Bettman talks, Forsberg walks?

Sportsnet is reporting that commissioner Gary Bettman "[w]hen grilled on the unbalanced schedule and lack of geographic rivalries, Bettman candidly revealed the prospects of realignment are 'good.'"

TSN's Darren Dreger is reporting that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has begun contacting teams he thinks Peter Forsberg might be interested in playing for if Forsberg decides he would like to move on. The catch?

However, an added twist is word that Forsberg has been asked to meet with Flyers chairman Ed Snider.

Bettman here to stay

As reported last week by ESPN.com's Terry Blount, "people involved with the NHL" approached Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage "about joining the league and eventually replacing commissioner Gary Bettman . . . Bettman's contract expires after the 2007-08 season."

Canadian Press files an article today clearing up some misconceptions about Gary Bettman and his contract status.

"I've watched with fascination some of the newspaper reports having me going on sabbatical shortly," Bettman said prior to the Vancouver Canucks playing the Chicago Blackhawks. "That isn't the case, wasn't the case.

"I think people were somehow under the impression my contract had a year to run and got fixated on that. Those stories were, to say the least, inaccurate."

TSN's Bob McKenzie also checks in on the scrum and sets the facts straight on Bettman's contract status.

Bettman's contract does not expire at the end of next season. Or the one after that.

In fact, an NHL owner tells TSN that Bettman has another five full years left on his deal after this season.

The owners are apparently happy enough with his work that last fall they extended his deal to one year beyond the expiry of the current cba. that will take him through to the summer of 2012.

So it doesn't look as though Bettman will be leaving office any time soon.

This is essentially the same thing I said last week. Off Wing, meanwhile, posts about something buried deeper in the CP article -- a possible change in the points system for next season.

Bettman's 14 years and counting

Yahoo's Dan Wetzel gets his dander up on the upcoming anniversary of Gary Bettman's installation as commissioner of the NHL.

This is Bettman's NHL. Fourteen years, four bankruptcies, three franchise moves, two lockouts, one lost season and no effective leadership.

This is one of the milder quotes from Wetzel, as he picks apart Bettman's NHL.

It's hard to disagree with his point on the whole, but some of the arguments Wetzel makes are just nonsense.

Teams play eight games per season against division foes, or 32 a year against just four teams.

Bettman claimed it would spawn "new" rivalries. Of course, old rivalries such as Detroit-Toronto – two hockey-mad towns separated by a single highway that actually has an exit for Wayne Gretzky Blvd. – no longer play a home-and-home series each season. It's like killing Red Sox-Yankees so Blue Jays-Diamondbacks might catch on.

First, because they play in opposite conferences, Detroit and Toronto would play only two games against each other under the old, balanced schedule. The Red Sox and Yankees -- playing in the same division within MLB's unbalanced schedule -- face each other 19 times each season. Not quite the same, is it?

Second, the reason Detroit and Toronto had a rivalry is because they've been playing each other for almost 80 years. And while I agree that eight regular season games does not a rivalry make, I don't think this is a downfall on the NHL. Familiarity breeds contempt, after all.

Still, true rivalries are only born in one place -- the playoffs. If you meet the same team in the playoffs over and over again, a natural hatred ensues simply because the playoffs are it -- lose and you're done.

When the same team ends your season year after year, well, just ask Dallas and Edmonton what they think of each other. These two teams have absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact that they met in the playoffs every year from 1997 until 2001 and again in 2003 -- and there's certainly no love lost between them.

Love him or hate him, and there's probably many more of the latter, Bettman is here for a while. Fans either need to get on board with him or get out of the way.

Another take on Bettman

James Mirtle points to Stephen Brunt's article in The Globe and Mail which makes the argument that the NHL's Board of Governors are more to blame for the current state of the league than Commissioner Gary Bettman. A valid and worthwhile point to be sure, but for me the best part of the post is a comment left by an anonymous poster featuring this line:

[T]here will be no SANE schedule changes, no SANE expansion team placements, no SANE new team placements, and on and on and on, until the ENTIRE crop of current BOGs either retires or expires and new BOGs with fresh ideas, knowledge of the fan base, knowledge of the game and the foresight to accept smaller inconveniences for the future greater good of the league come out of the woodwork. And don't bother waiting for that to happen anytime soon, even dinosaurs lived for millions of years...

"Even dinosaurs lived for millions of years" -- what a great line. I probably would have said "even Bob Clarke had to resign," but that's me.