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NHL’s Gary Bettman honored, basks in success of ‘new markets’

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1 week ago

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Hockey purists might be grumbling about the upcoming Stanley Cup Final because it will have nothing but Sun Belt teams involved. It suits Gary Bettman just fine.

Bettman was honored by the Sports Business Journal on Wednesday with a lifetime achievement award for the NHL’s growth during his 30 years as commissioner, from a business that generated $437 million in revenue before he took over to nearly $6 billion now.

Fittingly, it comes with conference finalists in Las Vegas, Dallas, South Florida and North Carolina, given how crucial Sun Belt expansion and growing the league south of the Canadian border is to Bettman’s legacy.

“It’s more about the footprint: You do better in terms of interest at all levels of the game where you have franchises,” Bettman said. “Creating a more national footprint, both in Canada and in the U.S., is important for growing the game.

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The NHL had a presence in just 13 U.S. markets (three in the New York area) in the final full season before Bettman took over and it wasn’t televised nationally. Over the past three decades, that has ballooned to 25 American teams in 22 markets from coast to coast.

One of the challenges, Bettman said, was demonstrating to TV networks that the NHL had “a compelling national story.” This postseason features a final four in cities that did not have teams before Bettman got the job.

The Florida Panthers joined the league in 1993, months after Bettman came over from his post at the NBA, at about the same time the Stars moved from Minnesota to Dallas. Raleigh, North Carolina, got a team later in the late 1990s when the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes. And the Vegas Golden Knights are only in their sixth season of existence after becoming the 31st franchise through expansion.

In between, teams were added in Nashville and Columbus, relocated to Colorado and Arizona, and rebirthed in Minnesota and Winnipeg. Along the way, Bettman has ruffled plenty of feathers and upset fans in places that lost teams, leaning on a lesson he learned from the late NBA commissioner David Stern to make decisions, big and small, for the right reasons.

“You do your homework, you make as an informed a decision as you can and you don’t do it for political reasons because political and popular reasons can change in the moment,” he said. “You got to do what you think is right because if you’re wrong, at least you did it because you thought it was right. And that’s how you sleep at night.”

Bettman prefers the term “newer markets” over “nontraditional” to describe many of those places, including Tampa Bay, which has become a model franchise and won the Stanley Cup three times since joining the league in 1992. He points out that having teams in new markets leads to more rinks being built and the game growing beyond some of the traditional North American hockey hotbeds.

That’s partly why Bettman is basking in the quality of play, even if the ratings for this year’s final might not be as high as a year where powerhouse markets like Boston, New York, Chicago, Toronto or Los Angeles are involved.

“What’s more important to me is the game: Is it exciting? Is it entertaining? Is it compelling?” Bettman said. “Some markets will always be bigger than others, but to me it’s more about the game and how entertaining it is.”

The phrase, “The game on the ice has never been better” is a staple of Bettman’s state of the league addresses over the years, and it will likely come up again when he speaks before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final next week.

He’ll turn 71 on June 2, Bettman isn’t ready to retire but says he’s “not going to do this into my 80s.” He said he sees a time in the not-too-distant future when he’ll want to take a long trip with his wife, Shelli, to a place they haven’t been and spend more time with his seven grandchildren.

“At some point, when you have a public-facing job, you need to say, ‘It’s time to move to somebody younger,'” Bettman said. “There’s some other things I may want to spend my time doing.”

 

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Canadiens Prospect Owen Beck Clutch At Memorial Cup – Montreal Hockey Now

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2 hours ago

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June 3, 2023

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Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck has enjoyed a rather wild ride since the OHL playoffs started.

Not only did the Peterborough Petes, who finished the regular season with just 74 points, eliminate the league-leading Ottawa 67’s and the powerhouse London Knights to capture the OHL Championship, but thanks to their never-say-die attitude, they managed to once again avoid elimination at the Memorial Cup.

Before we get into the game details, which include a fantastic drive to the net by Beck to set up the game-winning goal, I’d like to once again take to my soapbox to discuss the entertainment value provided by Junior hockey.

I’ll keep it short, this time, I promise.

However, in exchange for not rambling at length about the unmatched excitement you’ll witness during most games, I need you to make an honest effort to catch a Junior hockey game at your local rink.

It’s easily the best bang for your hard-earned buck available when it comes to hockey.

You won’t be disappointed.

Beck Plays The Hero

The tie-break game between the Petes and the Kamloops Blazers featured everything you look for in a hockey game.

There were dramatic goals, great saves, momentum swings, big hits, and for those who partake in the sweet science, a rather nasty knock-out punch by New Jersey Devils prospect Chase Stillman.

Despite allowing the Petes to score first, the Blazers quickly took control of the game by scoring four answered goals. As exciting as Peterborough’s Cinderella run had been, it seemed inevitable that their fun had come to an end.

They needed a little magic.

And they got it from New York Rangers prospect Brendan Othmann, who cut the lead to 4-2 thanks to a fantastic individual effort midway through the second period. Peterborough then quickly tied the game following goals from Samuel Mayer and Brian Zanetti.

Both teams played a very safe style of play in the third period, giving the Petes, who have now played a total of 96 games this season, an opportunity to play the underdog role to perfection once again.

And that’s where Beck, who had been quiet up to that point, took matters into his own hands.

The cerebral Canadiens prospect cut through the neutral zone, using his speed and positioning to open up a lane toward the net.

Everyone in the building expected Beck to shoot, which would have been a reasonable decision considering he was in a high-danger shooting area.

But Beck, who had drawn the attention of both Blazers defencemen, knew his teammate, JR Avon, had plenty of time and space to take a shot that had a better chance of fooling Dylan Ernst.

It was a play that combined offensive awareness, great skating, vision, and anticipation, which is exactly what we’ve come to expect from an intelligent prospect such as Beck.

On The Docket

Beck’s heroics have set up a Canadiens prospect vs. Canadiens prospect semifinal at the Memorial Cup.

The Petes, who seem to have been blessed by hockey gods, will face Jared Davidson and the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday.

The puck drop for this must-see event is scheduled for 10 PM ET.

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Toronto Maple Leafs: Treliving Hiring Shows Shanahan's Incompetence – Editor in Leaf

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12 hours ago

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June 2, 2023

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The problem isn’t that Brad Treliving is the newest GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but instead, it’s Brendan Shanahan’s explanation of it.

As previously mentioned, Brad Treliving is a good executive with a long hockey career, but he never should have been hired as the Toronto Maple Leafs GM.

Reports already indicate that the core-four will  remain the same next year, which is fine, but why hire someone new if they’re going to do the same thing and not at least scare the roster that they could be moved?

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A new GM is supposed to ignite change and bring a new approach to the game. It’s not someone who’s just going to re-do the job that Kyle Dubas just did.

When Shanahan fired Dubas, he wanted someone who had experience, which is what Treliving brings, but it’s not like he has a ton of winning experience. He’s never been to a Stanley Cup Finals before and only advanced to the second round twice in nine years in Calgary, so what’s really the difference between him and Dubas?

Nothing, at least not in terms of experience or success.

The only difference is that Shanahan is a bitter old-man who was scared that the young buck in Dubas was getting too much attention and that he might take his job one day.

Toronto Maple Leafs: New GM Brings Nothing Different From Dubas

If you look across the league, it’s crazy how much esteem Dubas has. By the way Shanahan described Dubas during his firing, it’s like he was only in the league for 10 minutes and didn’t have the respect of his peers.

Shanahan’s statement was actually hilarious when you compare his words to what other people have said about Dubas. Here’s what Shanahan said during his press conference:

“Treliving earned tremendous respect during his time in the NHL and built excellent relationships … We are confident that Brad’s leadership and strategic vision will elevate the Maple Leafs in our continued pursuit of a championship.”

As for Dubas, if you read Pierre LeBruns’ article in The Athletic last week, the same words were essentially said about him, here are some quotes from that article:

For example:

  • Jarmo Kekalainen (Columbus Blue Jackets): “I have the utmost respect for Kyle, both as a professional and as a person. He’s always a straight shooter to deal with. No bulls—. Just an all-around really good person and a professional. All our discussions were straightforward and analytical. I think he has a very thorough approach to everything; you have to be prepared when you talk to him because he’s going to look at things from every angle. I have a lot of respect for him.”
  • Bill Zito (Florida Panthers) : “Obviously, a very bright man. And a guy that I have a lot of faith in his character. He’s a guy you could do a deal with. And if it wasn’t papered, you could tell the (player) go ahead get on the plane. As an agent, we used to say if you did a deal with a GM and you didn’t have a contract back yet, would you send your player on the plane? That’s a level of respect I have for Kyle’s integrity. Obviously, I’m very fond of him. I think he did a hell of a job there.”
  • The GMs of Nashville, Tampa and Edmonton were all quoted as saying really nice things about him as well.

All of these old-school and experienced GM’s said nothing but great things about Dubas, yet the Leafs didn’t want him. They explained all of the attributes that Shanahan wanted in a GM, yet they decided to move on and hire Treliving instead.

Shanahan took a bitter approach and gassed one of the most thoughtful and intelligent hockey minds of this generation and instead hired a guy who hasn’t doesn’t seem to be an improvement in any way.

No disrespect to Treliving because I think he’s going to do a fine job, but the explanation of Dubas’ firing gets dumber with every second and continues to show the incompetence of Shanahan as the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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How much are Stanley Cup Final tickets? – ESPN – ESPN

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13 hours ago

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June 2, 2023

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Jun 2, 2023, 01:28 PM ET

The Stanley Cup Final will return to Las Vegas and South Florida for the Florida Panthers vs. the Vegas Golden Knights. For fans of the Knights, who reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2018, tickets to the first two games at T-Mobile Arena are a bit cheaper this time around.

The average price for a ticket to Game 1 is $763, according to Vivid Seats data. In 2018, during the franchise’s first trip to the Final, the average was $1,062. That was the highest in recent years for a team making its Final debut or returning after a long drought. Last year’s Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche had an average price of $1,052. The Avalanche, who hosted Game 1, were playing their first Final game since 2001. When the St. Louis Blues hosted their first Final game in decades in 2019, the average was $869.

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For Saturday’s opening game, the lowest-priced available ticket is going for $405 on the Knights’ website, while TickPick lists a no-view, standing room only ticket for $311. The most expensive ticket is $9,750. These prices don’t reflect taxes or fees.

For Game 3, the Panthers’ first Stanley Cup Final home game since 1996, the average price for a ticket at FLA Live Arena is $628, according to Vivid Seats. At Ticketmaster, the Panthers’ ticket-seller, the lowest-priced ticket is $538. The most expensive ticket is reselling for $9,000 before taxes and fees. The average price for Game 4 is a bit higher at $689.

If the series goes to seven games, fans might need some extra casino winnings to get into the arena. Prices via the Knights’ website range from about $900 to $25,000.

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