Gary Bettman: A Cancer to the NHL

Over the past week we have the seen the likes of Ian White and now, Kris Versteeg voice their displeasure not just with the lockout, but also with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. White and Versteeg have both stated that they believe that the NHL has gone down hill with Bettman at the helm. So, this has brought up the question, when the lockout finally comes to an end will we see the end to the Bettman era?

Since Bettman first took the reigns of the NHL back in 1993 the NHL has seen the players get locked out 3 times the second most of any professional sports league next to the NBA. The NHL has seen lockouts in the 1994-95 season (which saw a reduced season of 48 games), in 2004-05 which saw a cancellation to the entire season, and now this season (which as of Thursday has seen the cancellation of the first 68 days of the season).  

Kris Versteeg this past Monday on TSN's radio show stated that Bettman has been a cancer to the game and that means he must go. 

"You do try to look at the best case scenarios moving forward once the CBA does get done and you gotta look for the cancers and you gotta cut out the cancer."

Versteeg continues, "I think when you look at Bill Daly and Gary Bettman, they have been polluting the game for far too long"

Versteeg's comments came just days after Detroit Red Wings defenseman Ian White voiced his opinion about Bettman, being a little more blunt about the Commissioner stating, "I personally think he's an idiot"

White, continued  saying, "since, he's come in he's done nothing, but damage the game."

Versteeg also believes that those who have suffered while Bettman has been in charge are the fans. "The fans have been left with too many bad tastes in their mouths for too many year and I think when this is all said and done it will be a good time to finally make that happen." 

It is no secret that Bettman is not liked by fans of the game. Bettman is regularly booed at games by fans. Some die-hard Bettman haters have even started  websites voicing their displeasure with the Commissioner and the hopes of his firing. These sites incude www.firebettman.com and www.garybettmansucks.com, which have brought fans together to talk about... well I'm sure you get the picture. What may also infuriate fans and players alike is the fact that over the past eight years Bettman's salary has more than doubled to over $7,500,000; money paid to him by the NHL.   

The hate for Bettman has even gone so far as people suggesting that he no longer hand out the Stanley Cup or the Prince of Wales Trophy (awarded to the winner of the Eastern Conference) and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (awarded to the winner of the Western Conference) because fans tend to boo Bettman instead of recognizing the winners who deserve the celebration. 

In all it seems that Bettman is obviously not a well liked man and being in the driver seat of the NHL lockout is not helping his popularity. Although, many hope that Bettman will be replaced following a resolution to the lockout, until then those not pleased with his actions will have to continue to live with this so-called "cancer" until it can be removed.  

For more information check out TSN's article:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=409856

Follow me on Twitter: @acanadiangame

Hall of Fame Class 2013

This past Monday saw the induction of another 4 of the greatest players to ever play the game into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Hall saw the likes of Mats Sundin, Joe Sakic, Adam Oates, and Pavel Bure take their spot among the game's greats. Now with that in mind lets take a look at some of the players who may get their call come next year.

Brendan Shanahan (HFD/DET/NJ/STL/NYR)

Brendan Shanahan was a dominate force on the ice and in his prime was one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the league. Shanahan ranks 11th on the all-time goals list with 656 to his name. He ranks 25th on the all time points list and racked up 100+ penalty minutes in 17 seasons. Shanahan played over 1,500 games in the NHL and on top of that had the chance to represent his country on several occasions including capturing gold as a member of Team Canada during the 2002 Olympics.

Rob Blake (LAK/COL/SJ)

Rob Blake was one of the game's most complete defensemen. Blake could do it all, he could put the puck in the net or he could put players through the boards. Blake captained the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks and finally hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche. Blake finished his career with 777 points in 1,270 career games, finding the back of the net 240 times. Blake took part in 6 NHL all-star games, won gold with Canada in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and was fortunate enough to win the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 1997-98. 

Chris Chelios (MON/CHI/DET/ATL)

Chris Chelios was another one of the game's great defensemen in his prime. Chelios played both a physical and offensive game finishing his career with 185 goals and 948 points. Chelios played in 11 all-star games and ranks 12th all-time in penalty minutes with 2,891. Chelios will also go down having played 1,651 games (5th all-time) and for 26 seasons tying a record set by Gordie Howe. His 1,651 games is also the most by a defenseman. Chelios captained the Blackhawks from 1995-1999 and won 3 Norris Trophies and 3 Stanley Cups along the way.

Eric Lindros (PHI/NYR/TOR/DAL)

Eric Lindros burst into the league as by far the one of the greatest and most talented players to play in the NHL. He had size, physicality, and soft hands. Lindros was expected to finish his career among the greats, and although he put up impressive numbers ultimately lingering injuries plagued Lindros' career. Lindros suffered from several concussions during his career, his most severe coming from a devastating hit from Scott Stevens. Lindros would finish his career with 865 points in 760 games and a MVP title in 1994-95. Lindros could have put up much higher numbers in his career had injuries not plagued him, but he was still talented enough to be seen as one of the league's greats.

Curtis Joseph (STL/EDM/TOR/DET/CAL/PHO)

Curtis Joseph or "Cujo" as the fans called him was one of the top goalies of his time. Although Joseph never lead the league in major categories he was always among the best in the league, being consistent throughout his career. Joseph ranks 4th all-time in wins and 5th all-time in games played. Cujo was part of the 2002 Olympic hockey team that won gold despite only playing in one game. Joseph was a 3-time all-star and was the recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 1999-2000 for his leadership and his on and off ice contributions to his community. Joseph is tied for 22nd on the all-time shutouts list with 51 and should definetlly be a consideration for the Hall.

Alexander Mogilny (BUF/VAN/NJ/TOR)

Alexander Mogilny may be on the list because he is my favourite player, but he has also put up the numbers to make it to the Hall. Mogilny finished his career with 1,032 points in 990 games. He scored 437 goals, with his most impressive year coming in 1992-1993 when he scored 76 goals and 127 points in 77 games. Mogilny won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2002-2003 as the league's most gentlemanly player while also playing at a skilled level of play. He is tied for the NHL record for the fastest goal to start a game, scoring just 5 seconds in to a game. In 2000 Mogilny was a member of the Stanley Cup winning New Jersey Devils. Mogilny will also be remembered for his part in the 1996 World Championship when Russia despite a dominating performance lost in the semi-finals. It will be remembered because Mogilny was part of, what many believed to be the greatest forward line ever assembled, playing on a line with Pavel Bure and Sergei Federov.

All 6 of these players have achieved a lot throughout their careers and may one day be immortalized in the Hall of Fame. Who do you think will make the class of 2013?

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A Deal: Are We Close or Not?

This week has been full of optimism from everyone still following the on-going battle to see a resolution to the NHL lockout. The lockout that has now claimed the first month of the season. This week the NHLPA and the NHL met four times and for the first time in weeks it seems that for once both sides were actually negotiating rather than giving each other ultimatums. 

However, after the negotiations that lasted nearly 20 hours, through Tuesday-Thursday ,showed much promise the meeting that lasted 4.5 hours on Friday has put a damper on what looked to have been an impending solution to the lockout. The biggest issue that seems to be keeping both sides from coming up with a deal is the proposed "make whole" aspect. "Make whole" is what the players have been arguing for since the beginning of negotiations, it outlines the belief that players should have the contracts that they are currently signed to honoured in full. 

The NHL is hoping to put caps on both how much players can make a year and also a cap of 5 years as the max length players can be signed to under one contract. So, with these new rules being pushed by the NHL, the NHL has suggested it would like to avoid paying the players the money that have already been signed to. The NHL also wants to fix the ways some players have structured their contracts lately. In the past few years we have seen the likes of Ilya Kovalchuck and Shea Weber to name a few, structure their contracts in a way where contracts exceed 10 years and see players get paid large amounts in the beginning of the contract and then lower amounts towards the end. These contracts have not been taken kindly by the NHL and the owners because they realize that in many of these cases the players will not play the entire duration of the contract, but will still continue to be paid. 

The negotiations this week were looking very promising, TSN's James Duthie even tweeted Wednesday night saying someone who had been in the room during the talks said "there's potential". These thoughts have since gone down hill.

Another source of controversy that came out of the meetings this week was the accusation that NHLPA director Donald Fehr had been withholding information from the players, such as proposals that NHL had made. This has been since been dismissed by both Fehr and several players.

All in all this week was a positive to many as at least both sides continue to negotiate and try to hammer out a deal, but until then fans will wait anxiously with the hopes that a deal is a lot closer than it was a week ago. 

For an in-depth look at the meetings and the concept of "make whole" check out TSN insider Pierre Lebrun's view on this week's meetings. 
http://watch.tsn.ca/...3633#clip803633