NHL Commissioner Bettman Optimistic On Eve Of Season

Bettman Discusses NHL’s Return To Action With CNN’s Larry King

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Saturday and said of the league’s new CBA, “We think it’s a win-win because now we have a partnership with our players. We can now work together to grow the game, and in the long-term everybody will look at this point in time and say, ‘This was a pivotal moment in the growth of our game.’” Bettman noted league-wide ticket sales are ahead of ’03-04, and added of the league, “Everybody believes it’s been fixed the right way.” King asked Bettman, “Is the bitterness over the labor dispute over?” Bettman: “I think so. The fact that we have a partnership with the players ... has brought us back faster than anybody ever would have imagined” (“Larry King Live,” CNN, 10/1).

TOUR OF DUTY: In Toronto, Mike Zeisberger reported NHLPA Exec Dir Ted Saskin met with Red Wings players at the request of the team “to educate players on the state of the [NHLPA].” Red Wings D Chris Chelios said, “I think the consensus around the league is that guys need to talk to Ted and get some questions answered” (TORONTO SUN, 10/1). In L.A., Chris Foster reports Saskin met with the Kings Sunday. Kings C Jeremy Roenick said, “The boys asked him a lot of important questions. The guys got a lot out of it. Right now, it is not a good situation. ... Ted is a good guy, a great guy, but he is not the only guy. It’s important that as a union we get this all settled in the proper way” (L.A. TIMES, 10/3).