Be honest. You've booed Gary Bettman at least once in your lifetime. It doesn't matter if you're a Vegas Golden Knights fan, a fan of the Canadian NHL teams, or from Philadelphia. You've serenaded the NHL Commissioner with a slathering of boos whenever he appeared in front of the crowd.
Of course, Golden Knights fans will have some incentive to boo the NHL head honcho heading to 2026-27. There's a playoff salary cap after next season, where Kelly McCrimmon can't allegedly exploit. Who knows? Maybe they'll give him some grace.
As for other fanbases? Well, they'll just accuse Bettman of being in bed with the Sun Belt teams. You can name the conspiracies floating around off the top of your head, whether it's faking Mark Stone's spleen injury or Vegas "paying off the refs."
Now, Bettman hasn't been perfect. He's weak in marketing the game and has had various mishaps with getting a solid television deal. Let's not excuse him for his past (and present) blunders.
Still, fans can point to Rob Manfred becoming the most unlikable sports boss in North America right now. Oakland residents will loathe Manfred because he expedited the Athletics leaving for Las Vegas. Yankees and Dodgers fans (among others) will despise Manfred for mishandling the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
However, none will top Manfred's nipples getting hard over a salary cap. The MLB Commissioner has pushed hard for a cap to be implemented, leaving players like Bryce Harper annoyed.
"If you want to speak about that, you can get the f*** out of our clubhouse."Bryce Harper to Rob Manfred
The NHL negotiations were much tamer in comparison to MLB's ongoing discussions
How did Manfred respond to Harper facing him? Well...
"I'm not going to get the f*** out of here."Rob Manfred to Bryce Harper
He also added it's important to talk about threats to MLB's business, along with ways to grow the game. But the context here is Manfred was tone-deaf to what the players wanted (or in this case, didn't want). They're not a fan of a salary cap because it gives owners more money in their pockets while the players suffer.
Now, fans are expecting an MLB lockout to happen come 2027. It seems Manfred and the MLB owners will get what they want and impose a salary cap by any means necessary. All of this will cost the trust of baseball fans.
Meanwhile, Bettman made sure the CBA talks went without a hitch. Sure, some fans might not be fans of having two more regular season games being added. However, the NHL Commissioner was rational enough to ignore the "no state income tax" issue and focus on other pressing needs. That includes addressing LTIR concerns and making neck guards mandatory.
Gary Bettman is listening to the players, which is good for Vegas Golden Knights fans and hockey fans alike
Fans will argue about work stoppages happening in 2004-2005 and 2012-2013. These lockouts hampered the league as a whole and left NHL fans high and dry.
But it seems that Bettman has learned those harsh lessons and taken them to heart. The latest CBA negotiations were wrapped up without much fanfare. In this instance, that's a good thing since there wasn't much drama involving the NHL and the NHLPA.
Compare that to MLB and it's clear which Commissioner is sabotaging his respective sport. Sure, Bettman and company have had their share of recent blunders. However, they're taking appropriate steps to bettering the league, compared to what Manfred's trying to do.
Thank goodness hockey's getting closer. 2025-26 is going to be fun to watch, Golden Knights fans.