Latest / Bleacher Report / Gary Bettman Joins NHL on TNT & Shuts Down Biz s Florida Teams State Tax Question

Transcript

Gary Bettman Joins NHL on TNT & Shuts Down Biz s Florida Teams State Tax Question · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I'm happy to be joined now by the commission of
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: the NHL coupall clicks.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: For the cum mesh.
• 0:03
  Speaker 3: Let's goal. Everybody on their best behavior anyway.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Thanks, Thanks, We're not.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Worried about when.
• 0:11
  Speaker 4: You do realize we call it the bet phone now,
• 0:13
  Speaker 4: we don't call it the battle phone. Whenever it gets
• 0:16
  Speaker 4: a little bit of line, it's the red light's coming on.
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: And then I run the other way.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: I have his number, I know where he is at
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: all times.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: He's part of the EMOCHI gan. He loves the emojis
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: a little fun fact for the people at home.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Don't sorry, back in the corners, Lol.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: We're back here in Florida. That's now six straight finals
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: involving a team in Florida. Three of the four final
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: four teams warm Weather Modern Modern Hockey Cities. But we
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: also got five Canadian teams in the playoffs. That contrasts.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Is that something you look at and you're like, all right,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: this is something different, but it's something that pleads the league.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: It's all about our competitive balance. And when you look
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: at the regular season and we had three teams who
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: didn't know their playoff status till they played their last game,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: and year after year. The system we have enables all
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: of our teams to be competitive. They all performed differently
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: depending on how well they were run. But at the
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: end of the day, our game is intense, exciting and unpredictable.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: I don't want to take anything away from the teams
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: from Florida and the.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: State of Florida, but do it anyway as.
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: Put me in a headlock. But I brought this up
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: on the broadcast in the conference final. Any plans maybe
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: in the future to implement a balance as far as
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: the no state tax.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: And now you know, I'm just asking.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: It's a ridiculous issue. When the Florida teams weren't good,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: which was for about seventeen years, Okay, nobody said anything
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: about it. And you know, for those of you who played, okay,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: were you sitting there with the tax table.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: No.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: You wanted to go to a good organization in a
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: place where you wanted to live, where you wanted to
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: raise your kids and send them to school. You wanted
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: to play in a first class arena, with a first
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: class training facility, with an owner an organization, a GM
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: and a coach that you were comfortable with. And you
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: wanted to have good teammates, so you'd have a shot
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: at winning. That's what motivates it. Could it be a
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: little bit of a factor if everything else were egal,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: I suppose, but that's not it. And by the way,
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: state taxes high in Los Angeles, high in New York.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: What are we going to do subsidize those teams?
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: Can we take tax away from the province of Ontario
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: at least just for the least sake?
• 2:31
  Speaker 5: We just we need something.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Gary, You know I was watching you during the prior rounds.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: journalistic objectivity.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: You just said three words that I don't know who's
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: got the next question?
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Confused?
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, who's I was going to say that the competitive
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: of the league, as you said, is so incredible, and
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: teams who finished nine, ten, eleven, twelve, they could easily
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: have gotten in at eight and taking a run at
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: the Cup. Would you ever think about expanding the playoffs
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: to like ten teams in.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Each conference now? Because I think our play in is
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: the last month of the regular season, right, and to
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: have a one game play in where you come up
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: against the hot gold.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: Now, I'm not saying a play in. I'm saying expanded
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: the playoffs.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: No, even that. I think what we have now is
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: working really well. There's nothing as good in sports as
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: our first round of the playoffs, and anybody can win
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: and anything can happen. But what happens is you get
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: two great teams who now are doing it back to
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: back and whoa were going to have a dynasty. We're
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: going to have this. You know what. At the end
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: of the day, it all goes on to what takes
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: place on the ice, and the players have been extraordinary.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: So you were those clips of you were pretty good.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, what we have
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: is working really well. And everybody always wants to tinker.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Let's change this, let's chine.
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: That's the beauty of sports commission. I always thought playing
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: in the final was the ultimate marketing material. It really
• 4:04
  Speaker 5: showcases these markets that were Edmonton and Florida. Talk a
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: little bit about the ownership and what they did in
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: Edmonton with he did in Florida for guys who want
• 4:11
  Speaker 5: to take less money to play for those teams. The
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: challenge for Stanley Cup and.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: That's ownership, market, the organization, how it's run. Darryl Kate
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Kates has done an incredible job in Edmonton with the Oilers,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: the facilities up there, the ice district is incredible. And
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: since Vinnie Viola took over this franchise, what ten twelve
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: years ago, it's been, you know, all about excellence. It
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: isn't about state taxes. You know, it actually is an
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: in no, no, it's an insult to the Oilers and
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: the Panthers to say that they're this good because of
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: the taxes. Look at what their managers have done and
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: how well they put these teams together, and you know
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: that speaks for itself. And you can have all the
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: tax breaks in the world that you want, but it
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: comes down to the chemistry and the players that you
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: put out there on the ice clip put it on Twitter, folks, Clipper,
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: How pleased are you where the game is?
• 5:08
  Speaker 5: I feel like the hockey's gained so much momentum throughout
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: this season, especially with the four Nations and just incredible
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: play as a as a league.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: How pleased are you actually as a fan? Well, let's
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: go back to Game seven last year. I mean, we
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: did unbelievable numbers in terms of viewership and captured the
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: imagination the oil was coming back from down three losing
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: as close as they did, what by one goal? And
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: then we come through a season we opened in Europe,
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: we had the four Nations, which did numbers like we
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: did for Game seven. We then had ninety four thousand
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: people in Columbus for an outdoor game. Whoever thought that
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: was possible. Then we had the great eight Chase. I
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: actually sent Wayne a text a week later saying, you know,
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: it was over too soon. I really enjoyed sitting with
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: you watching games right and had a great race down
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: to the wire, and the first round was great. I
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: mean it's playing out well. Everything we do marketing, promotion,
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: it has to start with the game, what takes place
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: on the ice, the authenticity of our game, holding to
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: its roots, and the amazing things that our players do.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting the last game, tying it up
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: seventeen seconds, double overtime. You know, the Oilers lose, But
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: what everybody's talking about was McDavid's assist. It wasn't even
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: a goal for him. I mean, that's what's great about
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: the game. That's what transcends sports and captures the imagination.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: All right, I was going to pitch you on more changes,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: but I don't want you to dunk On to
• 6:43
  Speaker 5: Get a body back for ultimately, Oh my god, it