DETROIT –The floor belonged to Gary Bettman, but the National Hockey League commissioner saved his hardest shot for the media covering the Jim Balsillie story, rather than Balsillie himself.
"It’s not [personal], at least from me," Bettman told the assembled media of his fight against Balsillie’s takeover bid for the Phoenix Coyotes.
"Now, I know some of you get calls on a regular basis from P.R. people. I know some of you — I’ve heard the rumours — are getting directions how to cover this story. I can’t help that. From my standpoint it’s not personal. It’s about league rules and it’s about doing the right thing in terms of the stability of this same and this league.”
Bettman did not directly name the Globe and Mail newspaper.
What appears to frustrate the NHL’s little leader is the success the Balsillie camp has had in blurring the issues. Somehow, Bettman has watched this story morph into a debate about hockey in Southern Ontario and his relationship with Balsillie, while all precedent set in previous franchise dealings by the NHL is being overlooked.
On that front, the Balsillie camp has had much success.
"This is not a Phoenix versus Hamilton issue, and it is certainly not a personal issue," he said. "Truth be told, it’s probably fair to say that the Pittsburgh Penguins during their bankruptcy period were in worse shape because they didn’t even have at the time the prospect of a new building. And look at where they are today.
"We didn’t walk out on Pittsburgh. We fought to fix their problems and we’re fighting … for Phoenix because of our covenant with the team and the fans there. I think it’s fair to say we have a long and successful history of doing that, and all you have to do is name Buffalo and Ottawa. And there have been others."
Bettman stressed that, if the criteria the media uses for franchise relocation were used by his league, there would be only two NHL teams left in Canada.
"Somebody could have asked me eight years ago, ‘Why do you have franchises [in Canada] other than Toronto and Montreal?’ Because the buildings in all the other places were a third to a half empty. The answer is, because that’s where franchises belong. We work with our fans, and we don’t run out on cities.
"At this stage, to pronounce that our expansion to the places where we are isn’t working is premature."
As long as the league is willing to cover the losses in Phoenix, which they have been, and as long as there are new owners on the horizon who wish to make a go of it in the desert, which Bettman claims there are, then it is difficult to argue against the NHL’s right to maintain a franchise in Glendale.
"The City of Glendale is prepared to work with the club on building arrangements, and we believe there is ownership out there," he said.
Covering other topics, Bettman was in agreement that the league’s drug testing policies are not stringent enough and need to be brought up to standards recommended by the World Anti-Doping Association [WADA].
"We don’t believe there is a performance-enhancing drug problem in this league, but I acknowledge that our testing program could be more comprehensive," he said. "It is time, we believe, that the players’ association step up and agree to make the changes that the [WADA] has recommended that we make to make the program even more comprehensive than it is.”
That would be two things the NHLPA is dead set against: an enhanced list of banned drugs, using the more extensive in-competition list; and more importantly, out-of-season testing.
It is simply a fact that out-of-season testing is far more successful in catching users than in-season testing. It is a fact that the Major League Baseball Players’ Association fought for as long as it could, with disastrous results. And it is a fact that NHLPA head Paul Kelly is going to have to deal with, beginning at the general players meetings to be held in conjunction with the NHL Awards in Las Vegas this month.
Despite the hockey community’s almost universal displeasure with Versus, Bettman painted a rosy picture with the NHL’s TV numbers from the 2008-09 season:
CBC was up 5% for the regular season; NBC is up 11% in the regular season and 20% in playoffs, while Versus is up 25% across the board.
Digitally, NHL.com’s 13 million unique visitors in April was up 35%. Bettman expects the cap to either remain at $56.7 million, or decline by five percent to $53.865 million.
And finally, one last bogeyman was dispelled in the league’s playoff ticket success.
Many pundits said that, although regular season tickets and luxury boxes were sold in a strong economy, the NHL would struggle in the post-season, when customers were asked to buy playoff tickets during the recession.
Bettman said the league has played to "over 100% capacity" during the playoffs, and that season ticket renewals are approaching 80%.
As usual, everything is just fine in the NHL.
