Image by Getty Images via @daylifeMy buddy Redwing77 would probably agree with some of the things written in Ken Gray’s
Ottawa Citizen Newspaper article;
Gary Bettman must go. Of course I am also in favor of the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stepping aside; I have never been a fan of the man because I find him to be a very unlikable person, he is smug, arrogant, condescending and a very pompous person. Whenever I hear Bettman talk he reminds me of a Washington D.C. Politician that talks in circles, never answers direct questions and says very little in the way of substance. We can only dream that some day we will have an NHL without Gary Bettman.
Ken Gray; Ottawa Citizen --- Bettman has orchestrated a league that has absolutely glorified violence to the point where the players are being irreparably harmed. Concussions from head hits and fighting would have normal business owners concerned. Sutcliffe would do something about it in his workplace. The pads are too hard. Bettman should have acted.
Furthermore, the game is basically flawed. The players are so big, so fast and so well trained that even legal hits are causing brain damage. Something fundamentally needs to change in hockey or players will face brain disease later in life. Why Bettman could not protect the game’s biggest asset, Sidney Crosby. The NHL should be examining how the game can be basically changed to protect the players and provide a good life lesson on Saturday night instead of fighting.
Bettman has failed horribly in his southern U.S. franchise strategy and failed when Fox TV tried to make NHL hockey a national U.S. sport. He failed so badly that he had to bring Winnipeg back into the NHL and will probably do the same for Quebec City in the near future. There is room for new teams in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In fact, you could probably put a NHL club in Dawson City and draw better than Atlanta.
The reason Bettman signed a big TV contract recently is because networks and cable companies are trying to secure programming as sports in the increasingly diverse broadcasting universe is one of the few places where people (and advertisers) continue to gather in one place. It had little to do with Bettman. At least he didn’t screw it up.
No it’s time for Bettman to go. Perhaps it has always been time for Bettman to go.
