WINNIPEG — It’s not Gary Bettman’s presence in Winnipeg that’s alarming to Jets fans. It’s his purpose.
The NHL commissioner drops in on most markets over the course of a typical season. He addressed Winnipeg media last season, opening his remarks by saying he had no emergency to address or news to announce.
This season’s visit came with the perception of higher stakes, but Bettman was unequivocal in his support for True North as an ownership group and Winnipeg as an NHL market.
“I think there was a lot of speculation as to why I was here today,” Bettman said in Winnipeg on Tuesday. “This is a place where hockey matters. I believe that this is a strong NHL market. I believe that ownership has made extraordinary commitments to the Jets, to this arena, and to the downtown area, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. I’m not sure why people are speculating that, somehow, (the NHL is) not going to be here.”
Jets chairman Mark Chipman revealed to The Athletic last week that Winnipeg season-ticket sales have declined 27 percent over the course of three years, falling from approximately 13,000 to just under 9,500.
“I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn’t say, ‘We’ve got to get back to 13,000,’” Chipman said last week. “This place we find ourselves in right now, it’s not going to work over the long haul. It just isn’t.”
Bettman said in 2011 that the Jets needed to fill their building every game for the NHL to work in Winnipeg. On Tuesday, he qualified that statement with respect to the declining season-ticket commitments.
“I know that Mark Chipman and David Thomson aren’t interested in just surviving in the NHL. They want to thrive,” Bettman said. “This will get sorted out. I don’t view this as a crisis but I do believe, as with any team in any market, there needs to be collaboration between the community and the fan base and the club and I believe ultimately it will be here.”
Bettman spoke with similar optimism in his visit to Winnipeg last season. The Jets played at 93.6 percent capacity in 2022-23, according to Hockey Reference, but that number has declined to 87.3 percent so far this season.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Bettman downplayed the fears that the franchise is facing imminent relocation if the season-ticket base doesn’t increase soon.
“Obviously, the attendance needs to improve,” Bettman added. “I have a confidence in the organization and more importantly I have confidence in this community.”
Chipman has recently taken matters into his own hands, calling former season-ticket holders to get a better sense of why they gave up their seats. He’s even made house calls: Chipman was joined by star players Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele on a recent visit to a former season-ticket holder’s home. It’s part of an overall strategy to improve True North’s customer service and sales, which Chipman acknowledged had not been very good when the team sold out its full supply of season tickets in minutes, then sold out its building for the better part of eight straight seasons.
“For 10 years, we weren’t a sales organization; we were a service organization, and I’m not sure we were that good of a service organization, to be honest with you,” Chipman told The Athletic.
Chipman was similarly contrite during his address to fans gathered at Canada Life Centre prior to Tuesday’s game. Speaking beside Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Chipman apologized for previous customer service failures, particularly in terms of a lack of flexibility with season-ticket packages. Customer service has been cited by some former season-ticket holders as a reason for their departure.
Earlier in the day, Morrissey shared his delight at the opportunity to visit with Jets fans with Chipman and Scheifele.
“It couldn’t be any more, in my view, Canadian than that. An outdoor rink across three front yards with trees in the middle of the ice,” Morrissey said. “I think that’s something I’ve always valued about the Jets organization and Mr. Chipman is their commitment to the city of Winnipeg, their love for the city of Winnipeg.
“I think that’s just another example of him trying to get players in a situation to interact with some of the great fans and be a part of this community.”
True North’s investment in the Jets is heavy and ongoing: Winnipeg bought out former captain Blake Wheeler this offseason, before signing trade acquisition Gabriel Vilardi in July and longtime stars Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to matching seven-year, $8.5 million AAV extensions in October. Winnipeg re-signed Nino Niederreiter to a two-year contract shortly thereafter and earlier this month acquiredSean Monahan from Montreal to bolster its playoff push. True North also unveiled $13 million in renovations to Canada Life Centre in September.
Here are more notes and quotes from Bettman’s availability on Tuesday with Winnipeg media.
On the pandemic and why Jets have been struggling to fill arena
Bettman ran through a laundry list of reasons why Winnipeg might be struggling, concluding his message by saying it doesn’t matter how the Jets got here — that he believes in True North to steer them forward.
“Some people say people aren’t wanting to come downtown at night. Some people say the team’s performance should have been better — even though it’s been pretty darn good. Some people say the season ticket drive initially was no good. Some people say it was the pandemic. All of our clubs have dealt with the pandemic. It may have impacted some markets more than others, but again, we are where we are. We focus on the fact that we believe in this market and ownership believes in this market.”
On corporate support in Winnipeg
A major theme of Winnipeg’s conversations has been the relative lack of corporate support compared to other markets. The Jets sell 15 percent of their season tickets to corporate interests.
Bettman and Daly met with local businesspeople as part of their trip to Winnipeg. Bettman was asked if he needed to see a certain threshold for corporate season-ticket commitments.
“It’s not what I need to see. What you want to do is have a franchise that has robust support from all of the places that support comes from, whether it’s the business community buying tickets, whether it’s the business community advertising and promoting and activating around the club,” Bettman said. “In that regard, the club has gotten, I believe, very robust support.”
Bettman also acknowledged that, if True North could go back to 2011 when it sold its first season-ticket packages, it may have been wise to reserve “four or five thousand tickets” for corporate entities.
“They didn’t, but that’s history,” Bettman said. “We are where we are so we move forward.”
On the timeline to good health
Bettman said that neither he nor True North are issuing any ultimatums or deadlines. Instead, the focus is on making sure the fan base is “maximally engaged.”
“We’re not operating under a sword of Damocles or on a razor’s edge,” Bettman said. “This is part of the evolution of what franchises sometimes go through. I remember a number of other Canadian franchises, for example, some considered small markets, some of the season ticket base aged out. And they had to go rebuild it with younger fans. It happens. Let’s be clear about something: I believe this is a strong NHL market. It will adjust.”
Jets as a model franchise
Bettman expressed that he was mystified at the level of fan concern regarding the potential for relocation. He pointed at True North’s “hundred of millions” of dollars invested in the team, the arena and the downtown area.
“That’s why for anybody suggesting the agenda for ownership is other than focused on Winnipeg is silly.”
Daly expanded on Bettman’s praise.
“What I’d say is this is a team that’s widely regarded around the league as a model franchise,” Daly said. “Well-run from top to bottom, puts a competitive hockey team on the ice, spends to the cap. But also invests, as Gary said, in the community and all their charitable initiatives and their investment in the city. We wish we had 32 of these.”
Winnipeg receives revenue sharing
Bettman confirmed that the Jets receive and will continue to receive payment as per the NHL’s revenue-sharing system. Asked what, if any pressure exists within the the league’s Board of Governors for Winnipeg to improve its hockey-related revenue (HRR), Bettman was unequivocal.
“If your question is somehow suggesting or implying that at the board level there’s a concern about this franchise, the answer is absolutely none.”
Required reading
(Photo of Gary Bettman: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
