Holy christ, you're ignorant if the facts. Bettman wanted a cap and
cut in salaries and he got it. Thing is, the cap number he wanted in
place had only been exceeded by 9 teams anyways. How sensible is that?
Not to mention, how is his argument that a cap is needed for
competition's sake even remotely valid in the NHL? Look at the last
Stanley Cup...Tampa and Vancouver, both small market teams. Look at
the Rangers payroll and their wins and losses. His rationale is
ridiculously simple minded and flat out a lie, like most of the things
that come out of his mouth.
Fact is, the NHL has declined steadily in revenue and fan support since
the day Bettman took over. Make no mistake about it: Bettman runs the
league. When it comes down to it, he is the commissioner and he's the
one responsible for the mess hockey is in. Maybe if he could get a
decent TV contract, the league wouldn't be in this mess. He's been
incompetent and he knows it. His only hope is to break the union to
for the sake of the owners to try to get their confidence back.
Problem is, his ultimatums and shifting demands backfired. And now the
owners will be getting 0% of $0, just like the players.
Again, I'm not exactly in Bob Goorenow's fan club, but he's not the one
to blame for the mismanagement of the NHL. That lies at Bettman's
doorstep. If he can't be held responsible, then he'd have to be a lame
duck commissioner. So, he's either incompetent or powerless or both.
Either way, he needs to go.
turk