It has been a quiet NHL off-season in big-money free
agent player signings, as NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
"finally managed to get his message across to NHL ownership
and management that they were headed in a dangerous
direction," according to ESPN.com's Al Morganti. Bettman
"hit the owners and general managers upside the head and
knocked some sense into them about controlling payroll."
Canucks GM Brian Burke: "For the first time in a long time,
I really see some hope that we won't be headed for a
[financial] disaster before the end [of the CBA in 2004]."
Burke: "This is an area where Gary does not get nearly the
credit from owners and GMs that he should. It was all done
smoothly, and it was done behind the scenes. ... Now, for
the first time in a long time, I have hope that we can live
in some kind of [fiscal] sanity." Burke, on "collusion":
"Absolutely no way. ... Collusion? I think we have proven
in the past we would be incapable of collusion" (ESPN.com,
9/10). In Miami, David Neal: "Collusion? Or collective
good sense. Both make sense." More Neal: "Professional
sports leagues are almost collusive by nature." Neal wrote
that Bettman is "one of the few people who constantly has
had a realistic view of where this league is and what it
needs" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/12). In Montreal, Jack Todd writes
that if the Senators "hold firm," it "looks like hockey is
absolutely united against" Senators' hold-out Alexei Yashin
and agent Mark Gandler. Todd writes that with the exception
of the "irresponsible" Rangers, NHL "GMs have held the line
on idiotic contracts" (Montreal GAZETTE, 9/13).
