It's not a coincidence that the last decade-plus we haven't had a World Cup because we haven't had anybody to deal with on a long-term stable basis at the union to make decisions that had to be made to do an international tournament, the fact that we're now in a situation where there's a strong union, which I believe is important and a good thing, we can pursue mutual goals and objectives to build the game.

Gary Bettman

Categorized in : Sports

We profoundly regret the suffering this has caused our fans, our business partners and the thousands of people who depend on our industry for their livelihoods.

Gary Bettman

regret motivational inspirational

When you take off that sweater, your jersey, after today's game, you will be the last player in the NHL to ever wear 99. You have always been and you will always be 'The Great One,' and there will never be another.

Gary Bettman

hockey player games

This is a sad, regrettable day that all of us wish could have been avoided.

Gary Bettman

avoided nhl wish

This is a tragedy for the players. Their careers are short and this is money and opportunity they'll never get back.

Gary Bettman

nhl-lockout player opportunity

My message to the kids and our fans is hockey's a great game. There's a lot of hockey being played at all levels. Get involved, do it. We will be back and we will be back better than ever and hopefully as soon as possible. Don't give up on the game. It's too good.

Gary Bettman

dont-give-up giving-up kids

My feeling is that contracts should always be honored. ... This is a situation where a legally binding contract is not being honored and that's not right.

Gary Bettman

contracts should feelings

The Canadian franchises and Canada as a market for NHL hockey has always been a priority for us.

Gary Bettman

nhl hockey priorities

It takes two sides to make a deal, two sides to negotiate and two sides to make it go bad.

Gary Bettman

two-sides sides two

Our economics are not baseball's economics. Our game is not baseball's game. Our owners are not baseball's owners, with one or two exceptions. Our union is not baseball's union. What we do has to be crafted and suited to address hockey, to address the NHL, to address our 30 teams and our 700-plus players.

Gary Bettman

hockey team baseball

While we paid a huge, huge price for that, a long-term CBA is only a good thing if you have a system that's working. And the system is working, working cooperatively with the players' association enables us to do more things to build on that foundation.

Gary Bettman

sports

We're certainly not in position to expand into the East. We've been very candid and up front that if, in fact, we go through an expansion process, the world will know about it.

Gary Bettman

will know candid world

If you want to know how I feel, I'll summarize it in one word - terrible.

Gary Bettman

feel know you want

I couldn't do what I do day-in and day-out if I didn't love the game.

Gary Bettman

day-out game love

There's no question that the Kings have been, are, and can be great hosts for any major events.

Gary Bettman

question great events kings

Market size, particularly when you're dealing with major media markets, has an impact in terms of gathering attention.

Gary Bettman

you media gathering attention

There are lots of come-from-behind wins, games getting tied in the last period, teams going on to win. That, I think, tells the best story. Whether or not some teams have more grit, better chemistry, or more luck or more skill, it's still within the parameters. I think that makes for great storytelling and great interest for our fans.

Gary Bettman

best great win luck

You can have the biggest markets in the world, but if the game isn't exciting, compelling, and competitive, it's not going to generate a lot of interest.

Gary Bettman

going game you world

I don't weigh into politics.

Gary Bettman

weigh politics

Fighting is one of those things that gets tons of attention, far more than it deserves.

Gary Bettman

more things fighting attention

The Olympics are very proprietary about letting others promote and market what's going on, so we shut down for 17 days, and they don't let us do a whole lot in return for giving our players to them. We don't get compensated, and we've never looked for compensation.

Gary Bettman

others down never giving