The Winnipeg Jets invited Gary Bettman to attend Tuesday's game against the visiting St. Louis Blues.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is set to take in the game between the St. Louis Blues and the host Winnipeg Jets from Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night.
But before any of that, the veteran commissioner met - alongside NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly - with the local media in a 15-minute question and answer period, before heading down to the ice surface to speak to fans gathered at the rink early for the Central Division showdown.
Bettman's conversation with media was encouraging, hopeful and positive. He shared praises of Jets' performance, their ability to keep star players around and the fact that the Jets have remained a salary cap team.
And despite the fact that season ticket numbers are down nearly 4,000 fans from the original 13,500 at the team's relocation, Bettman said some of that may have been thanks to True North's designed rollout of the initial season ticket drive.
"If they had to do it over, maybe they would have held back four or five thousand tickets, and sold them as part of corporate packages," Bettman said. "They didn’t, but that’s history. We are who we are so we move forward.”
After team president and alternate governor Mark Chipman went on the record last week in a piece with Chris Johnston of The Athletic on the Jets' struggling attendance numbers, True North Sports + Entertainment invited the polarizing figure to come downtown and speak with fans on the importance of ticket sales, attendance and fan support in relation to the longevity of the NHL's second stint in Winnipeg.
But through the entirety of his 15-minute conversation, Bettman maintained the fact that the Jets were a team run the right way. Daly even exclaimed Winnipeg is "a model franchise".
"We wish we had 32 of these", Daly shared.
Bettman, however, did hint at the need of community support, and the fact that Winnipeg has some, but needs more.
"What you want to do is have a franchise that has robust support from all of the places that support comes from," he said.
"Whether it's the business community buying tickets, whether it's the business community advertising and promoting and activating around the club and, in that regard, the club has gotten, I believe, very robust support.
With the Jets' average attendance back on the rise since the all-star break, Bettman dropped the dagger:
"And by the way, I think the players want to see the building full. You know, for somebody who spent a few weeks in the bubble watching our game in empty buildings, our players, our game draws an enormous amount of energy from fans in the building. Having a packed building obviously gives you more energy that isn't packed."
Sure, the Jets may be owned by one of the richest men in North America, Bettman still believes that David Thompson, Chipman and company do want their fans to provide support. And the best way of doing that, is by producing ticket sales and strong attendance numbers.
"Just because you perceive somebody to have resources, the fact is that this is a collaborative effort and people who own franchises want to understand that they're being supported," Bettman said of Thompson and True North. "It's a joint effort. It's not one sided."
And to those needing motivation to attend games? Bettman made it abundantly clear.
“Get over your anxiety and come to games," he said. "There's no better way to deal with anxiety than rooting for your hometown team.
He ended his availability with a joke when asked when the NHL Draft would ever come to Winnipeg, despite the league is decentralizing its annual selection process in the near future.
"Once the hotel across the street finally gets built."