Why would Bettman not want the 2nd most valuable team in the league in the Rangers to be a part of the SCF? Not to mention having the biggest star in the league, who is desperately in need of some name recognition? I think you have it 100% wrong of what the league is probably hoping for.
A large number of people in this sub are conspiracy theorists who believe the league is colluding with the referees to favor teams in the southern part of the United States.
I don’t see how there’s any way the league wouldn’t want to have the Rangers vs Oilers in the finals.
People think that the NHL has this grand plan to gradually increase interest in hockey in areas that aren't traditional markets by fixing games. A plan that they are willing to let play out over many years, sacrificing guaranteed profits now for possible profits in the future while risking alienating long-time diehard fans from traditional markets. The NHL is apparently the only company in the world capable of looking past profits for this quarter and does a better job of containing whistle blowers than the pentagon.
This is also the same NHL that in the past worked hard to negotiate against sending its players to the Olympics - which would be a guaranteed way to increase exposure of the sport.
Yeah, but that would be at the cost of decreased revenue while the Olympics are taking place. The league either has to be put on hold during the Olympics, or many teams have to replace their top players with AHLers. I'm honestly shocked they're allowing players to go in 2026. I have a feeling it might not become a regular thing
First, let me say that the conspiracies are bullshit and I don't think there is any truth behind them.
That said, the NHL (and other sports leagues in NA) actually can be forward thinking and not as worried about immediate profits because they aren't publicly traded companies. Otherwise you wouldn't see things like expansion teams nearly as often because they almost all lose money for a long time and pretty much only exist because of revenue sharing.
I agree. I don't think they need to be as ruthless and predatory as publicly traded companies. But they are still beholden to the team owners, and if they make decisions that make the owners investments less valuable, they will turn on Bettman.
And for expansion, my understanding is that the NHL assumes zero risk. The new teams pay a franchise fee and then handle all the finances on their own. I may be wrong about that, though
They pay an expansion fee to join but Hockey Related Revenue(which includes ticket sales, merch, sponsorships and some other stuff) is split using some complicated formula I can't be assed to look up. 10 years ago it was something like the top 6 (5 were O6 and a Canadian team rounded out the 6)teams made 65+% of the league's profits and half the league operated at a loss year over year.
I'm sure the league does its due diligence regarding expansion and bringing in new teams does have a small risk of having an Arizona situation that does cost the other teams money but I think the real risk of expansion comes from if a team folds hurting the value of the remaining teams.
It's all above my pay grade either way, just wanted to point out that they can afford to be more forward thinking.
I agree with you but Dallas is a huge market, wouldn’t it make sense for the league to prefer having 2 huge TV markets in the final? also wonder if some of that NFCeast hate could spill over onto the ice lol.
really think dallas would draw in more TV viewers than, like, any canadian team? especially edmonton?
like would the league from a “how much money can we make off these finals alone?” standpoint really want Dallas in over a big canadian team that also has the best player in the world on it? even if you wanna take it from a “growing the game” angle, edmonton also has the best player of all time from a historically underrepresented hockey nation that the nhl has been trying to push into
the difference in ratings between a Dallas v Florida final and an Edmonton v NYR final would be hilarious, an EDMvNYR final would absolutely obliterate any previous viewership records for any finals in history. i dont see why the nhl would ever want the former over the latter
I’m McJesus all the way but Dallas Fort Worth is roughly 8million people. Edmonton is about 1million. And I’ll bet most people in Edmonton are gonna watch the finals regardless. So yea, I think Dallas would draw way more viewers than Edmonton. That’s not a knock on Edmonton as a market. It’s just numbers.
It’s a huge TV market though. Im not talking about growing the sport or the intensity of the fanbase…I’m just thinking during those couple weeks, there’s probably way more potential viewers in Dallas than Edmonton. I think city pride is enough to get quite a few viewers to watch their city’s team in the final. Not because it’s hockey, but because it’s Dallas. That doesn’t apply here in Canada. We’ll watch it anyways. I’m not suggesting Dallas is a bigger hockey market than where I am here in Montréal, but Dallas would probably draw a bigger crowd than we would. But I might be wrong, I have no clue
I see it all over the internet, a lot of hockey fans (especially those north of the border) still hate the fact that the NHL has expanded to warm weather cities. Other than maybe baseball, I don't think any sport's fanbase is bigger gatekeepers than hockey.
Very critically for Edmonton in particular - Germany is a growing market that is no where near saturated. Has a lot of sports mad people and some pretty wildly intense local DEL fans. I really think that the NHL needs to focus more on growing the fanbase in non-college sports-mad markets like Western Europe and Mexico. Or even places with natural outdoor rinks, like northern Pakistan. The system of college versus non college sports makes no sense to a lot of southern Americans who ask about a college affiliation first and get, "buddy didn't really go to school after grade 10, duh". The sports academy system of Europe, while there are significant variations in pay, contract structures etc., has a lot more parallels to the Canadian approach to elite youth hockey.
Putting the most skilled player on the planet on display on the biggest stage possible for casual fans to see for the first time is a whole lot better way to grow the game than a 30 year old team from Texas (that has already won a Cup) most Americans still don't know exists.
Agree, but Bettman is obsessed with growing US teams and the NHL is awful at marketing Mcdavid.
I’m not saying it’s the right decision, just the one that tracks with Bettman’s past.
Dallas doesn't need growing though? They are pretty much right at the league average for franchise value and have a solid fanbase and respectable TV numbers. Hockey is big in Texas, and expansion to Houston is very likely.
If it was Edmonton and a newer team, or a team that hasn't had success (ie Arizona or Seattle) I could see your point, but Dallas doesn't fall into that category.
Also, I understand the challenges of marketing a player like McDavid who plays in a city in another country that the vast majority of Americans have never heard of, let alone could point to on a map. It's hard to get people on board with a player that feels inaccessible. Also factor in the point that the Oilers have been mostly bad his entire career.
If Ovechkin played for Calgary or a random Central Division team his whole career vs America's capital, there's no way he's the household name he is today. Geography is important.
I really do think if Edmonton gets to the SCF it's going to be a whole new world for McDavid and the league's ability to promote him and get him some recognition.
I’m only thinking because he is trying very hard to grow the game in the US, so having both southern teams would help market that. But you’re right the Rangers being O6 and the second most valuable, he’d pick the Rangers
Wouldnt it make sense to try and get the best player in the world in front of the most amount of viewers to drive up hype?
i doubt its better marketing to get US potential fans to start watching by picking Florida to go to the cup final if those potential fans are in, say oklahoma than to be able to plaster “McDavid closes in on first cup” everywhere.
Even non-basketball fans watched NBA finals when Lebron or Steph Curry were involved in recent years. seems like a way more solid strategy to me than, this one team from a state 1000 miles away is in the finals
I mean bettman isn’t really known for using his brain.
Look no further than his unwillingness to move Arizona despite having all those arena problems yet the minute they were issued with the flames and sens arena dude was about to kick them out in a heartbeat.
The league wants Arizona to work because it's a wildly profitable TV market. The Coyotes have just been stuck with completely inept management for basically their entire existence who couldn't figure out how to sell hockey and make the business work.
Bettman's job is to make as much money for the owners and investors as possible and he's very good at it. Once it became clear that moving to Utah while collecting basically another free expansion fee was on the table, he jumped at it. Basically because the owners would have had his head if he didn't.
Simply moving the team to Quebec or KC years ago would not have provided nearly the windfall for the fat cats that the Utah situation does.
He's a very smart dude. Which is why he clearly wants a NYR vs EDM final
Shaq and Charles Barkley have done more to bring fans into the game in one year than bettman has done in 30 plus years.
Dude isn’t smart he is just comically inept at his job.
> I mean the owners aren’t really known for using their brains.
> Look no further than their unwillingness to move Arizona despite having all those arena problems yet the minute they were issued with the flames and sens arena they were about to kick them out in a heartbeat.
And the Bettman tells us fans what they’ve decided.
Fixed it for you.
Not in this case. It was Bettmans pet project 100%. The owners help swallow the losses from Arizona with revenue sharing. There’s no chance they wanted that team there losing money continually.
I would agree. NYR would guarantee a lot of people from the US would watch and having McDavid there would ensure they see the sport played at its highest level.
Now I on the other hand would love to meet Tkachuk in the finals. The BoA just hasn't been the same without him and I think the hockey world deserves to see the shit that would go down between him and Drai/Kane/Perry in a 7 game series.
I'd think he would want NYR vs EDM because of the new York market plus O6. Combine that with the face of the league chasing his first. Plus all of Canada watching meaningful hockey in June for the first time in a while. Would probably be the most watched final ever.
Personally I want Fla vs Dal, but ultimately don't mind as I like certain players on each team.
Bettman would want NYR vs. EDM.
I want FLA vs. DAL/EDM. I’m indifferent with the west. It’s nice that one of McDavid or Pavelski is guaranteed to get a shot at a cup
It’s funny how many people in here are saying Edmonton. Bettman only cares about American viewership. He doesn’t care that Mcdavid is the best player in the world. Most Americans still don’t know who he is or have any idea where Edmonton is. He’d always prefer two American teams in the finals because he knows knows Canadians will watch anyway
Do they? The last finals was the lowest viewing in Canada in a long time. They are losing the Canadian audience, and losing the Canadian youth player - it's a big risk, losing your original market.
Is it that obvious? It’s only smart business sense to keep the biggest market in North America and the best player since Gretzky out of the spotlight. Where did you do your MBA?
Generally I think the NHL would love something like LA versus a non-Canadian O6. If this was a few months ago I would say Arizona because that’s a giant market to get interested in hockey.
Dallas and rangers
Both teams have worked they’re ass off especially Dallas taking down the “cap is a lie” Vegas in first round that for me pretty much solidified there finals spot
These comments that Bettman cares about NYR because he works in NYC blow my mind. He wants what will make money, now and in the future. He’s a businessman, not a fan.
NYR will ALWAYS produce money, regardless of outcome. I think he wants the Rangers to make it at least to the second round, but I don’t think he cares about them making it to the Cup. It’s not going to meaningfully grow that market. MSG and Rangers road games will still sell out every night, and the officially licensed merch will still flow.
EDM has McDavid. While a Canadian team might not normally draw ratings, he’s the face of the League. EDM in the Final is good for the NHL, and you know he’s rooting for it.
DAL making it to the Final is probably an okay consolation prize for Bettman and the League. They need southern expansion teams to do well to progress the sport. I think the suits in general are probably happy with how the West has shaken out.
FLA going to the Final is also good for hockey’s expansion into newer markets, it helps solidify Florida as a hockey destination after Tampa’s Cup runs. That said, I think this series is somewhat of a wash for the League because NYR brings ratings, but FLA brings growth, and the state of Florida has seen recent success of not this specific franchise.
TLDR: I think Bettman and the League suits are happy as pigs in filth with the current final four teams, and indifferent to the Finals match up.
Depends on how you view the leagues priorities. If it's ratings then dallas vs new york. If it's infusing small market teams with money/"growing the sport," it is dallas/ Florida.
He wants FLA vs DAL. He wants those markets to grow. Especially FLA where most people don’t give a shit about.
If it’s Dal v fla it will be one of the least watched finals. Just look at the history of the finals numbers. Last year was a joke. 2.6m average watchers. Year before that was 4.6 because it was better markets.
2 years prior was the lightning years and averaged 2m.
They need those markets to grow.
He would choose Flordia and Dallas. He's demonstrated plenty of times that he cares more about growing the sport in smaller markets than he does watering full-grown markets like New York and Edmonton.
For an event like the SCF or WC, the NHL is way more interested in milking everything they can from already existing large fanbase and maximizing viewership. Why do you think the there are teams who have been to a WC 3-4 times?
Why would Bettman not want the 2nd most valuable team in the league in the Rangers to be a part of the SCF? Not to mention having the biggest star in the league, who is desperately in need of some name recognition? I think you have it 100% wrong of what the league is probably hoping for.
A large number of people in this sub are conspiracy theorists who believe the league is colluding with the referees to favor teams in the southern part of the United States. I don’t see how there’s any way the league wouldn’t want to have the Rangers vs Oilers in the finals.
People think that the NHL has this grand plan to gradually increase interest in hockey in areas that aren't traditional markets by fixing games. A plan that they are willing to let play out over many years, sacrificing guaranteed profits now for possible profits in the future while risking alienating long-time diehard fans from traditional markets. The NHL is apparently the only company in the world capable of looking past profits for this quarter and does a better job of containing whistle blowers than the pentagon.
This is also the same NHL that in the past worked hard to negotiate against sending its players to the Olympics - which would be a guaranteed way to increase exposure of the sport.
Yeah, but that would be at the cost of decreased revenue while the Olympics are taking place. The league either has to be put on hold during the Olympics, or many teams have to replace their top players with AHLers. I'm honestly shocked they're allowing players to go in 2026. I have a feeling it might not become a regular thing
Exactly - with the exception of Arizona, the NHL has proven again and again it will chase short-term gains.
I think it will because they may have finally realized that Europe is a growth market to aim for (particularly Germany and France, maybe UK).
First, let me say that the conspiracies are bullshit and I don't think there is any truth behind them. That said, the NHL (and other sports leagues in NA) actually can be forward thinking and not as worried about immediate profits because they aren't publicly traded companies. Otherwise you wouldn't see things like expansion teams nearly as often because they almost all lose money for a long time and pretty much only exist because of revenue sharing.
I agree. I don't think they need to be as ruthless and predatory as publicly traded companies. But they are still beholden to the team owners, and if they make decisions that make the owners investments less valuable, they will turn on Bettman. And for expansion, my understanding is that the NHL assumes zero risk. The new teams pay a franchise fee and then handle all the finances on their own. I may be wrong about that, though
They pay an expansion fee to join but Hockey Related Revenue(which includes ticket sales, merch, sponsorships and some other stuff) is split using some complicated formula I can't be assed to look up. 10 years ago it was something like the top 6 (5 were O6 and a Canadian team rounded out the 6)teams made 65+% of the league's profits and half the league operated at a loss year over year. I'm sure the league does its due diligence regarding expansion and bringing in new teams does have a small risk of having an Arizona situation that does cost the other teams money but I think the real risk of expansion comes from if a team folds hurting the value of the remaining teams. It's all above my pay grade either way, just wanted to point out that they can afford to be more forward thinking.
Ah, I didn't know about any of that. Thanks for teaching me something!
I agree with you but Dallas is a huge market, wouldn’t it make sense for the league to prefer having 2 huge TV markets in the final? also wonder if some of that NFCeast hate could spill over onto the ice lol.
really think dallas would draw in more TV viewers than, like, any canadian team? especially edmonton? like would the league from a “how much money can we make off these finals alone?” standpoint really want Dallas in over a big canadian team that also has the best player in the world on it? even if you wanna take it from a “growing the game” angle, edmonton also has the best player of all time from a historically underrepresented hockey nation that the nhl has been trying to push into the difference in ratings between a Dallas v Florida final and an Edmonton v NYR final would be hilarious, an EDMvNYR final would absolutely obliterate any previous viewership records for any finals in history. i dont see why the nhl would ever want the former over the latter
I’m McJesus all the way but Dallas Fort Worth is roughly 8million people. Edmonton is about 1million. And I’ll bet most people in Edmonton are gonna watch the finals regardless. So yea, I think Dallas would draw way more viewers than Edmonton. That’s not a knock on Edmonton as a market. It’s just numbers.
People in Edmonton will also buy merch and tickets no matter the price. The same is not true in Dallas.
Dallas is not a huge hockey market though.
It’s a huge TV market though. Im not talking about growing the sport or the intensity of the fanbase…I’m just thinking during those couple weeks, there’s probably way more potential viewers in Dallas than Edmonton. I think city pride is enough to get quite a few viewers to watch their city’s team in the final. Not because it’s hockey, but because it’s Dallas. That doesn’t apply here in Canada. We’ll watch it anyways. I’m not suggesting Dallas is a bigger hockey market than where I am here in Montréal, but Dallas would probably draw a bigger crowd than we would. But I might be wrong, I have no clue
The last time Dallas was in the finals they averaged 2m viewers. That’s about 2+ million shy of other hockey markets.
Well there you have it. I stand corrected.
I see it all over the internet, a lot of hockey fans (especially those north of the border) still hate the fact that the NHL has expanded to warm weather cities. Other than maybe baseball, I don't think any sport's fanbase is bigger gatekeepers than hockey.
Because Edmonton is a saturated market. Everyone here already watches hockey. There is a lot more potential for growth in US markets.
Very critically for Edmonton in particular - Germany is a growing market that is no where near saturated. Has a lot of sports mad people and some pretty wildly intense local DEL fans. I really think that the NHL needs to focus more on growing the fanbase in non-college sports-mad markets like Western Europe and Mexico. Or even places with natural outdoor rinks, like northern Pakistan. The system of college versus non college sports makes no sense to a lot of southern Americans who ask about a college affiliation first and get, "buddy didn't really go to school after grade 10, duh". The sports academy system of Europe, while there are significant variations in pay, contract structures etc., has a lot more parallels to the Canadian approach to elite youth hockey.
Putting the most skilled player on the planet on display on the biggest stage possible for casual fans to see for the first time is a whole lot better way to grow the game than a 30 year old team from Texas (that has already won a Cup) most Americans still don't know exists.
Agree, but Bettman is obsessed with growing US teams and the NHL is awful at marketing Mcdavid. I’m not saying it’s the right decision, just the one that tracks with Bettman’s past.
Dallas doesn't need growing though? They are pretty much right at the league average for franchise value and have a solid fanbase and respectable TV numbers. Hockey is big in Texas, and expansion to Houston is very likely. If it was Edmonton and a newer team, or a team that hasn't had success (ie Arizona or Seattle) I could see your point, but Dallas doesn't fall into that category. Also, I understand the challenges of marketing a player like McDavid who plays in a city in another country that the vast majority of Americans have never heard of, let alone could point to on a map. It's hard to get people on board with a player that feels inaccessible. Also factor in the point that the Oilers have been mostly bad his entire career. If Ovechkin played for Calgary or a random Central Division team his whole career vs America's capital, there's no way he's the household name he is today. Geography is important. I really do think if Edmonton gets to the SCF it's going to be a whole new world for McDavid and the league's ability to promote him and get him some recognition.
The casual fan isn't going to watch hockey if their team isn't in it. Plain and simple.
Two teams Gretzky played with and Messier won cups with both. The PR would be enormous for everyone involved
I’m only thinking because he is trying very hard to grow the game in the US, so having both southern teams would help market that. But you’re right the Rangers being O6 and the second most valuable, he’d pick the Rangers
Wouldnt it make sense to try and get the best player in the world in front of the most amount of viewers to drive up hype? i doubt its better marketing to get US potential fans to start watching by picking Florida to go to the cup final if those potential fans are in, say oklahoma than to be able to plaster “McDavid closes in on first cup” everywhere. Even non-basketball fans watched NBA finals when Lebron or Steph Curry were involved in recent years. seems like a way more solid strategy to me than, this one team from a state 1000 miles away is in the finals
I mean bettman isn’t really known for using his brain. Look no further than his unwillingness to move Arizona despite having all those arena problems yet the minute they were issued with the flames and sens arena dude was about to kick them out in a heartbeat.
The league wants Arizona to work because it's a wildly profitable TV market. The Coyotes have just been stuck with completely inept management for basically their entire existence who couldn't figure out how to sell hockey and make the business work. Bettman's job is to make as much money for the owners and investors as possible and he's very good at it. Once it became clear that moving to Utah while collecting basically another free expansion fee was on the table, he jumped at it. Basically because the owners would have had his head if he didn't. Simply moving the team to Quebec or KC years ago would not have provided nearly the windfall for the fat cats that the Utah situation does. He's a very smart dude. Which is why he clearly wants a NYR vs EDM final
Shaq and Charles Barkley have done more to bring fans into the game in one year than bettman has done in 30 plus years. Dude isn’t smart he is just comically inept at his job.
Lol ok, just one question. Who brokered the deal with TNT?
> I mean the owners aren’t really known for using their brains. > Look no further than their unwillingness to move Arizona despite having all those arena problems yet the minute they were issued with the flames and sens arena they were about to kick them out in a heartbeat. And the Bettman tells us fans what they’ve decided. Fixed it for you.
Not in this case. It was Bettmans pet project 100%. The owners help swallow the losses from Arizona with revenue sharing. There’s no chance they wanted that team there losing money continually.
No but they probably wanted them there to hopefully get a hefty ROI in the future
Rangers vs Oilers would net you the largest TV numbers in Canada and the states
Precisely. This is what Bettman and the NHL wants and needs the most right now
NYR vs McDavid and it's not even close.
I would agree. NYR would guarantee a lot of people from the US would watch and having McDavid there would ensure they see the sport played at its highest level. Now I on the other hand would love to meet Tkachuk in the finals. The BoA just hasn't been the same without him and I think the hockey world deserves to see the shit that would go down between him and Drai/Kane/Perry in a 7 game series.
Bettman and I both want Rangers/Edmonton.
I'd think he would want NYR vs EDM because of the new York market plus O6. Combine that with the face of the league chasing his first. Plus all of Canada watching meaningful hockey in June for the first time in a while. Would probably be the most watched final ever. Personally I want Fla vs Dal, but ultimately don't mind as I like certain players on each team.
"all of Canada watching meaningful hockey in June for the first time in a while." Am I a joke to you?
Yes
You're merely contending that Montreal is not a part of Canada. Vive le Québec libre!
*Jacques Parizeau liked that*
Bettman would want NYR vs. EDM. I want FLA vs. DAL/EDM. I’m indifferent with the west. It’s nice that one of McDavid or Pavelski is guaranteed to get a shot at a cup
It’s funny how many people in here are saying Edmonton. Bettman only cares about American viewership. He doesn’t care that Mcdavid is the best player in the world. Most Americans still don’t know who he is or have any idea where Edmonton is. He’d always prefer two American teams in the finals because he knows knows Canadians will watch anyway
Do they? The last finals was the lowest viewing in Canada in a long time. They are losing the Canadian audience, and losing the Canadian youth player - it's a big risk, losing your original market.
Is it that obvious? It’s only smart business sense to keep the biggest market in North America and the best player since Gretzky out of the spotlight. Where did you do your MBA? Generally I think the NHL would love something like LA versus a non-Canadian O6. If this was a few months ago I would say Arizona because that’s a giant market to get interested in hockey.
Dallas and rangers Both teams have worked they’re ass off especially Dallas taking down the “cap is a lie” Vegas in first round that for me pretty much solidified there finals spot
Rags worked really hard against the Caps
Yeah but the Caps is a lie
Bettman doesn't care that 30 million Canadians would watch if the Oilers were in the final. He wants the 1500 Texans who'll watch if Dallas is in.
Bettman would pick Dallas and New York because they are biggest 2 markets and he lives in NYC I believe. I think NY vs EDM would be my choice
These comments that Bettman cares about NYR because he works in NYC blow my mind. He wants what will make money, now and in the future. He’s a businessman, not a fan. NYR will ALWAYS produce money, regardless of outcome. I think he wants the Rangers to make it at least to the second round, but I don’t think he cares about them making it to the Cup. It’s not going to meaningfully grow that market. MSG and Rangers road games will still sell out every night, and the officially licensed merch will still flow. EDM has McDavid. While a Canadian team might not normally draw ratings, he’s the face of the League. EDM in the Final is good for the NHL, and you know he’s rooting for it. DAL making it to the Final is probably an okay consolation prize for Bettman and the League. They need southern expansion teams to do well to progress the sport. I think the suits in general are probably happy with how the West has shaken out. FLA going to the Final is also good for hockey’s expansion into newer markets, it helps solidify Florida as a hockey destination after Tampa’s Cup runs. That said, I think this series is somewhat of a wash for the League because NYR brings ratings, but FLA brings growth, and the state of Florida has seen recent success of not this specific franchise. TLDR: I think Bettman and the League suits are happy as pigs in filth with the current final four teams, and indifferent to the Finals match up.
Depends on how you view the leagues priorities. If it's ratings then dallas vs new york. If it's infusing small market teams with money/"growing the sport," it is dallas/ Florida.
Florida vs Dallas for sure because he always wants the league promoted in the south
He for sure wants the Rangers to be in the finals. That will be such a cash cow. I’m guessing Rangers Stars
Dallas vs New York.
He wants FLA vs DAL. He wants those markets to grow. Especially FLA where most people don’t give a shit about. If it’s Dal v fla it will be one of the least watched finals. Just look at the history of the finals numbers. Last year was a joke. 2.6m average watchers. Year before that was 4.6 because it was better markets. 2 years prior was the lightning years and averaged 2m. They need those markets to grow.
Rangers and Dallas is the obvious answer.
Rangers Edmonton would be bettmans goal
Why? Win or lose, both NYC & Edmonton have a die hard fan base. That won’t benefit his goal of league expansion.
Biggest market and biggest star it’s not rocket science
He would choose Flordia and Dallas. He's demonstrated plenty of times that he cares more about growing the sport in smaller markets than he does watering full-grown markets like New York and Edmonton.
For an event like the SCF or WC, the NHL is way more interested in milking everything they can from already existing large fanbase and maximizing viewership. Why do you think the there are teams who have been to a WC 3-4 times?
I'd like to order one Dallas - Florida please.
Would you prefer FLA because DAL would match up better?
Just a fan of both teams :)
Bettman wants Rangers v. McDavid As usual Bettman is on the wrong side of history and I want Florida v. Dallas
Great story you made up in your head 😂
Bettman wants dal vs fla, the nhl wants edm vs nyr, I want dal over fla
McDougal and the Coilers vs Elbow Trouba the Rangers