Gary Bettman

The NHL was up against the wall headed into the 2004-05 season. Only three or four teams made money the previous year. 

Some had lost more than $25 million. 

Good job Gary Bettman! I finally get to say that. The long-term contracts had been used to circumvent the salary cap for the last several years, but Bettman may have finally put an end to that.

The NHL has done a terrible job trying to figure out which contracts are cheating the salary cap and which are not. Starting last year, however, the NHL has done a decent job destroying these contracts.

Eric Lindros.

Perhaps no player infuriates Canadians and NHL fans alike than the London, ON native who once spurned not just an entire team but a province and culture as well.

June 22 marks the 19th anniversary of the dubious 1991 NHL draft that changed the face of the NHL forever. It ended so badly, that the team for which he never played ultimately got relocated to the United States.

Hence I write this article with a heavy heart in memorial.

With the passing of this year’s NHL season, many are already missing hockey at its finest.

In fact, this year more people are missing it than ever before.

It was a record-setting year for the National Hockey League, not only did the business sales and events skyrocket, but the TV ratings also bloomed in a country where hockey usually takes a backseat to baseball and football.

And maybe it still does, however, its numbers this year shed light on healthy growth of the hockey audience in the area.

Gary Bettman recently appeared on Hockey Night In Canada to be interviewed by the CBC's Ron McLean.

What followed was a sometimes nasty exchange between the two mostly resulting in Bettman being defensive.

While the segment appeared to have ended, the cameras kept rolling as the two men continued to talk:

McLean:  So why do you think you are the most hated man in hockey?

Bettman:  I am not the most hated man in hockey.  Who says that? You?

McLean: Well, everybody does...

Bettman: Who is everybody?  You?

Depending on who you believe, there are rumors on the Internet that an announcement could soon be made on or around June 18 concerning a future rebirth of the Quebec Nordiques to the NHL and Quebec City.

While most of the chatter has been hearsay, here is an update on the Quebec situation from today's Toronto Globe and Mail. Quebec Dream Nears Reality.

With the announcement that the Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field for the 2011 Winter Classic, and that Washington will host its own in the next few years, it becomes painfully clear that Gary Bettmann only knows how to milk his two favorite publicity cows.

On Friday afternoon, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league would host it's annual Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2011 in Pittsburgh, PA, and would feature the host Penguins and Washington Capitals.

Bettman also indicated that the Capitals would host a game in the next 2-3 years as well.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced, formally, the league's plans for the 2011 Winter Classic(s) during his state of the union address before the Stanley Cup Finals begin.

It will be between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, and will be held at Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

The announcement, which even Bettman joked was one of the league's worst kept secrets, continued to raise eyebrows from the assembled media in Chicago.

And it should.

Way back in 1859, Charles Dickens, fascinated by the French Revolution, decided to write a novel that showed the similarities and contrasts of English London and French Paris during that time, and produced the epic novel, "A Tale Of Two Cities."