Has Bettmen succeeded?

Question

By many accounts, back in 1993 the owners hired Bettman with the mandate of: end labor disputes, modernize the views of the game within the ownership ranks, complete expansion plans, and sell the game in the U.S. market,
Using this criteria, if he retired today, how would you remember him? Has he enhanced the game for you?
Along the way he's ruffled feathers and alienated many. His course has been in unchartered territory, yet he seems to survive year after year.
Share your thoughts...

Answer 1

Measuring success can be different things to different people, and the answer will vary depending on people's expectations.



I think Bettman has succeeded in keeping a league going that at times has had no business continuing. While fans rue the days the lockout started, without the second lockout, there may be a LOT less than 30 teams in the NHL. With the way costs were moving for a small subset of teams (Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Rangers, Detroit, Anaheim, Los Angeles, and Dallas) it was only a short amount of time before they rendered the rest of the league uncompetitive. The salary cap (for better or worse), changed that. As has been stated...he has increased revenues from $700MM in 1992 to $2.8B this season, player salaries have increased from $344,000 (93-94) to $2.2MM, attendance was at an all-time high, the TV ratings were at an all-time high from a regular season perspective. All are higher than the pre-lockout year of 2003-04 (no other sport in North America can claim that). So, in a financial sense, he has succeeded.



He has not succeeded in warming the fans to him. I'm an open-minded person, I've been watching hockey since the early 70s, been a hockey historian/writer since the mid 80s, and have done a statistical analysis on a lot of what is out there.....and the game is not the same as it was 20 years ago...........or 30 years ago....and so on. I'm not so sure that it's Bettman's fault as he does have 30 bosses, but the shootout - arguably the worst thing to happen to the NHL in my opinion, happened under his watch



Bettman's successes

- keeping a 30 team league together

- getting increased television ratings

- increasing league-wide revenues 4 fold

- increasing player salaries 6 fold AND keeping them in line with the cap

- increased parity - in a 21 team league - the last week of the season rarely had any effect on who was in and who was out...but in the last 8 seasons at least one playoff spot has been determined on the last weekend of the season

- continued increased attendance (the NHL has had one negative increase since 1967)

- Olympic participation (prior to NHLers being allowed to compete, professional players from other European leagues participated)



Bettman's failures

- the shootout (I know he doesn't have a vote - but he does have the power to say...'It's a bad idea guys')

- two lockouts (I know these were mandated, and I know neither side should be expected to give in to the other, and I even developed an interest in poker - but I missed my hockey!)

- relationship with the fans - for whatever reason, he has yet to develop one.

- relationship with the players - prior to this weekend, Bettman had never attended an NHLPA meeting despite promoting a 'continuing dialogue' with the players



Clarence Campbell had a far worse relationship with the players than Bettman could ever imagine, and Ziegler had none, but the lingering animosity is not good.





Has my appreciation of the game been enhanced? Hard to say. I love hockey, I study it, etc....so I can roll with the rule changes as much as anybody (aside from the shootout). There has been a lot of great hockey under Bettman's watch. What does ruin it for me is his smugness, his lack of a relationship with the fans, and the lingering perceived toll that the lockouts have had (in reality, hockey is more popular than ever when you look at the NHL's numbers and climbing enrollment in minor and senior hockey in both Canada and the US) on the ignorant people who feel that they have nothing better to do than bash a sport that they have not taken the time to obtain the facts. I will always watch hockey, and I'm pretty sure I will always enjoy it (until the Western conference brings in the 'designated cherry picker' for overtime). But I doubt any one individual can do anything to enhance, or detract from my pleasure of watching an NHL game.





So, while Bettman has done a lot of things for the league financially that have made it 'more successful', none of it has added, or detracted the pleasure I get watching an NHL game.

Answer 2

He survives year after year because he's answerable to the owners (the shareholders) and not to the fans. This is no different than any company being answerable to to their shareholders, and not their consumers.





There was a call-in show the other day here in Montreal where many fans were calling in and talking about how the Phoenix situation means Bettman has to go, it's the last straw, why don't the owners see he is ruining the game, etc. The end of the show had George Gillette on and he brought up some points



1. The owners think Bettman has done a great job, and all the disgruntled fans in the world aren't going to make him change his mind.



2. The Canadiens surveyed their season ticket base (16,877 fans) and found that 96.2% think that today's NHL is better and more competitive than it was pre-lockout.



He talked about the increase in revenue, the increase in salaries, the increase in attendance, and the increase in TV ratings...and he asked...what's so bad about that.



He also went into how the Jets/Coyotes franchise has only made a profit once in 29 seasons, how he's lost money 5x since he bought the Canadiens (all this said a few hours before he made a $275MM profit on the same), how the Senators and Oilers are on league assistance too, and that despite all this the league is fine.



It was his last statement that may have irked people when he said that he felt a lot of the griping was from people who can't get tickets to games, and aren't in the job of running businesses otherwise they would understand the economics better.



Always refreshing to hear from the owners.





How will I remember him? As a condescending man who is very misunderstood. He's far more visible than his predecessors and I'm not sure if that is the result of the internet, or his need to speak on everything (something that Clarence Campbell did, and John Ziegler avoided). I think if he toned down his 'act', it would be better. I've met the man a couple of times, I've chatted with him, and he's far more a hockey man than a basketball man. He was given a mandate as you said, and he attacked it from a sports-neutral position. The NHL is the only league that has increased revenues more than two-fold, increased it's salaries more than two-fold, increased it's attendance, and increased it's TV ratings in the last 20 years. He has done for the NHL what he and David Stern did for the NBA in the 1985 to 1993 time frame. IN the NBA he had the help of Michael Jordan....he has had no help in the NHL.



Has he enhanced the game for me? After you've been involved as long as I have, it is hard to have an enhanced experience....aside from Chicago winning the Cup. Contrary to what some people here believe, the game has improved. There is better flow to the game than there was in 2002 and that is important to the players. Brendan Shanahan is still convinced that the fans will come around to his idea (the trapezoid) but only time will tell.

Answer 3

Garret if you had a clue you must have stolen it, just like your hockey team I might add. The only reason Phoenix hasn't moved is because the only person willing to put his money where his mouth is just happens to want to move the team to a market the league has reserved for expansion only. Winning the battle hardly wins the war (look up the first battle of Bull Run if you're having a hard time understanding that). The Coyotes are living on borrowed time, trust me on that.

As for Gary, there are some pluses and some minuses. The salary cap saved the NHL owners from themselves, that's a plus. A crackdown on the neutral zone penalties has improved the flow of the game which is also a plus. The goalie equipment is still too big and needs to be addressed soon, a minus. The shootout, grrrrrrrrrr. There are more teams, more fans and more money in the game now than there ever was and since that's what the owners pay him for he's done his job. We, the fans did not hire him so our opinions are moot.

LITY is right about his public personae. He just does not come off well when he speaks so no matter whether his point is valid or not, he is perceived as arrogant and condescending which erodes public opinion of him. He might be wise to hire a face to speak to all league media and PR issues who is more palatable to the unwashed masses and whose support in an economic sense at least, is more important than that of the owners. After all, if we stop going to games and watching games, no matter how many pluses he has, he is a failure.

I say again, Shootout, GGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Answer 4

As a fan of Hockey in Southern Ontario I hate the Batman. As a business man I'd hire him to run mine in a heart beat. His bosses are all making money. Even those losing are getting revenues from the others to keep them afloat. (Kind of like Southern Ontario and Alberta helping out the rest of Canada during the past)

The fuel on the fire from the pro Basillie camp (and I'm a Jim fan) has darkened the entire Phoenix picture. Baum has so far made the only decision he was able to make. Was iot the best for Hockey I don't know but it was the best for the NHL at the time.

Bettman was hired, not by me or any other non owner for their best interest but by the owners to run their business. He has done a wonderful job. The value of all of the franchises have increased. Even Phoenix which was losing money hand over fist seems to be worth $200 million.

Answer 5

I've always felt that if you don't know where you've been you have no clue where you're heading.



In 1993, the NHL had one game on free-to-air television in the US (the All Star Game). Currently, the NHL has both regular season and playoff games (plus 5 of 7 games of the Final) on free-to-air television.



That people in America have the ability to ***** about the quality of broacasting rather than bemoan the lack of availability is a step forward.



Revenues have skyrocketed.



The game itself is better.



The blame for the lockout year...Bob Goodenow is as guilty as anyone for failing to understand the will of the owners/BOG.



His biggest problem is his image; he comes across as being condescending. If he'd soften his image (seriously- hire some image consultants to work with him, and maybe a voice coach), it would do wonders.



Bettman has, as they say, expanded the tent.



Compare him to his peers in the NFL, NBA, and MLB...you'd have to say he compares very favourably.



The NFL has a coming labour issue next year, and a police blotter that seems to never stop.



MLB...steroid era. Every one of the guys who eclipsed Roger Maris is now a drug cheat. The two biggest names in the game are drug cheats. Lack of salary cap has led to the Yankees having a payroll close to $300mm, as much as 6 times what other teams might have.



NBA...more police blotter fare, plus franchise instability, and the small matter of a referee admitting to point shaving.



Go ahead...find the biggest problem in the NHL. Nowhere near the above.

Answer 6

As everyone knows, Bettman was hired by the owners, not for the fans.



Thing is, I'm not an owner. I'm a fan. And I can't think of anything he's done to improve the game for me.



People talk about how he's increased revenues. To me, the fan, that just means I have to pay more for everything from souvenir ballcaps and pucks to tickets.



People talk about how he's now managed to get hockey on free-to-air TV in the US. Well I live in Canada so big whoop. I've been able to watch hockey on TV for free for as long as I can remember.



I just want to watch my hockey. And when things happen like lockouts, missing an entire season, shootouts, overtime losses, etc., all those things make hockey less fun. Were they DIRECTLY Bettman's fault? No of course not, and nobody is saying they are. But as one of the others posters alluded, Bettman could have guided things along in a different direction.



So for me, a Canadian hockey FAN, he's done absolutely nothing to enhance the game. All I will remember about him is that during his tenure, my hometown hockey team (the Winnipeg Jets) moved to Phoenix, and that he's fighting harder to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix than he ever did to keep the Jets in Winnipeg.

Answer 7

He'd get a passing grade but just barely, many of the problems of the NHL today have been carried over from the past, he just inherited them. I give him credit for keeping the 30 teams in place (so far) when naysayers had expected that four teams or more would have to move or be contracted after the lockout season. I don't buy for a moment this compassion for the city of Phoenix or their fans, he's trying to keep the last domino from falling, as he knows that one move will lead to another, and another as it has happened in the late 1970's and on his watch in the late 1990's. As for the US, he can't sell a national product when he only has a regional product to sell, many teams are located where transplanted northerners have settled rather than cities that have enjoyed hockey as a tradition for 100+ years. This isn't a knock to Americans, there should be 24 US teams but not necessarily where they are now.

Answer 8

I'd remember him for LABOR DISPUTES(what a season and a half lost in 15 years). I agree the expansion happened, although I think it was somewhat a bad idea. I think they expanded in to the wrong markets to a point, although it was what THEY wanted.

Answer 9

bettman has been good for the nhl its only gotten better since he's taken over, and he saved the best hockey team in the world from moving to a gay place. i appreciate his fighting for us and the many fans here in az. i tell you it will get better thats a promise i will take my thumbs down from the canadians now. USA USA USA!!!!



puckdat it sounds like your a little mad because in 2007 the coyotes had a higher attendence then the bruins, even when were losing were still beating traditional hockey markets in attendence, borrowed time when reinsdorf buys this team its all the way to the cup. he built winners in the bulls and even the sox now its the yotes turn for that sweet glory.



dung beatle your not to aware of hamiltons situation right now there in no position for a hockey team there economy is really struggling, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cg7ZdJbH9k

and once reinsdorf buys the team he's already said gretzky is gone YAY. now thats a man who knows what he's doing.

Answer 10

He has been a disgrace to this great sport.



He has no spine remember the no goal.....what happened to enforcing the rules?



this last year when Hal Gill is more important to your team that nik Lidstrom. Something is wrong. The clutching grabbing and supposedly the best Officiating crews literally closing their eyes it makes for bad hockey. Bottom line if its a penalty in October it should be a penalty in May and June. Other sports do not change and that is a MAJOR reason hockey cannot gain credibility and momentum in this country.



Bettman must go!! and take campbelll with him. Coyote Fans your team would thrive in Hamilton where HOckey is loved and SUPPORTED! To bad once again Bettman will sell out to his Lover Mr. Purse slinging Gretzky.