Gary Bettman Quotes

"From as early as I can remember, I was focused on becoming a lawyer."

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

"All have used the economic opportunity of a new arena project to transform their cities into the future."

"I think it's fairly clear that playing hockey isn't the same as playing football."

"We encourage the growth of women's hockey."

"I'm not here to win a popularity contest."

"I think there's always a line between what is parody in good fun in chanting and what is intended to belittle certain segments of society."

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

"The relationship between concussions and the asserted clinical symptoms of C.T.E. remains unknown."

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

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"I don't weigh into politics."

"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."

"I don't feel that it's either necessary or appropriate for me to comment on what the NFL either says or does."

"Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the 'fighters,' meaning these guys would not have NHL careers."

"Let's put it this way: I would consider my skiing ability to be far superior to my skating ability. And, in fact, my 10-year-old grandson, who's a AAA squirt, can skate circles around me."

"My rooting interest these days is first and foremost competitive hockey, and secondly in officials not making a mistake."

"I don't really think about having a retrospective on my high-school years. It's not something that, from a positive or a negative standpoint, is a driving force in my life."

"NHL clubs have not wanted to go to the Olympics, and we have been saying that for months if not years."

"NHL clubs don't like having to shut down at a critical part of the season and disrupt our season for anything, let alone a situation where we're not given an opportunity to promote our presence."

"If the IOC would move the Olympic hockey tournament to the summer, that would be great. We'd be thrilled to have our players participate because then it doesn't affect our season."

"A good fan base has developed around the Hurricanes, and I see the opportunity for continued growth for this franchise in the future."

"I don't see the Hurricanes relocating, period. I think the Triangle is a terrific market."

"Sports, as a media property, is increasingly valuable because it's something you have to have live. As a result, we're a better touch point for sponsors and advertisers because our commercials typically don't get zapped out."

"Whatever you do needs to be sustainable over time, and taking the money in the short term and taking it in a bubble - like buying an Internet stock in 2000 - may not be sustainable."

"Because of the way my words get scrutinized, I have to use a level of precision so people don't accuse me of misleading them."