TAMPA, Florida – The hockey spotlight is shining on the NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks. But the League took some time out of the build-up to address the state of the game. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, COO John Collins and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell joined Commissioner Gary Bettman in meeting with the media this afternoon talk about some of the key issues and opportunities for the League.
But breaking as the event was to commence, there was news out of Pittsburgh that the Penguins’ owners, Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, have hired Morgan Stanley to explore the possibility of selling some or all of the team. Commissioner Bettman deferred to the club in making any announcement. It is believed Lemieux, perhaps more than Burkle, may have an interest in getting his equity share out of the franchise. Even if Lemieux and/or Burkle decide to sell, it’s believed they have some interest in retaining some involvement or connection with the team. Morgan Stanley facilitated the sale of the Buffalo Sabres to Terry Pegula.
Expansion was a hot topic with the announcement by prospective owner Bill Foley in Las Vegas that his effort has resulted in the sale of 11,500 season tickets. Bettman was asked what led to allowing him to release a specific number and his thoughts on the process. Bettman remarked, “Well, the fact of the matter is, it’s his process. He was the one testing the marketplace. If he decided he wanted to announce a count, or what level of success they’ve achieved to this point, that’s up to him. I will report that to the Board of Governors at the meeting in June. Assuming that number is accurate, I have no reason to doubt that, it looks like his drive has had some degree of success, to say the least.”
Attention then turned to the salary cap. When asked about what it looks like for the 2015-16 season, Bettman said a final number has not been finalized. He continued, “We’ll have to have a discussion with the Players’ Association. As we’ve said all along, if we use the full 5%, our preliminary calculations is we’ll be somewhere over $71M. But the cap is somewhere in the $70M, $71M range, we believe. Obviously we need to have a discussion with the Players’ Association. I’d rather have that direct discussion with them rather than more circuitous means.
Continuing the financial discussion, Bettman was asked about prudent spending by teams and specifically Toronto’s $50 million spend on the eight-year contract for Coach Mike Babcock? Bettman, with some humor, remarked, “Did one of our clubs do that? Our clubs are free to do what they think is in their own best interest when they’re retaining executive talent, managerial talent. In Toronto, Mike Babcock decided this was a good thing for both of them to do, that’s their decision.”
Then the attention shifted to the rumors about troubled franchises, a subject Bettman bristled at when the question was raised. When asked about addressing ongoing reports surrounding the Arizona Coyotes and whether there is a lease issue with the City of Glendale, Bettman stated he was aware there have been lots of stories written. “Based on our ongoing dialogue with the club, they are inaccurate. They have a lease that’s in full force and effect. Their obligations are being met currently. The club is not going anywhere. So I don’t know where or why these reports are coming from, but I refer you to Anthony LeBlanc, who is running the club on a day-to-day basis, and he will confirm what I just told you. It’s unfortunate there still seems to be some degree of distraction in terms of the coverage of the club. But they’ll deal with it and time will tell that, in fact, they’re doing a good job of building that club in Arizona.
Back to the signing of coaches in which compensation is afforded to the team the coach departs from, Bettman was asked about how he changed how the league is going to deal with compensation for staff going from team to team moving forward. When asked for an update on how that was going, Bettman remarked, “ ‘Pleased’ isn’t exactly the word I would use. As I think you all know, arising out of the disputes eight or nine years ago, I established a policy that there is no compensation. Personnel, under contract, if you want to talk to the team that had the rights, either said yes or no. Once they said yes, and the deal could be struck, then that person was free to go. The managers as a group for years, probably two or three, cajoled, begged, pleaded, demanded that we make a change. We wanted something that was straightforward and simple, although I believe there was nothing more straightforward and simple than what we had. We put in effect the new policy for the potential for compensation on January 1st, and we’ll let it run a full year before we consider doing anything. At that point in time the options will be to either clarify, to modify or to eliminate. But we’ll let it run its course over a full year and then decide what, if anything, we want to do.”
Further, when asked about any change which might come about in that rule, any compensation that is owed based on deals that happened during this year, Bettman said, “What’s done is done. The fact of the matter is everybody’s operating under a system, basically possibly with some adjustments, due to some people’s interpretations, but this is a system that the GMs wanted, and I acceded to. We’ll see how it works for a year. That’s what’s going to govern what happens during this calendar year.”
On limiting visiting fans to buying tickets for away games and the home team’s desire to generate more of a “home advantage”, Bettman was asked about the policy the Lightning employ which limited Chicago Blackhawks fans in get tickets for the Final. Bettman was clear, “Tampa Bay has truly become a hockey market. You can see the passion, the excitement, the level of sophistication, even since the last Stanley Cup. That’s nice to see. I think that’s a testament to Jeff Vinik and the organization he’s put together and the commitment he’s made to the team, to this building, and to the community. I believe that the Lightning are attempting to create as good a home-ice atmosphere as possible. The interesting thing is, they apparently have the luxury of knowing that the building is sold out even if they try to limit tickets. Having said that, any Blackhawk fan that really wants to get into the game can figure out a way to do it. It’s not all that difficult. But what’s nice to see is this market has reached the point where they believe, and they’ve actually been able to fill the building on a regular basis with Lightning fans.”
On playoff suspensions, with only one coming this postseason, far less than prior year, Bettman was asked about his thoughts vis-à-vis what happened in previous seasons. Bettman address it by saying, “I think the prior season we saw five suspensions, the season prior to that 13. I think the Department of Player Safety is doing a terrific job. I think it’s doing a terrific job under Brendan Shanahan, and I think Stephane Quintal is doing a great job. I think the players have responded to the initiatives that have been put in place, the rule changes that have been adjusted. In that regard, without jinxing it, I think it’s been really good.”
Then the subject turned to expansion, no matter where it might take place. Bettman was asked, pending an update to the board next month on where things stand with Seattle, Vegas, Québec City, if he would clarify what the next steps are if indeed the board decides to push the agenda further? He responded, “That’s a good question. If after our discussion in June where I’m going to report where all of the expressions of interest stand, including what Las Vegas has been able to accomplish with the ticket drive, if the board has any interest in pursuing it, my recommendation would then be to open a formal expansion process. The board may say, That’s interesting, but we still don’t want to do anything. That’s an option. And even if they green light a formal expansion process, doesn’t mean we’re going to expand. It means we’ll go through the steps of looking through things, and the conclusion at the end of that process could be very well no expansion. So it would just be a question of possibly looking at the expressions of interest and looking at them a little more seriously than we have.”
Regarding a market which has notoriously been regarded as having fans who dress up for games looking like red seats, Bettman was asked about the Florida Panthers and how they compare to the market of Tampa Bay in terms of a where they are and how they are doing under near ownership. He addressed those concerns. “They’re absolutely on the right track. As you’ve heard me say repeatedly, ownership is the key difference. You see it in franchises that are successful, you see it in franchises that have had a difficult time and have come back. Vinnie Viola has the commitment and resources to make it work. He’s had to retool and revamp the operation down there. I believe the club is heading in the right direction. There were some rumors that we were made aware of over the last few hours, one saying that a club was going to relocate by the end of June. That is not going to happen. I don’t know why publications make those things up, even under the guise of a rumor. The Panthers are not filing for bankruptcy. I don’t know where these stories come from, but they’re not true.”
Then the subject of compensation for signings of coaches came back up. Bettman was asked why he was not pleased with the compensation system. He shot back, “Because obviously it wasn’t as simple. The other system was much simpler. Either let the person go or don’t. I didn’t believe it was necessary. After repeated conversations with the general managers, I ultimately deferred to their desire and request, with the caveat that if we have any disputes we’re going back to the old system. So far we haven’t had any disputes. Some debates, but no disputes.”
On his remarks a few weeks ago regarding the link between CTE and players playing in the NHL and yet another former NHL player dropping another lawsuit on the league, Bettman responded, “The fact of the matter is to the extent anybody is suffering from an illness or worse, it’s tragic. I was, shall we say, criticized in some quarters for what I said. For those of you who haven’t red Judge Brody’s decision in the NFL case, I recommend that you do. It’s about 130 pages. Somewhere around the middle, Judge Brody said exactly what I said about the linkage or lack thereof. You can criticize me all you want for saying it, but that apparently is the state of the world according to the judge who handled the NFL case, as well.”
Then a few more sensitive subjects were raised. Bettman was asked about Slava Voynov of the Kings who is scheduled to go to trial next month on felony spousal abuse charges. He was asked if the league could still impose a suspension regardless of what the outcome is in the legal system. Bettman was clear, “We have a variety of options in terms of how we react to the ultimate resolution of that case from a legal standpoint. I’m not going to speculate as to what those options might be and under what circumstances we might impose them. We’re obviously sitting back and waiting to let the judicial system run its course.”
Then a question out of left field came which seemed to perturb the Commissioner. Bettman was asked if to the best of his knowledge if the NHL ever promoted fighting. “I don’t quite understand the question. I mean, the fact is fighting is a small part of the game, and the game gets promoted.”
Then finally, Bettman was asked if there was any update on the status of Olympic participation at this point. “None. We haven’t had any discussions with the Players’ Association about it. We remain focused on getting the World Cup up and running. I know that the IIHF have indicated to us there’s still plenty of time for us to focus on that issue.”
Game 2 Sat., June 6th at 7:15 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
Game 3 Mon., June 8th at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Chicago NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
Game 4 Wed., June 10th at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Chicago NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 5 Sat., June 13th at 8 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 6 Mon., June 15th at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Chicago NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
*Game 7 Wed., June 17th at 8 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay NBC, CBC, TVA Sports
* if necessary
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