Gary Bettman
Gary Bettman
Gary Bruce Bettmanis the commissioner of the National Hockey League, a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice-president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association. Bettman is a graduate of Cornell University and New York University School of Law...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSports Executive
Date of Birth2 June 1952
CityQueens, NY
CountryUnited States of America
believe business everybody official owe people sort work
I believe that I owe it to our fans, our business partners, all the people that work in and about the game, that I'm going to have to make an official announcement. But in some respects, I'm sort of doing that now because I think everybody understands the timetable.
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It will take time for people to find us, to get into the habit, to get used to what the schedule is.
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We plan to do a lot of things in the community, grass-roots programs, events for people not necessarily coming to the game to get involved. The schedule is going to be elongated to give the players and the NHL an extra day ... It's an opportunity for us to celebrate our game in truly grand Texas fashion.
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Phyllis Gretzky's influence on her family no doubt matches Wayne's impact on hockey. She taught tenaciousness and teamwork, hard work and humility, respect for people and for the game. Her legacy is defined daily by the way Wayne, and all her children, have shared those lessons in every area of their lives.
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Our players play all year for their NHL teams. We, as an accommodation to the Olympics, take a break. We're going to go, but to the extent players are injured it becomes a very personal decision as to what the right thing to do is. And I don't think people should second-guess them.
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Our member clubs, our officials, our players and our hockey operations people will face many challenges in the weeks and months ahead. My job is to make sure that everyone stays focused on the objective of fostering competitive NHL hockey that features flow, skill, speed, puck movement and skating.
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People make too much out of the term drop-dead date. But, at some point, as a practical matter, it's clear that there isn't enough time left. Whether or not it's Friday night or Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, if we aren't actively engaged in drafting documents this weekend, I don't see how we can have a season.
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We profoundly regret the suffering this has caused our fans, our business partners and the thousands of people who depend on our industry for their livelihoods. If you want to know how I feel, I'll summarize it in one word - terrible.
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When I stood before you in September, I said NHL teams would not play again until our economic problems had been solved,
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We go to the Olympics because it's part of our partnership with the players. This was very important to the players. It's not without its issues, but on balance I think it's a good thing to do. It will enhance the hockey tournament.
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The view is any team within that range can be competitive, unlike the $20 million to $80 million spread we had before. It enables each team to have the flexibility it needs with young players and returning players.
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Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Teams might be pushing more because they don't want to go to a shootout.
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Even in those cases when there were instances of alleged provocation, we have made it clear that NHL personnel need to do everything possible to avoid a confrontation of fans, and the failure to do so is not acceptable.
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We have a lineup because we owe Atlanta and Phoenix All-Star Games. We have a long to-do list. ... It's hard to predict because we owe two and have a couple in the hopper that were being worked on.