Several years ago, the NHL introduced goal reviews for goaltender interference. The league’s heart was in the right place with the new challenges, but officials’ determinations for what is and isn’t goaltender interference has varied widely. Lately, several overturned goal calls have caused exasperation and heartburn for many coaches, players, and fans.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has led the NHL to three lockouts and is now the man behind disallowing NHL participation in the 2018 Olympics. Bettman, who is wildly unpopular among fans, is universally booed whenever he speaks in front of NHL fans.
But this year, something seemed different. Bettman, dare we say, is having fun with the negativity.
By Ian Oland 4 years ago
PITTSBURGH — The National Hockey League will not participate in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. That was the emphatic statement made by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during his annual state of the league address and media availability before Game One of the Stanley Cup Final. The IIHF and the Players Association had not yet closed the door. But on Monday, Bettman slammed it shut.
“It is not and has not been,” Bettman said regarding what the idea that NHL letting its players go was an “open issue.”
“I hope that was definitive enough,” he added.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had expected this day would come. As a proud Russian and huge national celebrity in the motherland, he wants to compete in the Pyeongchang Games. If you go over his many of his past statements, Bettman’s comments Monday will not alter his decision.
By Chris Gordon 4 years ago
Photo: Elsa
At first, it all went according to plan. The house lights went down at exactly 7 PM. The arena lit up in a sea of orange and white lights glimmering off commemorative wristbands. A tribute to the recently deceased Ed Snider, who founded the Flyers in 1967 and had owned the team ever since, played on the big screen. All of Wells Fargo Center, from the seating bowl to the benches to the press box, applauded a great owner. Then Kate Smith and Lauren Hart sang their trademark “God Bless America” duet. Within a minute of puck drop, the Flyers had the first goal, wildly sliding into the boards in celebration. The roar from the fans was booming. This was their night for their owner.
“Ed was a dynamic visionary who turned Philadelphia into one of the great hockey towns in the world,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before the game in a heartfelt press conference. “He believed in excellence — and in this team, the Flyers.”
But in the end, that team let him down.
By Chris Gordon 5 years ago
Friday morning after I did some chores, I threw it on NHL Network ahead of the Winter Classic. “I’m sure something interesting must be going on in the pregame coverage,” I said to myself, hoping for the best.
I was greeted by this face.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is universally disliked. Tonight, as he walked out to start the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Florida, Panthers fans booed him mercilessly. It’s soooooo awkward. Also funny. Definitely funny. Excruciatingly funny.
Reps. John Katko, Pat Meehan, Erik Paulsen and Tom Emmer pose with Lawmakers teammate Peter Bondra after defeating the Lobbyists in the annual Congressional Hockey Challenge. (Photos by Chris Gordon)
When you hear that someone famous is a hockey fan, it has novelty, something not reserved for fans of baseball, basketball, and football. While we may be absorbed in the community, hockey is the smallest of all major professional sports in the United States. Many Americans have never watched it. Fewer have tried it. On Wednesday, however, it was featured at American’s center of power. In the afternoon, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman went to the Hill to meet with members of Congressional Hockey Caucus and announce Thurgood Marshall scholarship recipients. In the evening, four of those congressmen played in the seventh annual Congressional Hockey Challenge. Representatives John Katko (R-NY), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Erik Paulsen (R-MN), and Pat Meehan (R-PA) competed for the Lawmakers. They were joined on their team by former Capitals player Peter Bondra (RW-Slovakia) as well as administration officials, congressional staffers and Canadian Parliament member Gord Brown.
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was in Washington DC yesterday. While he was in town, he took in the Caps-Pens rivalry game from the owner’s box at Verizon Center. Bettman also held court with the local media.
When asked about the growth of hockey in the DC Area over the last decade, Bettman marveled at the job both Alex Ovechkin and Ted Leonsis have done. Seconded.
“It’s the Ovechkin era and there’s an era that’s a little bit longer than that one and I would call that the [Ted] Leonsis era,” Bettman said beaming. “I think Ted’s ownership of this franchise has been nothing short of phenomenal in terms of how the community has been engaged and in terms of how fans have connected with and interacted with this franchise; the stability of ownership and management has been very important.”
Then it got weird. Bettman credited (I think) definitely-not-Washington Capital Evgeni Malkin.
By 6 years ago
Bondra scores late in the game. (Photos by Chris Gordon)
This year’s NHL Winter Classic has not had much buildup. Aside from the game, there isn’t much going on. The lack of an official alumni game — which had become a tradition at Winter Classics — angered and vexed many fans. Washington cancelled this year’s Caps Convention, saying they wanted to focus on Winter Classic events and has been hyping its former players all year long, with this season being the team’s fortieth anniversary. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and Caps owner Ted Leonsis have all given competing answers as to why the event didn’t occur. Nevertheless, a group of former Caps, media members, and As Seen on TV people like NBC’s Washington Amelia Segal, took to the Nationals Park ice on Tuesday afternoon as part of an informal skate that came together in the past few weeks.
“I guess we all unfairly assumed that there would be one,” Alan May, who played in the game, said of an official alumni game, noting that Rod Langway and numerous former Blackhawks and Capitals expressed interest. “There’s nothing that can be done about it.”
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis during an event last week in Southeast DC. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)
It’s been 40 years since the Capitals first took the ice in the 1974-75 season. The team has been celebrating the occasion incessantly, honoring the franchise’s best players with video tributes that air every night at Verizon Center and when CSN+ doesn’t have anyone in studio for the late game.
Despite the trumpeting of their former players, the Capitals will not be hosting an alumni game prior to the 2015 Winter Classic, which heretofore had been a tradition. According to the NHL, this was a decision made by the Caps. Speaking to Capitals season ticket holders last week, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly suggested one possible reason for the move: the League didn’t agree to a deal with Nationals Park until September.
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago
