What we learned from Gary Bettman's media availability on Thursday
Some quick notes on what the NHL Commissioner said when meeting with reporters during the Western Conference Final.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman typically holds his “state of the union” address during the Stanley Cup Final, which will likely happen next week in Edmonton.
But before Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, he held a semi-impromptu, “informal” media availability with reporters in Dallas.
The NHL went so far to keep it informal that they intentionally moved the backdrop away from the stage and podium to a corner, which led to this funny moment with NHL PR seemingly marching for their banner when it was time to return it back to the podium area.
Bettman spoke for roughly 16 minutes, and it was a very typical Bettman media availability.
He’s a lawyer and a well-trained one, he doesn’t speak in absolutes and is very good at giving non-answers.
That’s an important thing to remember when parsing through Bettman’s answers, and I’ll do my best here to give context when possible.
On Russian NHLers, the Olympics, and potential NHL best-on-best competition: Bettman said he’s heard the same as you and I, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled Russian athletes will not be able to compete at the 2026 Olympics. The IIHF has made a similar decision. At this point Bettman said the NHL is respecting those international bodies and their decisions.
On how fans consume the game, the regional sports network (RSN) problem and how certain teams may have stuck the landing better than others: local fans being able to watch their teams has been one of the biggest challenges for teams in recent years a the RSN model has crumbled. Some teams are still stuck with less-than-ideal situations, like the one in Chicago or Denver, while other teams in Dallas and Anaheim have gone to a free over-the-air (well over the web….) streaming option with Victory+. Bettman was adamant that one size doesn’t fit all in this space, and that he sees a future with more national streaming options in general for more teams. Bettman recently met with some of the Stars top brass about how Victory+ has worked and it’s notable that the platform has also already taken over entire league rights for the WHL.
Another outdoor game in Dallas: This is something Stars owner Tom Gaglardi has been pushing for and while Bettman hedged his words, his body language and pregnant pause about the topic all but confirms the league is focused on bringing a second outdoor game to Dallas after the Winter Classic in 2020.
On the arena situation in Dallas, and the Mavericks leaving the Stars alone at AAC: This is a pretty big storyline in Dallas, the Mavericks are in the middle of engineering their way to building their own arena, and the plan at this point doesn’t include the Stars. That would leave the Stars, potentially as the sold tenant of the AAC and Bettman said he’s pretty happy with the business model that would propose. It should also be noted that if the Mavericks were to leave, there becomes more hockey related revenue opportunities for the Stars and the NHL, which would put more money into Bettman’s bosses — NHL owners — pockets.
On playoff LTIR and state taxes: Bettman’s stance on this always seems to be the same, these aren’t the same problems internally that they seem to be in the media. While he admits there are some teams that bring it up, he also — properly — notes that teams without state income tax weren’t a problem for more than a decade and no one complained about them until the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers became good teams.
On the virtual NHL Draft: The NHL is going to a virtual draft this season, like the NFL and NBA, with prospects in one location — Los Angeles — and team representatives to meet said prospects, while team brass are in war rooms back home. Bettman said it was an overwhelming team decision to move from in-person to virtual, but after the event at the Sphere in Las Vegas last June there were some teams who might have changed their minds. Bettman said he’ll have to see how things go, but repeated multiple times it’s on the teams here to make it known to the league what they want.
On the NHL, CHL, and new NCAA rules: This is a CBA thing, but with the changing landscape of amateur hockey, with CHLers now eligible to play in the NCAA, it seems likely that something will have to change — particularly in how rights expire for players drafted from college as opposed to major junior. Bettman said he’d like to see the rules more consistent across the board on that, and he also didn’t like a 15-year-old having to give up NCAA opportunity before under the old system. Again these are CBA and NHL/NHLPA discussions, so Bettman chose his words carefully, but there seems to be something in the works here.