3.
That's the number of NHL lockouts under commissioner Gary Bettman.
Gary Bettman's tenure as commissioner is a controversial one. Most people just hate Bettman for the sake of hating him. Canadians hate him for bringing hockey to the south. American hockey fans hate him for lockouts and other things. And every other non-hockey fan just uses him as the target of all their jokes, how he's ruining a sport that nobody cares about.
The jury is still out with regard to whether or not this is deserved hate (Puck Daddy wrote an excellent article debating this very topic on Bettman's 20th year anniversary) but however you look at it, there will always be hate for this man.
If you're a hockey-fan-from-a-distance, you may know Gary Bettman only as the guy who presents the Stanley Cup to the winning captain at the end of each season. This presentation is usually equipped with heartfelt boos emanating from the stands.
There is an interesting debate going around though, first starting with a claim by TSN sports anchor Dan O' Toole.
O' Toole said that in his opinion, he thinks that at the next awarding of the Stanley Cup (whenever it'll be), Gary Bettman should NOT be the one presenting it.
Let's take a step back and look at this.
Bettman has been handing out the Stanley Cup ever since he came into office in 1993 (being the first commissioner in NHL history). Every single year since he's been the one presenting the Stanley Cup to the winning captain.
There's no question that Gary Bettman isn't a popular man amongst NHL fans right now. He wasn't since day 1. And there's no question that he hasn't much helped this caused and hatred for him is at an all time high. The league was doing better than it ever was (who do we have to thank for that, by the way) and he helped halt all progress with yet another lockout. [just as a side note, Bettman and Fehr have had a hand in 64% of games lost to work stoppages since 1972 (Fehr was with the MLB and Bettman with the NBA). Yikes]
To me, I think Bettman will continue this tradition of getting booed every year as he doles out the Cup. He's shown in the past that he's not scared of the fans and it's something he feels honoured to do.
That being said, I think it's a fun idea to play with.
So here are my top 3 ideas of who should give out the Stanley Cup from now on:
4. Scot Beckenbaugh
The hero himself. The man who saved our NHL season. He deserves it.
3. The owner of the team
This doesn't apply to every team out there but many teams out there have owners who built teams from the ground up.
As a Devils fan, I've seen Lou Lamoriello plan out the Devils future multiple times and has somehow produced many winning teams with different parts.
Those types of owners presenting the ultimate prize to their brain work would be a pretty cool spectacle.
2. The former Stanley Cup winning captain
How awesome could this idea potentially be? Imagine the scene in 2009 when Nicklas Lidstrom skates out to centre ice in Detroit to present the trophy to Sidney Crosby!
Or in 1995 when Mark Messier has to hand the cup over to the Hudson River Rival New Jersey Devils and captain Scott Stevens.
There are countless fun scenarios that could be played out that'd make things freakin' awesome.
1. A legendary player from that franchise
This one I think would be the coolest.
With a lot of young fans following the NHL, I think some teams' history is being overlooked. New Dallas Stars fans might love Loui Eriksson and Kari Lehtonen but might not appreciate Mike Modano and Eddie Belfour as much as they should.
Vancouver Canuck fans might obsess over the Sedin twins but overlook Trevor Linden or Pavel Bure.
A legendary player from a franchise presenting the Stanley Cup to his team represents several things. It represents how the league is changing, getting faster and younger. But it also represents a passing of the torch. Your father will remember the days of Mario Lemieux skating around in Pittsburgh and it'll mean that much more when Lemieux hands Sidney Crosby the cup.
That's the number of NHL lockouts under commissioner Gary Bettman.
Gary Bettman's tenure as commissioner is a controversial one. Most people just hate Bettman for the sake of hating him. Canadians hate him for bringing hockey to the south. American hockey fans hate him for lockouts and other things. And every other non-hockey fan just uses him as the target of all their jokes, how he's ruining a sport that nobody cares about.
The jury is still out with regard to whether or not this is deserved hate (Puck Daddy wrote an excellent article debating this very topic on Bettman's 20th year anniversary) but however you look at it, there will always be hate for this man.
If you're a hockey-fan-from-a-distance, you may know Gary Bettman only as the guy who presents the Stanley Cup to the winning captain at the end of each season. This presentation is usually equipped with heartfelt boos emanating from the stands.
There is an interesting debate going around though, first starting with a claim by TSN sports anchor Dan O' Toole.
O' Toole said that in his opinion, he thinks that at the next awarding of the Stanley Cup (whenever it'll be), Gary Bettman should NOT be the one presenting it.
Let's take a step back and look at this.
Bettman has been handing out the Stanley Cup ever since he came into office in 1993 (being the first commissioner in NHL history). Every single year since he's been the one presenting the Stanley Cup to the winning captain.
There's no question that Gary Bettman isn't a popular man amongst NHL fans right now. He wasn't since day 1. And there's no question that he hasn't much helped this caused and hatred for him is at an all time high. The league was doing better than it ever was (who do we have to thank for that, by the way) and he helped halt all progress with yet another lockout. [just as a side note, Bettman and Fehr have had a hand in 64% of games lost to work stoppages since 1972 (Fehr was with the MLB and Bettman with the NBA). Yikes]
To me, I think Bettman will continue this tradition of getting booed every year as he doles out the Cup. He's shown in the past that he's not scared of the fans and it's something he feels honoured to do.
That being said, I think it's a fun idea to play with.
So here are my top 3 ideas of who should give out the Stanley Cup from now on:
4. Scot Beckenbaugh
The hero himself. The man who saved our NHL season. He deserves it.
3. The owner of the team
This doesn't apply to every team out there but many teams out there have owners who built teams from the ground up.
As a Devils fan, I've seen Lou Lamoriello plan out the Devils future multiple times and has somehow produced many winning teams with different parts.
Those types of owners presenting the ultimate prize to their brain work would be a pretty cool spectacle.
2. The former Stanley Cup winning captain
How awesome could this idea potentially be? Imagine the scene in 2009 when Nicklas Lidstrom skates out to centre ice in Detroit to present the trophy to Sidney Crosby!
Or in 1995 when Mark Messier has to hand the cup over to the Hudson River Rival New Jersey Devils and captain Scott Stevens.
There are countless fun scenarios that could be played out that'd make things freakin' awesome.
1. A legendary player from that franchise
This one I think would be the coolest.
With a lot of young fans following the NHL, I think some teams' history is being overlooked. New Dallas Stars fans might love Loui Eriksson and Kari Lehtonen but might not appreciate Mike Modano and Eddie Belfour as much as they should.
Vancouver Canuck fans might obsess over the Sedin twins but overlook Trevor Linden or Pavel Bure.
A legendary player from a franchise presenting the Stanley Cup to his team represents several things. It represents how the league is changing, getting faster and younger. But it also represents a passing of the torch. Your father will remember the days of Mario Lemieux skating around in Pittsburgh and it'll mean that much more when Lemieux hands Sidney Crosby the cup.
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