NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday said that the Jets are “the new gold standard when it comes to landing a franchise and making it work,” according to Roy MacGregor of the GLOBE & MAIL. Bettman, “I don’t know how anyone could have done it better.” Bettman was at MTS Centre last night to “witness the Jets’ first return” to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since ‘96 and first playoff appearance since the Thrashers relocated to Canada in ’11. Bettman called the occasion a “wonderful, emotional night in the making.” He “went out of his way to praise” team owner True North Sports & Entertainment, which “brought the Jets back to this hockey-mad province” (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/21). Bettman said that he “wanted to catch the game for its historical significance.” Bettman: “I’m here just to witness what I think will be a wonderful, emotional and exciting evening. This is a night that has been 19 years in the making. I can feel the energy in the city. It’s palpable.” He added, “What I find particularly interesting is that as I’ve traveled the league the last week, the question I got most frequently was, from people in the NHL family, ‘You going to Winnipeg, Monday night?’ Because everybody knows this is going to be a special night.” Bettman, when asked what stood out about the Winnipeg market, said that “it’s the fan support.” Bettman: “This has always been a market we knew was passionate about hockey. The team when it left was a victim of circumstances.” He said that any prospective new NHL owner "could learn a thing or two from True North,” including Fidelity National Financial Chair Bill Foley as he pursues a club in Las Vegas (WINNIPEG SUN, 4/21).
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...: The AP wrote Bettman “still isn’t committing to doing anything” about adding a franchise in Las Vegas. The potential ownership group “recently moved on from just seeking individual season-ticket deposits to looking for corporate support.” Bettman said, “What I'm hearing is that the season-ticket drive has gone and is going extraordinarily well. When we get to the (board of governors) meeting in June, I will report to the board as to where things stand based on the expressions of interest and we'll figure out then what, if anything, we want to do.” He “wouldn’t confirm that the Las Vegas season-ticket drive surpassed its goal of 10,000 deposits.” But Bettman said the effort is “doing very, very well” (AP, 4/20).
