NHL Commissioner Addresses Succession Planning and McDavid Suspension
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed recent comments by Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold regarding the league’s succession planning. leipold revealed that the Board of Governors’ executive committee had begun the process of searching for Bettman’s successor.
Despite Leipold’s comments, Bettman, 72, maintains that he hasn’t publicly shared a specific timeline for his departure. He did acknowledge to the executive committee last month that they should consider planning for his eventual exit, but emphasized that no definate date has been set.
“I won’t be doing this job forever,” Bettman stated.
Bettman also addressed the recent three-game suspension handed down to Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid for cross-checking Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland.When asked about the officiating and the situation in general, Bettman emphasized the league’s ongoing monitoring of officiating standards. “We monitor the standard that we expect from our officials on an ongoing basis and on a situational basis,” he said.
“There’ll continue to be debate about what happened,” Bettman acknowledged, emphasizing that cross-checks to the face or head must be addressed through supplemental discipline. He also expressed respect for McDavid and all players.as a league see that whole situation? As sometimes fans get frustrated watching referees look at infractions and not call anything.
Every call is a judgment call, and it’s situational. And I believe the referees in that situation — what was it, 10 seconds left to go? — decided they didn’t want to blow the whistle at that point in time, when two guys were tangled because there were a lot of things that could have happened, which a whistle would have worked at Edmonton’s detriment. I’m not endorsing it or not. I’m just simply saying you’ve got to look at the context of the whole thing. I understand the frustration, and it’s something we’re going to continue to monitor.
In othre words, blow the whistle with Leon Draisaitl having the puck in a shooting position, and perhaps the Oilers lose a scoring chance?
That’s one argument. And by the way, if you’re the Oilers or fans in Edmonton or the players, you’re not a fan of that answer. But the answer is you can’t judge the game and the officiating based on a call or missed call. You’ve got to look at the full body of work, and that’s something we constantly monitor.
There’s a lot of moving parts with establishing a cap ceiling in future years. How critically important is it for teams to have it announced before the deadline or early enough where teams can plan for free agency?
it’s important, and that’s something we do together with the players’ Association, and it’s something we do together when we have a better handle on what the revenues are going to be and thus what we think the cap should be. And that’s something that is constantly a work in progress, and it’s something we’re discussing now. That doesn’t have to wait for a new collective bargaining. Just so everybody has the context, we have the rest of this season and next year, and while we’ll get into collective bargaining shortly, as we’ve discussed publicly, the fact is the discussion about the cap is ongoing.
With Colorado needing to re-sign Mikko Rantanen and with Minnesota wanting to extend Kirill Kaprizov and Edmonton wanting to extend Connor McDavid this summer,is it possible to give these teams guidance by announcing a cap projection in future years? If agents think the cap could jump to $110 million in two years but teams are operating like it’s going to be $95 million,it makes negotiating tough.
To the extent (that) we and the Players’ Association are cozy making projections. As part of it is indeed, we certainly know the players don’t want an escrow to the extent they can have it reduced. So the higher you make the cap, the more likely you’re going to have an escrow. If you nail it just right — which is hard to do with precision as you’re projecting revenues — ideally you find a place where the escrow is as little as possible and/or the clubs aren’t writing a check to make up the 50/50. it’s a little science, but it’s a lot of work. But the good news is,we have a very candid,cooperative relationship with the Players’ Association,so we’re communicating very well on that and other subjects.
Have you officially begun CBA negotiations? It does seem like this is the best that we’ve ever seen the relationship between the two sides.
The Players’ Association has said they wouldn’t be ready to start until February. I think they just finished meeting with the last club in terms of their tour. And if they haven’t finished, they’re about to finish. So we anticipate starting in February, but we’re talking on an ongoing basis. I’m talking to (NHLPA executive director) Marty Walsh on a regular basis. (NHL deputy commissioner) Bill Daly is talking to (NHLPA assistant executive director) Ron Hainsey on a regular basis,and our other staffs (and) executives are each talking to each other on the things that we need to do together. I think the relationship is as constructive as it’s ever been.
What’s the update on potential expansion?
We don’t have a mandate to expand. We’re not going to announce a process. even though we’ve got lots of expressions of interest, we’re not going to say, “OK, file your request.” There are four boxes at 10,000 feet that get checked: ownership,market,arena and will it make the league stronger? If somebody really wants a team and says,“Here’s how we check the four boxes,” then we’ll take a look at it. We’ll have the board take a look at it. While there’s lots of talk, nobody has yet come in and said, “OK, we got it nailed down.” Some instances,maybe (they have an) arena situation and others putting together an ownership group,but we’re not angsting and we’re not pushing. And our manifest destiny today is not that we have to expand by one, two, three or four anytime. I’m not ruling it out, but there’s nothing currently that you should be focused on as being imminent.
Do you still have no appetite to change the divisional playoff format?
I think what we have works remarkably well.Look at our regular season: Every game matters. So we’re not dealing with issues of that regard. … And making the playoffs and looking at our matchups and how unpredictable the first round is — you know, there are some sports where the first round is a lay down. That’s not our case.The number of series that go six or seven games is unbelievable. I think if you compare us to some of the other sports in terms of number of games that we get with the elimination in a seven-game series, we get the most games because it’s the hardest trophy to win in the most competitive format.
Are you concerned right now with the report that there are attendance issues with the 4 Nations tournament?
No. I’m not sure where that story came from. We’re tracking at least as well as we did at the last World Cup. the games — and you see this in the Olympics and you see it in the world championships and you see it in the junior world, certain matchups, because of the teams playing and the population of that particular country’s expats, varies from market to market. But Canada and the U.S. games are no issue, and there’s no issue on the other games. It’s tracking the way we would expect it to.I think we’ve already sold over 100,000 tickets.So, no, it’s not an issue.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
What are the key considerations for NHL expansion according to Gary Bettman?
## Bettman on Officiating, Salary Cap, Expansion and more
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addressed a wide range of topics in a recent interview, from officiating controversies to potential expansion and the leagueS upcoming CBA negotiations. here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways:
On the controversial non-call in Edmonton:
“The Oilers had a power play, and the puck went out of play. It seems to me like the officials got it right, but if you’re asking me to judge the game and the officiating based on a call or a missed call, that’s not the way to do it. You have to look at the full body of work, and that’s something we constantly monitor.”
On the importance of setting a salary cap ceiling early:
“It’s crucial, and it’s something we do together with the Players’ Association. We need a better handle on what revenues are going to be, and thus what we think the cap should be. that discussion is ongoing and doesn’t have to wait for a new collective bargaining agreement.”
On providing guidance to teams regarding future cap projections:
“To the extent that we and the Players’ Association are pleasant making projections, we certainly know the players don’t want escrow to the extent they can have it reduced. So the higher you make the cap, the more likely you’re going to have escrow. We’re aiming to find a place where escrow is as little as possible.”
On the status of CBA negotiations:
“The Players’ Association has said they wouldn’t be ready to start until February. We anticipate starting in February, but we’re talking on an ongoing basis. I think the relationship is as constructive as it’s ever been.”
On potential NHL expansion:
“We don’t have a mandate to expand. While we’ve got lots of expressions of interest, nobody has yet come in and said, ‘OK, we got it nailed down.’ If somebody really wants a team and says, ‘Here’s how we check the four boxes,’ then we’ll take a look at it.But we’re not angsting and we’re not pushing.”
On the possibility of changing the divisional playoff format:
“I think what we have works remarkably well.Look at our regular season: Every game matters. And making the playoffs, looking at our matchups, and how unpredictable the first round is — you know, there are some sports where the first round is a lay down. That’s not our case. “
On attendance concerns regarding the 4 Nations tournament:
“No. I’m not sure where that story came from. We’re tracking at least as well as we did at the last World Cup. Canada and the U.S. games are no issue, and there’s no issue on the other games. It’s tracking the way we would expect it to.”
Q&A
Q: What are the “four boxes” that need to be checked for NHL expansion to happen?
A: Bettman outlined them as ownership, market, arena, and the potential team’s ability to make the league stronger.
Q: Why does the NHL stick with its current playoff format?
A: Bettman cites the importance of every regular-season game, the unpredictability of first-round matchups, and the sheer number of seven-game series as reasons why the current format is prosperous and exciting.
Q: Is the NHL concerned about a potential decline in attendance at the upcoming 4 Nations tournament?
A: No, Bettman dismisses these concerns, stating that the tournament is performing on par with past World Cups and ticket sales are strong.
For more insights into the NHL’s future and its ongoing initiatives, stay tuned to official league announcements and news coverage.
