When he was hired 31 years ago on the beaches of Florida, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was given a five-year mandate to grow the game – and this THN Archive story illustrates his initial opinions on his job.
For nearly 31 years, Gary Bettman has sat in the ultimate seat of power at the NHL level.
The longtime commissioner officially got the job on Feb. 1, 1993, and in that time, he’s consolidated his powers and been wildly successful in his duties as the messenger of the league’s team owners. And THN was right there at the beginning of Bettman’s NHL days, first featuring him on the cover of our Dec. 25, 1992 edition (Vol. 46, Issue 15). (You can read all of THN’s new Archive by subscribing to the magazine.)
In the feature article titled “Going Through Hoops”, THN editor-in-chief Steve Dryden visited Florida, where Bettman was first hired during a board of governors meeting. Aged 40 at the time, Bettman received a five-year mandate from his new bosses, but he would go on to last through more than three decades, and he’s now stronger in his position than he’s ever been. But he was a big hit with owners from the get-go.
“I think it’s a major turning point in the history of the league,” then-Buffalo Sabres owner Seymour Knox said correctly.
“He has got tremendous energy, he’s young and he’s very spirited,” then-San Jose Sharks’ owner George Gund added regarding Bettman. “He’s quick, he knows what needs to be done (and) what’s needed to go forward.”
Bettman would eventually move on to implement the salary cap that now is second nature to teams and fans. But at the time of this article, he was coy about the financial mechanism.
“The cap is obviously one possibility,” Bettman said in Dryden’s article, “but I am not, as my first official act, deciding that the salary cap, in its current form in the NBA, is exactly what the league needs.”
Soon enough, Bettman decided that the cap was exactly what the league needed.
No matter how you feel about Bettman, you can’t deny he’s done just what the team owners wanted. The league and game have grown under his stewardship, and at age 71, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. His words at the time of his hiring have proven to be accurate – at least, as far as the owners were concerned.
“I don’t want to set a timetable because I hate to over-promise and under-deliver,” Bettman said in 1993. “What I want people to be able to do at any point in time is to look back and say, ‘Things are better today than they were yesterday and they look like they’re going to be better tomorrow than they are today.
He’s delivered on that hope, and NHL team owners are much richer because of his stewardship.
Going Through Hoops
Vol. 46, Issue 15, Dec. 25, 1992
By Steve Dryden
PALM BEACH, Fla. — It could not be more appropriate that the NHL has chosen somebody from basketball to lead its fast break into the future.
League owners gave Gary Bettman an outlet pass by welcoming two mega-dollar franchises and pledging their allegiance to him. Now it’s up to the former National Basketball Association vice-president not to drop the ball.
Bettman, 40, has a five-year mandate as commissioner.
It promises to be a crucial time as the NHL launches its most ambitious effort yet to transform hockey from Canada’s game to North America’s game.
The rest of the world will not be far behind if the NHL has its way.
Sound far-fetched for a league that has just endured a year from hockey hell? You could say that.
But a wave of optimism swept through the NHL board of governors meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 10-11.
The hiring of Bettman, who takes over officially Feb. 1, is an uncommonly shrewd move for the NHL. That plus the addition of two high-powered partners (see expansion story on page 9) came within a period of less than 24 hours.
The governors were so pleased with their work, they adjourned one day early.
“I think it’s a major turning point in the history of the league,” said Buffalo Sabres’ owner Seymour Knox.
Bettman is the NHL’s sixth leader in 76 years. He succeeds interim president Gil Stein and deposed president John Ziegler.
The lawyer and father of three said all the right things at his opening press conference Dec. 11.
“I believe our fan base can and will be increased,” Bettman said. “I believe our television exposure can and will be increased and I believe the opportunities that face this league are virtually limitless.”
The first-ever league commissioner arrives with a reputation for paying attention to detail, excellent negotiating skills and intelligence.
“He has got tremendous energy, he’s young and he’s very spirited,” said San Jose Sharks’ owner George Gund. “He’s quick, he knows what needs to be done (and) what’s needed to go forward.”
Gund has been associated with Bettman through ownership of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and was one of the first people to put forth Bettman’s name.
Bettman is best known for administering the NBA’s hugely successful salary cap. It is credited with helping save the league from extinction. A salary cap, which limits team payrolls, is favored by many owners in the NHL, a league struggling to control increasing salaries.
“The cap is obviously one possibility,” Bettman said, “but I am not, as my first official act, deciding that the salary cap, in its current form in the NBA, is exactly what the league needs.”
Nonetheless, it will surely come up when Bettman begins negotiations with Players’ Association executive director Bob Goodenow on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires Sept. 15, 1993.
“I think that the first and most important issue for a sports league is stability with its players and having a relationship that works,” Bettman said. “Everything else flows from that.”
Among other issues likely to be raised this year are revenue-sharing, arbitration and free agency. The players staged an 11-day strike last spring before agreeing to a two-year deal. Speculation is that unlike last season, the owners will lock out the players rather than let the season proceed if a new CBA isn’t in place by next fall.
Bettman said he will lead the owners at the bargaining table. “I’ll be the guy,” he said. The NHL has retained the same law firm that represents NBA owners in their management-player negotiations.
During the Ziegler administration, there was a sense the president did not possess the authority of other major sports leaders. Bettman said he will be sufficiently empowered to carry out his duties.
“I’m going to have what I need,” he said. “To the extent the constitution needs to be revised it will. I’m going to have powers consistent with the powers of other commissioners of professional leagues.”
The governors arrived in Palm Beach expecting to choose between Bettman and president Gil Stein, but Stein withdrew from the competition.
Stein said he voluntarily stepped aside, although he believed he might have won a showdown with Bettman. Stein will remain president through June and then be reassigned.
“I think (Stein) has done a job far better than any of us could believe,” chairman of the board Bruce McNall said.
A decision on Stein’s pet project - NHL participation in the 1994 Winter Olympic Games - was deferred to January, in part to allow Bettman time to familiarize himself with the issue.
It’s agreed the Dream Teams would provide valuable exposure for the NHL in the United States and Europe, but the problem is in moving heaven and earth to facilitate participation.
One alternative is to aim for the 1998 Games.
Virtually everything about the NHL will be under review by Bettman.
He said the integrity of the game is his paramount concern, but that the league cannot forget that it’s in a fierce battle for the entertainment dollar.
Most assuredly, there will be changes. The most visible among them might be a new logo.
As early as next season, the league could discard its black-and-orange shield (with NHL spelled out diagonally) for a more dynamic logo, perhaps one sporting a hockey player in action.
That would be just one phase of an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at raising hockey’s profile in the U.S.
Such a policy would be a continuation of McNall’s pro-active style of leadership. The Los Angeles Kings’ owner has re-energized a league long strangled by resistance to change.
“Now that (we’ve) broken out of that rut,” Knox said, “(we) have a whole new world, with a capital W, to conquer because of what has happened.”
The NHL has global aspirations, but Bettman said he will adopt a North America-first policy, working to strengthen the game here before focussing on Europe.
Bettman does not have a hockey background but that was deemed inconsequential.
“It doesn’t bother me at all.” said Winnipeg Jets’ general manager Mike Smith. “In-breeding isn’t very healthy, anyway.”
Bettman is the product of a dozen years in the NBA. Hockey owners are hoping he can do for them what his role model, commissioner David Stem, did for basketball.
That will be no easy chore.
“I don’t want to set a timetable because I hate to over-promise and under-deliver,” Bettman said. “What I want people to be able to do at any point in time is to look back and say, Things are better today than they were yesterday and they look like they’re going to be better tomorrow than they are today.’ “
The NHL. dogged for years by image and financial problems, will settle for that.
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