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
candid thinks work
We had a candid dialogue, ... If Congress, because of what's going on in some other sports, thinks we need to do more, then we'll work with Congress.
anywhere comments expect half heard players recent season union work
I have heard recent comments by the union and players who say they expect a work stoppage of anywhere from a season to a season and a half or even longer,
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.
area daily defined doubt family hard impact influence legacy lessons matches people respect shared taught work
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.
decides depends guy official playoffs puts putting rest whistle work
If an official puts his whistle away, they should put the official away for the rest of the playoffs. How long you work in the playoffs is discretionary, and that depends on how well you're working. And if a guy decides he's putting the whistle away, then he's done.
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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.
bed capacity cent compelling empty expect fact fans fewer fixed knew per places result seats work
In places where there still are some empty seats, there are fewer empty seats than there were in the past. I didn't expect we'd come back from the work stoppage to 100 per cent of capacity overnight, but the fact that we're up 5 per cent is spectacular. I knew that when we got everything put to bed and fixed the right way, the result would be compelling enough that our fans would respond.
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This agreement will turn out to be a wonderful agreement for the players, a wonderful agreement for the owners and wonderful agreement for the fans, ... Exactly how this will work will emerge over the coming weeks and months. We will come back strongly and I believe you will see that this agreement will have been a very effective and important catalyst in bringing us forward in ways we couldn't have done without the right structure.
decides depends guy playoffs putting whistle work
How long you work in the playoffs is discretionary. It depends how well you are working. And if a guy decides he's putting the whistle away, then he's done.
dealing issue
This really isn't an issue for us. We're dealing with adults.
ahead attention behind competition ice occur positive prefer step steps together
While it was a positive and constructive step to get together more formally than we have in the past, there are many more such steps ahead of us. And I prefer they occur behind the scenes, where they belong, so the competition on the ice can get the attention it deserves.
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When owners are concerned about players playing in the Olympics when they're injured, that's a legitimate concern. From our standpoint and from our players' standpoint, our season is the most important (thing).
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We understand very clearly the difference between protecting a goaltender from injury and helping the goaltender protect the area of the net from a goal,
balance enhance good hockey olympics
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.