Bettman State of the Union highlites

Santacapper · May 29, 2007

<EMBED class=sIFR-flash src="" width=617 height=30 type=application/x-shockwave-flash target="_blank" href="http://www.tsn.ca" www.tsn.ca http:></EMBED>Bettman mentions returning to Winnipeg

Gary Bettman

Canadian Press
5/28/2007 8:19:43 PM
ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gave his strongest indication yet Monday that having a team return to Winnipeg could happen one day.
Bettman, in his state-of-the union address to the media before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, referred to an editorial in a Canadian newspaper he read this week which suggested that if the NHL did add another Canadian team it should go back to Winnipeg first because they have a new building and the NHL owes it to them.
"I'm not opining on whether or not that's an opinion that I agree with, but it is an interesting and intriguing thought," Bettman said in a comment that raised eyebrows.
While he stressed that there really hadn't been that much thought put into it at this point and that he had no plans for any current NHL teams to re-locate or for the league to expand, he does see the chance for Winnipeg to get a team back one day.
"When we had the chance to go back to Minnesota, we did. Because it made sense, the right ownership, the right building situation," said Bettman. "The market was strong and vibrant. We haven't studied Quebec City or Winnipeg or anywhere else in Canada, but the notion that if it could work to put a franchise back in a place where one was lost, feels good - provided we don't wind up in a situation where we've created a prescription for another failing franchise.

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"So am I intrigued? It's obviously something I've thought about in terms of trying to make right something that one point in our history went wrong."
The Jets left Winnipeg for Phoenix after the 1995-96 season. Bettman believes the salary cap and revenue sharing facets of the new collective bargaining agreement provides a chance for a market like Winnipeg to make a go of it.
But another team in Toronto? Bettman is not a fan of that idea, despite the fact there are three clubs in the New York/New Jersey area and two teams here in Southern California.
"It's not something I've given any thought to," Bettman said of having another team in Toronto. ".. I frankly think, and I live in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, it's tough for all the clubs to get media attention, particularly when they're having tough years on the ice.
"There's some real downside to having multiple teams in one market."
The message seems clear from the commissioner: if Jim Balsillie wants to move the Nashville Predators, the NHL would rather have them move to Winnipeg than Waterloo, Ont., the home of the Research In Motion CEO.
But Bettman also said too many people are wrongly assuming the Predators will move.
"I met with Mr. Balsillie last week and I specifically asked him whether or not he had specific plans or intentions with respect to moving this franchise and he told me that he did not," said Bettman. "So I think there's been entirely too much speculation in terms of what comes next."
Balsillie's purchase of the Predators still needs owners' approval, a vote that could come later in June.
Bettman also addressed:
- Rick Tocchet, who last Friday in New Jersey pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and conspiracy to promote gambling in a plea deal. He has been suspended by the NHL from his job as Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach since the investigation opened in February 2006. The NHL is also still doing its own investigation. "I'm not really in a position to say what's going to happen until there's a complete disposition of his case and until our independent investigator has had an opportunity to interview him, finish interviewing some other people, and then present his report," said Bettman. "At that point I'll be able to make a determination in terms of what his status should or should not be."
- Bettman said he expects league revenues to have increased between 6.5-7 per cent this season, which means the $44-million salary cap will likely rise to between $48 million or $49 million for next season;
- More games in Europe or an increased presence in Europe will also continue to be a focus for the NHL.

Joe Public · May 29, 2007

Winnepeg, thy team's name is the Nashville Predators.

The Jets really never should have left. I miss the Hangar and the White Out.

All that aside, there aren't many people in this world I want to beat with a large mallet, but Gary Bettman is one of them.

1. President Jackass.
2. Gary Bettman

Then there are others, but you see where my head's at.

Santacapper · May 29, 2007

With the Canadian dollar at an all time high (93 cents give or take) and not looking like its going anywhere drastic along with the new CBA and structured to small market teams / revenue set up a team in WPG could and would trhive, much more so than any Kansas City / Nashville etc etc...

Id love to see it, the white out was something else.

Joe Public · May 29, 2007

Nashville never wanted a team to begin with. It just landed in their laps. Now that they're good it's tough to imagine how much 'real' support is there for them.

Phoenix is a different story. I'm not convinced that base is there.

Colorado's always had a hockey base, they didn't lose the Rockies, they were stolen from them to become the Devils. It's a winter sports town so that hockey makes it there isn't surprising--even though it's very much a Bronco town at heart.

But I think thanks to the cap, Winnipeg could be just fine.

Again, KC doesn't want a hockey team, they just want something to put in a building. There's a big difference.

B.A.R. · May 29, 2007

White out was something else...would love to see that

catfood · May 29, 2007

That building in Winnipeg had some charisma with that big picture of the queen. Itd be sweet if Quebec had a team again, the Montreal-Quebec rivalry was the most intense in all of sports, it even divided the people.

Yanks27Sox9 · May 30, 2007

state of the union sucks in the US...at least until they get a better TV deal.

Santacapper · May 31, 2007

The Hamilton Spectator reports that the City of Hamilton has re-activated an agreement with Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie, giving him exclusive rights to bring an NHL team to Copps Coliseum.
The news comes just one week after Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry innovator Research In Motion, agreed to buy the NHL's Nashville Predators last week for US$220 million.
According to The Spectator, Balsillie approached the city late last week through Toronto lawyer Richard Rodier which led to several behind-the-scenes discussions with Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger.
"He has assured me that he wants to secure a team and he is interested in bringing it to Hamilton," Eisenberger told The Spectator. "Certainly he has the resources to do it and we will leave it up to him to pull it together."
The paper adds that the city is also negotiating to give Balsillie the right to run Hamilton Place and the Convention Centre if he brings in an NHL team franchise.

Joe Public · May 31, 2007

I never thought that guy would do anything other than move a team up north. If the people in Nashville thought otherwise, they were kidding themselves.

Santacapper · May 31, 2007

There is such a 'hockey fan' base in the area, I know it goes without saying. but the border rules the NHL has needs to be waved if this is the case and it would thrive.

Dont get me wrong, Id love to see a team in Winnipeg, but Hamilton getting it they would thrive.

Thing hurting the chances is Copps Coliseum needs major renovations to host an NHL team, big time. and the proximity hampering the Leafs monopoly over all but Ottawa in Ontario

Joe Public · May 31, 2007

Sadly, Santa, being over here on the west coast for so long, my geography is somewhat fuzzy there. I have an approximation, but it's not good enough for me to really argue for or against either side.

Gotta map on ya?

Santacapper · May 31, 2007

Buffalo--65 miles ---> Hamiton---35 miles---> Toronto---250 miles--->Ottawa

Joe Public · May 31, 2007

Oh, good grief. I'm looking at a Google map now.

Yeah, they're f**ked.

I'd say move the Sabres, but they're not moving the Sabres. Hell, they're not far from Detroit, really. But Toronto's damn near in the same zip code.

Not sure what they do about that.

Santacapper · May 31, 2007

It's kind of hard to explain, I liken it to say the Mets / Yankees. There is this aura about 'Hamilton' people. They dont like us and we dont like them.

Huge CFL rivalry with the Hamilton Tigercats from Argo fans.

But with an NHL team it would take their own identity and have a natural rivalry with the Leafs because thats what people in Hamilton do.

ALl this though, and there is no way the Leafs would not go down without a fight. There is so much revenue from Toronto west and east for that matter that they would be forced to put a product on the ice and the teachers dont go for that

B.A.R. · May 31, 2007

Would it thrive over time?

There was small amounts of speculation years ago that Pistons owner Bill Davidson would try and move thel ighting to Auburn Hills when he bought them. At first people thought it would be great in DET with such a sopund hockey base...

but as you can see...with the economy....and the ridiculous prices at JLA for playoffs..we didn;t sell out any games and with other winning teams in town its harder for wings to get attention.

Short term I am sure it would be great....but longterm is the key

My plan for the NHL.

Move Nashville to Winnipeg

Move Atlanto to Quebec

Move carolina to Hartford(lol)

Contract Phoenix, Tampa, Florida and Columbus.

League would be MUCH better

Joe Public · May 31, 2007

There is this aura about 'Hamilton' people. They dont like us and we dont like them.

I just love this statement. It's so Springfield vs. Shelbyville it's classic.

I also agree with BAR's plan, well mostly anyway.

One of the things I really fault Bettman for is selling out to the States. Hockey is a Canadian game. I'm an American and even I get this. It's a Canadian game and a Canadian thing.

And so to remove it from that environment systematically has done nothing but hurt the sport. It's a winter game and you're trying to make it fly in South Florida and Arizona? In Anaheim?

It was one thing when there was no salary cap, but now that there is, and that revenue has slowly sort of settled in to what it's going to be post-lockout. I think you can see that a team in Quebec or even Hamilton might do just fine.

Now you just have to correct the over-expansion a bit to do it.

If we lost three or four teams from the seven mentioned above, I would have no problem with it whatsoever and the league would benefit in style of play.

Santacapper · May 31, 2007

BAR For commish

B.A.R. · May 31, 2007

Santacapper said:
BAR For commish

:4_12_13:

Shit..then realign things and get us and TOR back into the same conference.

Out west..Chicago and ST Louis are our onlyu natural rivals...Col just because of the 8 year war...but thats it.

Fuckin Columbus, Nashville, Minnesota..

C'mon.

Plus DET has the most unfair travel in league.

catfood · May 31, 2007

B.A.R. said:
Would it thrive over time?

There was small amounts of speculation years ago that Pistons owner Bill Davidson would try and move thel ighting to Auburn Hills when he bought them. At first people thought it would be great in DET with such a sopund hockey base...

but as you can see...with the economy....and the ridiculous prices at JLA for playoffs..we didn;t sell out any games and with other winning teams in town its harder for wings to get attention.

Short term I am sure it would be great....but longterm is the key

My plan for the NHL.

Move Nashville to Winnipeg

Move Atlanto to Quebec

Move carolina to Hartford(lol)

Contract Phoenix, Tampa, Florida and Columbus.

League would be MUCH better

Sounds good. Atlanta may seem not bad right now but they really mortgaged their future for this years cup run...Atlanta is gonna be a fairly shity basement-dwelling team in the near future.

catfood · May 31, 2007

Joe Public said:
There is this aura about 'Hamilton' people. They dont like us and we dont like them.

One of the things I really fault Bettman for is selling out to the States. Hockey is a Canadian game. I'm an American and even I get this. It's a Canadian game and a Canadian thing.

Its not just Bettman, others before him did the same thing. Its all about money and its this ass kissing the american fan (changing penalty rules, removing the draw etc) that has made the NHL into a second class mickey mouse league. Like how the finals was pushed back a few days cause the arena in Anaheim was already rented out. No other sport would put up with a thing like that. In the old days if a team's barn was rented out, the game was played in a neutral venue.

Santacapper · Jun 7, 2007

TORONTO (CP) - It makes sense for Canada's competition watchdog to take a look at the National Hockey League's franchise location policies in light of the possible move of the Nashville Predators to southern Ontario, a competition analyst said Wednesday.
Those policies appear to grant to individual teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, the ability to veto a move by another team to within an 80 kilometre radius of their markets, raising questions of whether that amounts to stifling competition.
"It's an entirely reasonable thing for the Competition Bureau to do," said Prof. Mihkel Tombak, director of the masters of management of innovation program at the University of Toronto.
"Anti-trust authorities in all sorts of other jurisdictions have looked at similar contracts for car dealerships and territories for beer distribution so this is entirely within their purview."
At issue is whether attempts to protect an existing team's turf amounts to an undue restriction of trade and whether that is in the public interest.

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For the NHL, the question to be answered is whether the territorial exclusion is reasonable in protecting a team's legitimate economic interests and its owners investments.
Citing confidentiality laws, the Competition Bureau refused to discuss any probe but NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league was confident it had not run afoul of anti-trust rules.
"We're comfortable that our existing policies and practices regarding franchise relocation are both appropriate and lawful," Daly said.
Last month, Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie signed a letter of intent to buy the cash-strapped Predators for US$220 million. He is scheduled to meet the league's board of governors later this month to get approval for the deal.
Balsillie, the CEO of BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion based in Waterloo, Ont., is said to be keen to move the team to Hamilton, which would put it within the Leafs 80-kilometre no-go zone and close to that of the Buffalo Sabres.
A spokesman said Wednesday Balsillie would not be commenting "until the sale of Predators was completed and approved by NHL Board of Governors."
A spokesmen for the Maple Leafs also refused comment.
"We look at all this as premature," said John Lashway, a senior VP at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
"We've not heard anything from the National Hockey League formally."
Lashway also refused to say whether the Competition Bureau had contacted the team, calling it "irrelevant."
In light of the overall market size, Tombak said the Leafs could face an uphill battle trying to show that the arrival of the Preds in Hamilton would cost them money or make the teams unsustainable.
"Those are fairly clever guys," Tombak said of owners like Balsillie.
"They wouldn't be putting their teams down into places where it would be unsustainable."
Balsillie, who is currently negotiating an exclusive lease deal involving Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, could argue he would be bringing new investments to the region by moving the team.
He would have the right to move if the Predators do not sell more then 14,000 tickets a game this season.
Predators fans have also rallied to the cause of their team in hopes of seeing enough tickets sold to persuade Balsillie that the team should stay put in Nashville.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has called the notion of a team moving from the U.S. to Canada "intriguing," preferably to Winnipeg or perhaps Quebec, which have lost teams.
However, he also said Balsillie had given him no indication he intended to move the Predators.

Toronto_Mike · Jun 7, 2007

Carolina isn't moving. That is a great market right there. A lot of these players prefer playing for small market teams, less attention. Playing in Canada, the media will hound you like crazy. Couldn't imagine Bertuzzi playing in Toronto.

Jersey....now that team has some issues. If Jayz gets his way with moving the Nets to Brooklyn, the Devils are in trouble.

Get rid of the Panthers, useless in Miami, other than the Heat and Dolphins, no one cares about the Marlins nor the Panthers.

Why not put a team in Utah?

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