Bettman is sticking around

This is incredibly depressing. I never thought I would find myself to be the type of hockey fan that becomes interested in the realm of the business behind the NHL, but it’s tough to stay outside of something you enjoy so much. The fact that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman[wiki] is having his contract extended is like nails on a chalkboard.

There is nothing that the guy says that makes you feel safe about the future of the league. He could call me up to say that I have season tickets to all NHL games for life, and I’d still be honked off. Maybe it’s that he’s annoying, but I tend to think it’s some bad business on his end.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Gary Bettman says he isn’t leaving his job as NHL commissioner anytime soon.

“I’ve watched with fascination some of the newspaper reports having me going on sabbatical shortly,” Bettman said Wednesday night. “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.”

Bettman’s contract runs through the 2010-11 season. It runs parallel with the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and its players union that resolved the labor fight that cost the NHL its 2004-05 season.

There have been reports some owners are losing patience with Bettman. Some others are frustrated with the current U.S. broadcast contract with Versus, a cable network formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, that is unknown to many people. Others are upset with the current unbalanced NHL schedule, which means some superstars don’t play in certain markets for three years.

In a meeting with reporters, Bettman defended the NHL’s contract with Versus and said the NHL will change when owners can agree on a solution that “makes sense to everybody,” The Canadian Press reported.

The CP reported Bettman said he is confident that Versus can grow hockey in the U.S. over the long haul, noting that the network is now seen in 72 million households, up from 64 million. [espn]

How can you build hockey in the states when you push the games on a network that not very many people have and is new to a lot of people’s vocabulary? How much more on the back burner can you get? Just because the network can be seen, that doesn’t mean people are going to watch.

I had some hopes that the Bettman era was coming to a close. He isn’t the only guy pulling the strings here, but nothing completely changes unless he wants it to. The schedule, rules, and TV coverage. I’m not a genius when it comes to the world of sports business, but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that things have been for the better, especially for hockey in the U.S.