big hockey fans and did not even know that there was an All-Star game this year.

Answer 3

because hes doing what the owners are asking him to do, that's why Bettman still has his job. Bettman's bosses are the owners and he saved his job for at least another 3 years for getting the salary cap done. Bettman is up for a new contract this year so will see what happens. plus i never really liked him anyways not because of all the rule changes (which i hate especially the shootout) and all the stupid expansions (which spread the talent way to thine) but for the simple fact that he doesn't really know much about hockey is what drives me crazy.


GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 4

Because he is doing exactly what the OWNERS want.

Which is basically to look after their pocketbooks instead of what is best for the sport as a whole, and tinker with the game as a "smokescreen" to deflect attention from the fact that THEY caused the work stoppages by signing players at ridiculous salaries then whining "we're losing money".

Hate Bettman as much as you want, but the sad truth of the matter is he is the owner's puppet and isn't going anywhere.

Answer 5

VERY good question.

I appreciate what others have said, about making money for the owners... and that's probably the best explanation you're going to find. It's typical of short-sighted corporate wankers to overlook glaring long-term problems for the sake of extra cash in their pockets in the short term.

Yeah, he's made them some money now, but with attendence dropping, TV ratings in the toilet, and the quality of the game at an all time low, that's liable to change very soon.

Hopefully, when his mismanagement inevitably bites them in the ***, they'll wise up and fire him.

Answer 6

Easy. The owners are the ones that decide whether he stays and goes, and he got them what they wanted. I, personally, agree with you, but so long as the owners are filling their pockets with dough, Bettman stays.

Answer 7

I agree with you but he's like the owners pet and does what they tell him to do so he gets to stay in the team as long as he does what they want him to do.

Answer 8

At least he is consistent

Answer 9

good point