Bettman, Goodenow must go

ESPN.COM ^ | Terry Frei

[airborne]

This is not going to be a hatchet job.

Many of the denunciations of Gary Bettman's tenure as National Hockey League commissioner rely on tired, clichéd and unreasonable assumptions from those who can't reconcile the sport's roots and traditions with modern reality. I often have been a Bettman defender over the years, and in many ways will continue to be.

Yet this also is inescapable: For the good of the NHL, the game and even of Bettman himself, the commissioner should step down once a new collective bargaining agreement is signed.

That would allow the relaunch and the healing to take place without his lightning-rod presence as a distraction. The same goes for NHL Players Association head Bob Goodenow, whose dogmatic and principled inflexibility on the salary cap issue was admirable yet ultimately unproductive given the likely terms of the upcoming settlement.

Bettman brought the NHL into the 21st century, literally and figuratively, which was quite a leap considering that on many fronts the league was operating in the 19th century when he took over.

Primarily because his lockout strategy "worked" – the league brought the NHLPA to its knees, forcing the union to accept the unacceptable – Bettman can leave with the reputation of having obtained what the hard-liners demanded and having "won" this battle.

He can retire on top, so to speak.

All along, he said the system needed to be fixed, and only a blinkered fool wouldn't admit that a hybrid salary cap/luxury tax system with a ceiling in the neighborhood of $36 million is a victory for Bettman and the owners. Of course, that raises the question of whether franchises whose payroll costs will be drastically cut will roll back ticket prices – and roll them back significantly, not just with slight and mostly cosmetic markdowns

[airborne]

Done!

[airborne]

I think your sense of humor musta done blowed away somewhere.

[Hat-Trick]

Hockey Ping!

I hear they are getting close to a deal. This blog is a pretty interesting read.

Freep mail or ping me if you want on or off the Hockey Ping List.

[TheyConvictedOglethorpe]

Of course, that raises the question of whether franchises whose payroll costs will be drastically cut will roll back ticket prices – and roll them back significantly, not just with slight and mostly cosmetic markdowns.

Nope, I'm sure the four-hundred-odd people who still want to go to the UC to see the Clippers, er, Blackhawks will still have to hand a couple C-notes to good ol' Dollar Bill.

[airborne]

Cool blog! I hope we hear something soon.

[Hat-Trick]

Supposedly this guy has alot of inside contacts - over 400 email addresses from NHL'ers and NHLPA people. Since he ensures their anonimity, they trust him enough to send him the "inside" rumors and gossip.

If you have a minute, FReepmail me the recent additions that you've added to the ping list, and I'll put them in.

FRegards,

H-T