Gary Bettman
Young people, particularly in their teens and 20s, are not consuming sports the way my generation did. They are doing lots of things; they are multitasking. They are getting downloads; they are getting alerts on their computers or on their cellphones, and they are consuming sports in a more real-time but less full-time basis.Collection: Computers
I'm not here to win a popularity contest.
We're concerned how gambling and betting affects the NHL game and changes the perception of and challenges the integrity of the NHL game.
From as early as I can remember, I was focused on becoming a lawyer.
I couldn't do what I do day-in and day-out if I didn't love the game.
Fighting is one of those things that gets tons of attention, far more than it deserves.
Because of the way my words get scrutinized, I have to use a level of precision so people don't accuse me of misleading them.
The relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of C.T.E. remains unknown.
You can have the biggest markets in the world, but if the game isn't exciting, compelling, and competitive, it's not going to generate a lot of interest.
We are not giving up on the Coyotes in the Greater Phoenix Area... The team has got a number of options and is going to pursue them, so nobody should think that team is moving other than out of Glendale.
There are lots of come-from-behind wins, games getting tied in the last period, teams going on to win. That, I think, tells the best story. Whether or not some teams have more grit, better chemistry, or more luck or more skill, it's still within the parameters. I think that makes for great storytelling and great interest for our fans.
I don't weigh into politics.
If you want to know how I feel, I'll summarize it in one word - terrible.
My message to the kids and our fans is hockey's a great game. There's a lot of hockey being played at all levels. Get involved, do it. We will be back and we will be back better than ever and hopefully as soon as possible. Don't give up on the game. It's too good.
Our economics are not baseball's economics. Our game is not baseball's game. Our owners are not baseball's owners, with one or two exceptions. Our union is not baseball's union. What we do has to be crafted and suited to address hockey, to address the NHL, to address our 30 teams and our 700-plus players.
It takes two sides to make a deal, two sides to negotiate and two sides to make it go bad.
The Canadian franchises and Canada as a market for NHL hockey has always been a priority for us.
There's no question that the Kings have been, are, and can be great hosts for any major events.
Market size, particularly when you're dealing with major media markets, has an impact in terms of gathering attention.
The Olympics are very proprietary about letting others promote and market what's going on, so we shut down for 17 days, and they don't let us do a whole lot in return for giving our players to them. We don't get compensated, and we've never looked for compensation.
I don't feel that it's either necessary or appropriate for me to comment on what the NFL either says or does.
I think it's fairly clear that playing hockey isn't the same as playing football.
Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the 'fighters,' meaning these guys would not have NHL careers.
Let's put it this way: I would consider my skiing ability to be far superior to my skating ability. And, in fact, my 10-year-old grandson, who's a AAA squirt, can skate circles around me.
My rooting interest these days is first and foremost competitive hockey, and secondly in officials not making a mistake.
I don't really think about having a retrospective on my high-school years. It's not something that, from a positive or a negative standpoint, is a driving force in my life.
NHL clubs have not wanted to go to the Olympics, and we have been saying that for months if not years.
NHL clubs don't like having to shut down at a critical part of the season and disrupt our season for anything, let alone a situation where we're not given an opportunity to promote our presence.
At least two or three of the leagues in Europe over the last few months have said to us, 'We hope you go to the Olympics,' and I looked at them, and I said, 'Why?' and they go, 'Because if you don't send NHL players, we have to send our players, and that's way too disruptive to our season.'
If the IOC would move the Olympic hockey tournament to the summer, that would be great. We'd be thrilled to have our players participate because then it doesn't affect our season.
A good fan base has developed around the Hurricanes, and I see the opportunity for continued growth for this franchise in the future.
I don't see the Hurricanes relocating, period. I think the Triangle is a terrific market.
Sports, as a media property, is increasingly valuable because it's something you have to have live. As a result, we're a better touch point for sponsors and advertisers because our commercials typically don't get zapped out.
Whatever you do needs to be sustainable over time, and taking the money in the short term and taking it in a bubble - like buying an Internet stock in 2000 - may not be sustainable.
What you want to do, particularly when you're dealing with a professional sports league and franchises and people's passionate commitment to the game and for the team they root for is, it has to be sustainable.
I think it's very difficult to generalize as to why, in a particular league or a particular industry, somebody has or has not come out. We certainly don't want a player to come out for our sake. It should be what's right for him and something that he has to be comfortable with.
I think it's our job to create a culture and an environment where a gay player knows he is safe and welcome. If and when that happens, believe me - that person will have the full support of the commissioner's office.
I believe, certainly in the NHL, a player who can help a team win because he can contribute on the ice is going to be coveted whatever his beliefs may be or whoever he may be. That goes to national origin, religious beliefs, or sexuality.
What we have tried to instill across the league through ownership and management is that we stand for inclusiveness and to judge somebody on the merits.
Doing jersey advertising for the World Cup is not in the same universe as putting advertising on NHL sweaters.
The issue of how the game is played is something that's constantly being reviewed internally with the Players' Association, with the general managers, and it's something that we continue to monitor on a daily basis.
I believe that the Greater Phoenix Area is a terrific sports market; it's a terrific hockey market.
To be the organization that we want to be, we have to have a place to play.
I think there needs some attention to be paid to what sport is going to represent to young people: should it be viewed in the competitive, team-oriented sense that it is now, or does it become a vehicle for betting, which may, in effect, change the atmosphere in the stadiums and the arenas?
The good news for us is the NHL has never been stronger, never been more popular, and that, I guess, has led to a lot of interest being expressed from a number of places, an interest in getting an expansion team, and Las Vegas happens to be one of those places.
We don't want our players getting hurt.
I think it's fair to say that all of the teams that have been in the playoffs have played very physically.
There are a couple people who have complained on other teams about some of the things that Pittsburgh players have done. Some of that goes in the category of gamesmanship. Some of that goes to the fact that we need to be vigilant as a league to make sure that players aren't unnecessarily and inappropriately hurt.
We don't tell the officials to change the standard for the playoffs, but as we all know, time and space tends to evaporate very quickly in a playoff game; there tends to be a lot more physicality and a lot more adjustments in the course of a series.
All have used the economic opportunity of a new arena project to transform their cities into the future.