Gary Bettman enjoyed a welcoming atmosphere in Edmonton Thursday, in the heart of the city’s new Ice District, which is anchored by a beautiful new arena and showplace.
On Friday he’ll be in Calgary, where he admits somewhat kiddingly, “I have been accused of all sorts of evil things.”
One day after announcing in Vancouver that the Canucks will host the 2019 National Hockey League Draft, the NHL Commissioner spoke at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Edmonton Thursday morning. This Alberta city marks one of his biggest victories, having brought Oilers owner Daryl Katz and then-Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandell together to get a new arena built, largely with tax payers’ dollars.
“I never lost confidence in the vision here,” Bettman said Thursday. “They both showed incredible vision.”
Calgary’s Saddledome is now the NHL’s eldest facility, but the team and the city are beyond being at loggerheads when it comes to funding a new arena.
“I’ll get an update from the Flames. (But) they’re no longer pursuing an arena in Calgary, so there is really nothing to talk about,” Bettman said. “I can only assist when there is a will and an invitation. I have been accused of all sorts of evil things, south of here. The Flames have given up pursuing a new arena. That’s where things are.”
Whose court is the ball in? Flames ownership or Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi’s?
“There is no court. The team has decided there is no point in continuing to pursue a new arena,” said Bettman, who said his only appointments in Calgary Friday involve an update from Flames ownership. He has no plans to meet with the City, Bettman said.
The other topic that still carries some heat for Bettman is the Olympics, with the hockey tournament having concluded on Sunday. He is unrepentant about the NHL having stayed home after stocking the tournament with players for the previous five Olympic Games.
“No regrets. I think it was the absolute right decision,” Bettman said. “Our season has been fabulous for the last three weeks, uninterrupted. We’ve seen great streaks, great games, great plays. We’ve had the trade deadline… All of that would have been interrupted had we disappeared.
“The fact is, we have concluded after five (Olympic) participations, it is very disruptive.”
Bettman says the stretch run will be more competitive as a result of the NHL having stayed home.
“For roughly three weeks, as important a part of the season as there is, we disappear. No highlights, no games, no nothing,” he said of the previous five Winter Olympics. “But also … some NHL teams in the past have sent as many as 10 players to the Olympics, and some teams would send one or two. When we come back, our teams are in widely disparate conditions from a competitive standpoint.”
Here are some other topics the NHL Commissioner addressed:
• On calling goaltending interference:
“The purpose of the rule was to give officials an opportunity to correct an egregious error. I think maybe there have been too many coach’s challenges on things that are marginal, and marginal judgment calls are always going to be subject to second guessing.”
• On Seattle as an expansion candidate:
“At 10,000 feet, (potential owner) David Bonderman is a substantial person. Obviously there is going to be a new arena. Seattle seems to be a great sports town. Our job is to take it down to ground level and really see what it’s all about.”
• On the expansion terms for Seattle:
“There is an expectation from the applicant that the terms would be no less favourable (than Vegas). I think there is an expectation from the clubs that the terms would be no more favourable.
“The price is different, (Vegas paid $500 million, Seattle is expected to pay $650 million), but that is a function of the health and stability of the game, and the business of the game.”
• On divisional re-alignment for the two Alberta teams, when Seattle arrives as an expansion club:
“Off the seat of my pants? I don’t think it affects them at all. Other than they’ll have an in-division rivalry, if there is a team in Seattle, with Seattle.
“As it relates to Edmonton, or Calgary, or Vancouver or likely Seattle … as I think about the map, anything that affects those four clubs wouldn’t make a lot of sense.”
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