“No commissioner has more power over his sport than Gary Bettman”

Dose
Crédit: Gary Bettman speaks to media at Stanley Cup Final press conference.

The NHL is doing well and is in good financial health, and one of the reasons for this success is Gary Bettman. The commissioner has been in office since 1993, and has helped turn the National League into a true side-by-side league, with several expansions into the southern and western U.S. Of the four commissioners at the helm of the four biggest sports leagues in North America, Bettman is by far the longest-serving, and according to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Toughts podcast, the one with the most power over his sport

Would Bettman, after 32 years at the helm of the NHL, have too much control over the league and the owners? Friedman says that would be one of the reasons why Fenway Sports Group put the Pittsburgh Penguins club up for sale for $1.75 billion.

Fenway Sports Group also owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC and RFK Racing, and the organization is used to having more control over its teams. The departure of David Beeston, the group’s leading hockey fan, also contributed to the loss of interest in an NHL team.

Nonetheless, Fenway Sports Group will make a good move with the team, which the company acquired in November 2021 for $900 million and could resell for almost double that amount four years later.

[content-ads]No worse investment!However, one might wonder about Bettman’s stranglehold on the NHL. Does the commissioner have too much control over his sport?

And if so, is this a problem for the NHL? We know he can be stubborn at times, as we saw with the Phoenix Coyotes, but on the whole, most of his decisions have been beneficial to the League, so it’s hard to be critical of all his work.

However, after 32 years at the helm of the National League, it might be time to bring a new, younger vision to hockey [spacer title=’Overtime’] – Montreal CF win.

– Magnifique!

Dante

– The winning goal.

– A 62-yard punt!

– A Québécois podium.