LAKESIDE – I'm somewhat certain that a few of you may have just spit out your coffee or whatever you were drinking. Some of you may have sat up in your chairs a bit taller for a better view of your paper or screen, but let me explain this week's headline.
I wrote that "Bettman dislikes the Wild." Do I mean that literally? Not in total. I don't believe that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hates Minnesota or the Wild. But after being an NHL and Gary Bettman apologist for the past several years I can hardly come to any conclusion other than I believe he at least holds some internal disdain there.
by Skol-Man14
7 Comments
I mean he’s not wrong. And it’s interesting some of the context that I had never thought about.
His premise is backed by very flimsy evidence.
Ah, some old school weirdo ranting in a paper.
He doesn’t hate MN. There is no larger conspiracy around MN. Everything the league does is to make the biggest pile of money possible, that’s it.
Bettman probably loves the state of hockey, because he knows we’ll stay invested in the Wild while he engineers cup wins for “emerging hockey markets”
> But after being an NHL and Gary Bettman apologist for the past several years
[*the sound of credibility flying out the window*]
My theory is that Bettman shafts Minnesota because they’re a smaller market farm state. We grow players and programs including prep, college players for the league. As a business you’d want players to leave mn to support other owners/markets. If legislators in mn passed a law tomorrow that said mn born players receive state tax free earning from the nhl…we would probably be pretty damn good much to the chagrin of bettman and Daly his partner in crime.