Gary Bettman Quotations

My message to the kids and our fans is hockey's a great game. There's a lot of hockey being played at all levels. Get involved, do it. We will be back and we will be back better than ever and hopefully as soon as possible. Don't give up on the game. It's too good.

It takes two sides to make a deal, two sides to negotiate and two sides to make it go bad.

If you want to know how I feel, I'll summarize it in one word - terrible.

Our economics are not baseball's economics. Our game is not baseball's game. Our owners are not baseball's owners, with one or two exceptions. Our union is not baseball's union. What we do has to be crafted and suited to address hockey, to address the NHL, to address our 30 teams and our 700-plus players.

The Canadian franchises and Canada as a market for NHL hockey has always been a priority for us.

When you think of his accomplishments on and off the ice, the dignity, class and durability that his career represented, it's truly phenomenal. He deserves the recognition that he's getting.

to pick a fight with the union on this issue at this point.

We're seeing teams make increasing use of the long pass so the puck goes up the ice now in the blink of an eye,

We always had confidence in the game and our fans,

We're seeing third-period lead changes and we are seeing players using their sticks for intended purpose of sticks, and that is to handle and to propel the puck - not as a tool for checking.

Like all fans, we're thrilled that we're back and that the game is doing as well on the ice in terms of entertainment, excitement, speed and skill. And that our fans have been receptive.

OLN is anticipating, as are we, subscriber growth.

My feeling is contracts should always be honored,

More games are up for grabs right up until the final buzzer, ... That's great, and the fans are loving it.

Now the team's ability to compete is based upon its hockey, front office and team-building skills, not on the team's ability to pay, ... We have emerged as partners with our players and our fans.

I have heard recent comments by the union and players who say they expect a work stoppage of anywhere from a season to a season and a half or even longer,

I believe that I owe it to our fans, our business partners, all the people that work in and about the game, that I'm going to have to make an official announcement. But in some respects, I'm sort of doing that now because I think everybody understands the timetable.

If an official puts his whistle away, they should put the official away for the rest of the playoffs. How long you work in the playoffs is discretionary, and that depends on how well you're working. And if a guy decides he's putting the whistle away, then he's done.

If accommodations have to be made, they'll have to be made in how the tournament is scheduled.

He was a splendid athlete, a passionate player and someone who never hesitated to speak his mind.

Under our current system, there are a number of markets that don't have teams now that could certainly support a team. Having said that, we're not looking to relocate and we're not looking to expand.

just ridiculous to make that assertion. It's very clear that every initiative made in these negotiations have been made by Bob and the players' association.

Lack of complete recovery at 7½ months after injury raises serious questions about his future recovery and his ability to return to competitive hockey.

I thought that in light of the new era that we were ushering in, there would be no better indication of the fact that the players and the league are working together to move things forward that the best indication of that would be to have Ted here. And perhaps even more important, I thought it was important for the governors to hear what's on the players' mind.

I think we will ultimately be judged on our response and the message that it sends. This is not a part of our game, it has no place in our game, and it will not be tolerated in our game.

I respect our players. They're prepared to forgo $1 billion in salaries this year alone and maybe hundreds of millions -- if not a billion -- next year. You've got to respect that. I don't always understand it, but I respect it.

Over the years, thousands of great NHL moments were presented to our fans through the lenses of ESPN cameras. ESPN was a supportive partner, and both the National Hockey League and ESPN enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship. We wish ESPN continued success.

Our primary focus is to get a deal with the union as soon as possible.

Our clubs, our players and our fans want to take action, and they will do so together through their collections, through their donations and through the contributions generated by this special auction.

Phyllis Gretzky's influence on her family no doubt matches Wayne's impact on hockey. She taught tenaciousness and teamwork, hard work and humility, respect for people and for the game. Her legacy is defined daily by the way Wayne, and all her children, have shared those lessons in every area of their lives.

Red Storey brought passion, dedication and enthusiasm to each and every game as an NHL referee.

Our players play all year for their NHL teams. We, as an accommodation to the Olympics, take a break. We're going to go, but to the extent players are injured it becomes a very personal decision as to what the right thing to do is. And I don't think people should second-guess them.

Our member clubs, our officials, our players and our hockey operations people will face many challenges in the weeks and months ahead. My job is to make sure that everyone stays focused on the objective of fostering competitive NHL hockey that features flow, skill, speed, puck movement and skating.

People make too much out of the term drop-dead date. But, at some point, as a practical matter, it's clear that there isn't enough time left. Whether or not it's Friday night or Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, if we aren't actively engaged in drafting documents this weekend, I don't see how we can have a season.

Long term for all franchises, especially for a well-run franchise like the Avalanche, having a predictable, stable system is better.

Mario's exceptional play earned him accolades. His ability to face adversity earned him respect. His devotion to Pittsburgh and the Penguins earned him admiration. His dedication to hockey -- at both the NHL and international levels -- earned him the enduring appreciation and thanks of everyone associated with the game. We celebrate his playing career and wish him the best in the future.

It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document, memorializing our agreement this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of a season,

Who ever believed it could come back this strong? Actually we did.

We're delighted to have XM as our newest satellite radio partner. At this exciting time in the league's history, a new partnership with XM allows us to offer hockey fans unprecedented NHL coverage on the nation's largest satellite radio service.

We're delighted to have XM as our newest satellite radio partner, ... At this exciting time in the league's history, a new partnership with XM allows us to offer hockey fans unprecedented NHL coverage on the nation's largest satellite radio service.

We have a lineup because we owe Atlanta and Phoenix All-Star Games. We have a long to-do list. ... It's hard to predict because we owe two and have a couple in the hopper that were being worked on.

We will return this game to our fans with a promise - we will do everything in our power to be the best we can be and to earn your continued devotion. This was a terrible time for everyone associated with the game. We will do everything we can to make it up to you.

We know this was a terrible time for everyone associated with our game, ... We pledge to our fans that we will do everything we can to make it up to you.

We discussed everything. But again, everybody's first and primary focus is to make a deal with the union as quickly as possible.

We discussed a variety of options and I don't want to focus on any one because it would seriously be misconstrued and be potentially inflammatory,

We plan to play a season however it happens.

We plan to do a lot of things in the community, grass-roots programs, events for people not necessarily coming to the game to get involved. The schedule is going to be elongated to give the players and the NHL an extra day ... It's an opportunity for us to celebrate our game in truly grand Texas fashion.

To use a hockey analogy, for the first time in a long while, the NHL has momentum. I'm determined to see us build upon it and grow this great game,

We understand very clearly the difference between protecting a goaltender from injury and helping the goaltender protect the area of the net from a goal,

We can't thank our fans enough for the record support they showed. For all our clubs, a terrific season was made even better by the enthusiasm and encouragement our fans displayed night after night. We are deeply appreciative.

When owners are concerned about players playing in the Olympics when they're injured, that's a legitimate concern. From our standpoint and from our players' standpoint, our season is the most important (thing).

We had a candid dialogue, ... If Congress, because of what's going on in some other sports, thinks we need to do more, then we'll work with Congress.

This really isn't an issue for us. We're dealing with adults.

While it was a positive and constructive step to get together more formally than we have in the past, there are many more such steps ahead of us. And I prefer they occur behind the scenes, where they belong, so the competition on the ice can get the attention it deserves.

(We) will miss Brett's skill, his scoring touch and his fun-loving attitude, ... He was a splendid athlete, a passionate player and someone who never hesitated to speak his mind.

We've been on record as saying we feel visors should be worn.

Yes, the Olympics are important. But players are in the middle of important careers. This is where they make their livelihood, and as much as we're happy to go to the Olympics, for us, the Stanley Cup's the most important thing.

While there is speculation as to which other NHL personnel may have been involved in this matter, we continue to await guidance in that regard from the New Jersey law enforcement authorities.

When I stood before you in September, I said NHL teams would not play again until our economic problems had been solved,

We go to the Olympics because it's part of our partnership with the players. This was very important to the players. It's not without its issues, but on balance I think it's a good thing to do. It will enhance the hockey tournament.

Even in those cases when there were instances of alleged provocation, we have made it clear that NHL personnel need to do everything possible to avoid a confrontation of fans, and the failure to do so is not acceptable.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Teams might be pushing more because they don't want to go to a shootout.

The view is any team within that range can be competitive, unlike the $20 million to $80 million spread we had before. It enables each team to have the flexibility it needs with young players and returning players.

The National Hockey League will miss Brett's skill, his scoring touch and his fun-loving attitude,

The National Hockey League will miss Brett's skill, his scoring touch, and his fun-loving attitude. He was a splendid athlete, a passionate player, and someone who never hesitated to speak his mind. His achievements further cement the Hull family legacy of hockey greatness.

a framework that has enabled teams in smaller markets to sign top players.

As in other instances involving players, coaches or managers, we hold all members of the NHL family to a higher standard than the general public,

This all adds up to good news for fans of our terrific sport and of the superb athletes who play in the NHL.

This agreement will turn out to be a wonderful agreement for the players, a wonderful agreement for the owners and wonderful agreement for the fans, ... Exactly how this will work will emerge over the coming weeks and months. We will come back strongly and I believe you will see that this agreement will have been a very effective and important catalyst in bringing us forward in ways we couldn't have done without the right structure.

This is about our fans. This is about renewal, ... This is about moving forward, about making the game the best it's ever been.

This multifaceted partnership will create exciting opportunities for our fans and us.

There is no way to measure accurately the number of lives Roger Neilson touched, inside and outside the hockey world, during his lifetime of devotion to our game.

This is yet another way for our fans to connect even more closely with our games,

As we grieve the passing of John McMullen, we celebrate his life of extraordinary accomplishment and the formidable contribution he made to the success of the National Hockey League, ... His foresight brought a franchise to New Jersey and his fervent support helped build the Devils into champions. Our deepest condolences go to his family and to the Devils' organization, which has lost its cherished patriarch.

Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play for 2004-05.

It was a terrific ceremony. And what was particularly impressive was when you look at the array of trophies that were accumulated during the Stanley Cup run. Tampa Bay had quite a season. It was emotional for everybody, including me. It's great to be back.

For me, I prefer to stay in the moment. I'm not looking for a fight. I'm looking for a solution to the economic issues confronting our game. Idle threats will not address these issues. We have a year remaining on the current collective bargaining agreement and, used properly, that is more than ample time in which to negotiate a new agreement. The National Hockey League has been prepared and remains prepared to begin formal collective bargaining negotiations on a moment's notice.

For a variety of reasons, the story has gotten ahead of itself. I won't speculate as to why. We're treating it very seriously. We'll get to the bottom of this.

It's also making things (fiscally) healthier at the AHL level as well as the NHL. I feel it already.

it's our time again, and we'll be better than ever, to come on back and enjoy what we have to offer.

Dallas is not only a great sports town, it has become a great hockey town. This is a franchise that has excelled both on and off the ice, a franchise that has made its own traditions.

Dallas is not only a great sports town, it has become a great hockey town.

not something we're looking at right now. It's not on the radar screen.

It will take time for people to find us, to get into the habit, to get used to what the schedule is.

It will allow hockey fans to see a whole new game and get closer to hockey than ever before. This is so cool. We're really looking forward to it.

They will continue to cover us in a meaningful and significant way, which is what we expect and the fans of this sport deserve. We anticipate continuous highlight coverage of our games.

The fans deserve better in terms of experience. If there was no team here and somebody came to us and said, 'We'd like to bring a team to Nassau Coliseum,' our answer would be, 'Are you kidding?

The cap is working exactly how it was intended.

In many quarters, there was a constant suggestion over the last year that the situation we found ourselves in would result in tremendous damage and that's not the case,

In an increasingly dynamic sports and entertainment marketplace, new technology and entertainment vehicles have impacted the way sports leagues function and how we deliver the NHL experience to our business partners and fans,

I like the term 'competitive balance,' but the fact is, when you look at this year's playoffs, no matter who wins, it is probably not an upset because any one of the 16 teams that qualified have a chance. The regular season was exciting. There were 24 teams in the hunt until just about the end. Then, when you look at these series, the playoffs are off to a strong start.

I know historically the projections we get at this point in the season, they could still be two, three, four percent off. And so what we did is, with some degree of comfort and intuitiveness, said this is where we think we're going to be.

In places where there still are some empty seats, there are fewer empty seats than there were in the past. I didn't expect we'd come back from the work stoppage to 100 per cent of capacity overnight, but the fact that we're up 5 per cent is spectacular. I knew that when we got everything put to bed and fixed the right way, the result would be compelling enough that our fans would respond.

If you want to judge this (TV deal) on one year experience, I don?t think you?re being fair. Over time, we think we are going to see continued improvement on the cable coverage.

I think our guys are consistently well attired and represent this game spectacularly across the country.

Clearly the cap is going up and that's good for everybody.

Clearly, our league and our game have undergone tremendous change. The 2005-06 season is still young, but everyone from casual fans to expert commentators like many of you here today concurs that NHL hockey has been reinvigorated,

His foresight brought a franchise to New Jersey and his fervent support helped build the Devils into champions. Our deepest condolences go to his family and to the Devils' organization, which has lost its cherished patriarch.

His achievements further cement the Hull family legacy of hockey greatness.

His ability to face adversity earned him respect. His dedication to hockey ... earned him the enduring appreciation and thanks of everyone associated with the game.