There’s a picture of the New York Rangers from 1995, the year the reigning Stanley Cup champions made the traditional visit to the White House.

“You’ve got the Cup, and you’ve got Bill Clinton, and you’ve got Mark Messier, and then off to the side, there’s this guy with dark hair, and you barely notice him,” says former Rangers goalie Glenn Healy. “It was Gary Bettman.

“I know where he’d be today with the Cup. He really has built a pretty big empire for our sport.”

Bettman has been commissioner of the National Hockey League for 25 years. In that time:

A league with 24 teams has grown to 31;

A league generating about $400 million of revenue annually pockets close to $5 billion;

A league without a television deal in the United States that guaranteed every playoff game was available now has one;

The average salary of a player has risen from $370,000 US to $3.2 million.

Still, he’s vilified across the sport as the man behind three lockouts, including one that cost an entire season, and the reason no current NHLer will be participating in the Olympics this year.

He may well end up on the wrong side of history for his public pronouncements on concussions while getting very little credit for the massive reduction in the number of fights that once marred the sport.

Good, bad, indifferent ... there are many faces to Gary Bettman.

He’s a lawyer, and a leader. A hero and a villain. The smartest guy in the room. A husband, father and grandfather. A straight-shooter. A nitpicker. A basketball guy turned hockey guy. An American running a Canadian sport. A progressive who can draw a hard line.

“He’s just damn good at his job,” says Healy, who during Bettman’s tenure has been a player, a member and executive with the NHL Players’ Association, a TV analyst and now serves as executive director of the NHL Alumni Association.

“The owners have certainly got a guy that has navigated his way through this for a long time. He’s built the revenues for the sport. He’s built the number of teams. His vision in the South, if I’m a player, I’m thinking life is pretty good. And there’s a lot of work for a lot of guys.”

THE BASKETBALL GUY

The NHL was essentially a mom-and-pop shop from the time of the Original Six through its early expansion years in the late 1960s. Owners of the teams relied on the teams themselves for income.

As the 1990s approached, that began to change.

Wayne Gretzky was a Los Angeles King after a blockbuster deal that shook the hockey world. Disney was buying an expansion team. The NHL wanted to take it to another level, following the “star player” approach of the NBA.

What the league needed was a forward thinker.

League president John Ziegler had “lost” a strike to the players’ union and failed to get a major U.S. network to show games. And Ziegler’s temporary replacement, Gil Stein, seemed more intent on a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

If people inside hockey couldn’t grow the game, the league would expand its scope. The NHL wanted a commissioner and it turned to the NBA, where David Stern ruled the roost with two underlings — deputy commissioner Russ Granik and deputy general counsel Gary Bettman.

“(Bettman) had left Proskauer Rose (a New York City law firm) to go to a firm in New Jersey, and I like to say that I intercepted him at the George Washington Bridge,” says Stern, who retired in 2014 after 30 years as NBA commissioner.

“He became very knowledgeable on all things collective-bargaining. He became very knowledgeable and very helpful with NBA Entertainment. And he became very helpful in our drive to take advantage of globalization. So when the NHL came looking, I said: ‘You’re going to wind up coming after Gary Bettman.’”

It was risky. Bettman wasn’t trusted, deemed a basketball guy, particularly by the Canadian media.

“This was going to be wonderful for our sport because he was coming from a sport that had been growing so much in North America and across the world, coming from basketball, growing by leaps and bounds,” says Gretzky. “We were just starting to trend to a higher peak level. It was nice to see that the NHL and the board of governors had stepped out of their comfort zone.

“Instead of hiring a so-called hockey person they went outside the box and hired somebody from a league that was flourishing at a higher pace than the NHL. So from my point of view, being in Los Angeles for a few years, it was a smart move.”

Stern pointed admirably to some of the NHL’s achievements under Bettman: An outdoor game series with the centrepiece Winter Classic that is the envy of other leagues; a five-Games run at the Winter Olympics; a 10-year, $2-billion US television deal with NBC that has every playoff game available somewhere on the dial, and a 12-year, $5.2-billion (Cdn) deal with Rogers in Canada; a deal with BAMTech, the spun-off baseball service that will form the heart of ESPN and Disney’s online streaming business.

“I see Gary has the NHL humming on all cylinders,” says Stern.

Bettman learned from Stern.

“My dad died young,” says Bettman. “He (Stern) was somewhere between a father figure and older brother, who was extraordinarily passionate about what he did. He taught me the fundamentals of operating in this environment. Doing your homework, being thorough, being transparent in making decisions.”

THE TASK MASTER

When Gary Bettman took office on Feb. 1, 1993, the New York Times laid out — perhaps with a great deal of irony — how “simple” the job before Bettman was.

“Put a stop to labour unrest, sell the product in television’s mainstream marketplace, change the violent image of the game, curb salary inflation, force enlightened self-interest on reluctant, old-fashioned owners, expand contacts with European developmental leagues and markets, settle the divisive issue of possible Olympic involvement, and help launch several new expansion teams.”

The Times went on to add a few other things that might be considered, like a draft lottery, conference-based playoffs and a salary cap. Fighting was something else Bettman was to look at.

Bettman, for the most part, followed through on that to-do list. You can argue about the labour unrest — there have been three lockouts, with a fourth possibly looming — and the never-ending Olympic participation questions, but the league has more television exposure than ever, fighting is down, owners have salaries under control, games in Europe and China occur regularly on the schedule, the draft lottery was introduced and quickly became must-see TV, and “old-fashioned” owners have been replaced by and large by corporate thinkers.

“These are all essential items in terms of the stability the strength and growth of the game,” says Bettman. “I will leave it for other people to grade but these are the types of things we were focused on. Technology has become an important factor; you can add that on.”

“When I came into the league 25 years ago I believed this was a great sport that had enormous growth potential both as a game and has a league. We had to harness all of our strengths and best attributes to put our best foot forward and that’s what we tried to do.”

The latest expansion team — the Vegas Golden Knights — paid $500 million (US) to join the NHL. The next one, possibly in Seattle, could pay $650 million.

“You take a great game with great people, players first and foremost and the fans, we just needed to do things differently, to do things better, modernize and be better connected and we would grow,” says Bettman.

THE FAMILY MAN

When at home, Gary Bettman’s day starts and ends in the same way — walking his two Golden Doodles, Lola and Teddy.

“When I come back from the gym, I do the morning run, and I generally do the late-night run,” says Bettman. “We’ve always had dogs. Used to have three dogs. And a cat. Somehow, I’ve developed an allergy to cats. But I love dogs. Dogs are great.”

His eyes light up while talking about his dogs. It’s the same look he gets while discussing his wife, Shelli, his children and five grandchildren. It’s clear family matters.

Bettman’s father died when he was 16, and his mother died when he was 20. His inner strength comes from the independence foisted upon him at a young age.

“The public me is a caricature that people that don’t know me paint,” says Bettman. “Family is the most important thing to me. I have been married for 42 years to my college sweetheart. All three kids of mine are married to great spouses.

'The public me is a caricature that people that don't know me paint.' Gary Bettman NHL Commissioner

“I have (five) grandchildren. And that is more important than anything else in my life. Although because of my schedule over the last 25 years I have managed to commit some malpractice in terms of being around for certain things. But I try my best.”

So what’s a day off like?

“Well you’re never off. Part of what I will do is I like to spend time with my kids and my grandkids and I like to spend time with my wife because I’m not around during the week. So whether it’s running errands together or playing golf together, we’re doing couples things with other couples. That’s something we try to do as much as possible. But my schedule, particularly from the travel standpoint, is pretty demanding because people want to me to be in lots of places.”

And he likes his cars. He has a few, but his favourite?

“Porsche 911 Turbo,” says Bettman. “When I was 16 years old and I learned how to drive, that was the beginning of independence. The feeling you could turn on the radio open the windows put down the top and just drive and know you were just doing your own thing.

“I like road trips.”

CAPTAIN CANADA

Gary Bettman is routinely booed at public appearances. At the annual summer draft, his repartee with the crowd is getting better each year.

In Chicago last June, the crowd booed his opening appearance.

“Thank you for this energetic welcome,” he said, but added over the jeers: “You can do better than that.”

When the boos got louder, he said: “That’s more like it.”

Bettman is also routinely booed at the Stanley Cup presentation — which, of course, hasn’t happened to a team based in Canada since 1993.

Still, it’s fair to say Bettman remains unpopular with most Canadian hockey fans.

The Quebec Nordiques left under his watch. So too did the Winnipeg Jets, though they returned and that city is the one place Bettman can be sure to get a round of applause. And when the Phoenix Coyotes filed for bankruptcy and tried to move to Hamilton, Bettman did his part to ensure it didn’t happen.

Bettman has always been acutely aware of how Canadians view him, as he is with Canada’s place in the NHL.

A weak Canadian dollar hurt the competitiveness of many of Canada’s teams prior to introduction of the salary cap. Bettman also championed a revenue sharing agreement that saw American teams give money to help support the four small-market Canadian teams in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver through the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Part of Bettman’s pitch for the salary cap, however, was to level the playing field. The value of Canadian dollar now affects all teams equally, since it affects hockey-related revenue across the board.

The salary cap, in theory, helps keep small-market Canadian teams in Canada.

“He is very sensitive to the fans in Canada,” says Gretzky. “I know that personally. I have talked to him about it. It is a different market. It is different thinking.

“He has a real soft spot for Canada. He truly wants the teams in Calgary and Edmonton and Ottawa — the small-market teams in Canada — to excel. He wants them to be successful. I think sometimes people criticize him because he is not Canadian and he’s the commissioner of the NHL. But he truly cares about Canada and wants Canadian teams to be successful.”

THE VILLAIN

When you’re the face of three lockouts, including one that cost an entire season, fans and players alike are not going to be happy with you.

Chris Chelios famously went a little over the top in 1994, the year of the league’s first lockout.

“If I was Gary Bettman, I’d be worried about my family and my well-being,” Chelios said in a heat-of-the-moment interview back then. “Some crazed fans, or even a player — who knows? — might take matters into their own hands and figure they get Bettman out of the way and things might get settled.”

Chelios later apologized.

Then there was the Canadian movie Bon Cop Bad Cop, mercilessly parodying Bettman as Harry Buttman.

“The thing about being a leader is you take the bullet,” says Gretzky. “He takes a lot of bullets and sometimes they shouldn’t necessarily be directed at him. But he is the main guy and he understands that. And he doesn’t shy away from it.”

While fans are sure to form their own opinions, today’s player sees Bettman in a different light. And for most, all they’ve known is a salary-cap world.

“You look at every sport, commissioners don’t get the best reception,” says Penguins star Sidney Crosby. “People are hard on them. That’s just the way it is.

“I think he’s done a good job. If you look at that (2004-05) lockout, I think you see the game changed as far as rules.

“When you’re a player, all you care about is playing. You want the game to be the best product. You want players to be the best they can be. It’s easier to see it from that side than from running a business and trying to keep everyone happy. The (business) side, no one likes to talk about. When it comes to lockouts, it’s not a fun time for anyone.”

THE FIGHTING MAJOR

Gary Bettman’s under-the-radar legacy may end up being the decline of fighting in the NHL. When he joined the NHL, enforcers patrolled the wing. There might be another on the blue line. The toughest teams won through intimidation.

Bettman found himself caught between “old school” — largely Canadians who loved fighting — and “new school” — largely new fans in the United States who didn’t get it.

As Gretzky puts it: “The people of California did not understand the necessity of fighting. People in Canada felt and understood that fighting was part of the game.”

To grow the game, Bettman needed new fans. He also didn’t want to alienate old ones.

“In my 25 years, we’ve never really touched the rules on fighting,” says Bettman. “But what we’ve done is emphasize the best elements of our game — speed and skill and excitement. And what’s happened is the clubs in terms of how they compete have evolved.

“And it became more important that you have a skilled skater who can handle the puck than it was to have somebody who did not have skills or only had one skill. But that was the game evolving.”

Notably, those were from rule changes imposed after the 2004-05 lockout. There were crackdowns on hooking, holding, slashing and interference. There were changes to icing and offside. The adjustments sped up the game and teams adapted by employing players with speed and skill over size and braun. Enforcers were forced out of the game and the likes of John Scott and Colton Orr — the last of their breed — retired.

“What he did was truly smart,” says Gretzky. “He never said you were not allowed to fight anymore. But what he did was he curtailed the rules, then eventually and slowly eliminated fighting from the sport of hockey.”

When Bettman began his tenure, the league averaged about a fight a game. Last year, according to hockeyfights.com, the league averaged one fight every four games. So fighting is still a part of the game, but a smaller and smaller part each year. Fewer of them are the staged; they are more heat-of-the-moment fisticuffs.

“It’s one of the most ingenious things he has ever done for our sport,” says Gretzky. “He has eliminated fighting, but he’s kept everybody happy. He was never the guy standing there saying we have to stop fighting.

“We don’t fight in hockey anymore, and I think that’s a good thing.”

Bettman calls it a natural progression.

“Things evolve,” says the commissioner. “If you don’t evolve you whither and die. We have always been open to making sure we were emphasizing and evolving the best elements of our game and the best way for fans to connect with the game.”

THE NITPICKER

When the league celebrated its 100th anniversary in November, Gary Bettman took to a podium at Montreal’s historic Windsor Hotel to field questions from the assembled media.

One questioner in particular was hoping to extract some information on potential expansion or relocation to Quebec, a city that once had a franchise, lost it to Colorado, and later built a new arena with aspirations of luring the NHL back.

“When (you) first spoke about the Nordiques, you kept repeating: They’re going to need a building,” the questioner began. “The building is there, mainly paid by taxpayers who love hockey, and accepted this building to be built with their money, with the hopes that hockey would be coming.”

Bettman, as is his wont with media, corrected the premise.

“With all due respect, I’m going to have to correct your characterization. We never said they need a building. That was all after they were gone and we were explaining why the team left. Once the team left, the city and the province chose to build a building, and we told them every step of the way, we are not promising you a team. If you build the building, you need to build it with the understanding they might never get a team. That doesn’t mean they’ll never get a team. It means we made no commitment whatsoever. I am extraordinarily comfortable the record is clear. We never tell anyone to build a building on our account.”

There was more. It’s something he does on a regular basis. Perhaps it’s the lawyer in him. Or the perfectionist. He seems combative. It doesn’t play well on TV, but he’s not wrong.

“That’s a media thing,” says Bettman, recalling the exchange. “And I do that because what happens is I get nailed for things that I say and it’s out of context. ... I don’t want it somehow portrayed that I tricked Quebec City into building a building. I couldn’t have been clearer: Don’t be building it on our account because I’m not promising you a team.

“I correct people not because I want to say: ‘You don’t know what you’re saying.’ It’s because I want the record clear with what I’m about to say.”

THE BOSS

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The Godfather. Goodfellas. The Big Lebowski. Pulp Fiction. These are Gary Bettman’s favourite movies, and he lights up when asked about them.

“When any of those movies are on I will watch it even if it’s for the 100th time,” says Bettman. “I’ve always been fascinated about organized crime. When I was at Cornell I took a seminar in the management of complex organizations. That was in the area of the big conglomerates. AT&T in the early ’70s.”

So maybe that speaks to how he does business.

“I am completely transparent and I don’t believe in surprises,” says Bettman. “In fact, I was talking about something with someone that’s a third-party and they were worried that I would claim they were in default and I said you won’t be surprised. I will tell you in advance. I will warn you.

“What I tell you is what I believe. I don’t know any other way to function. I don’t like playing games with people in terms of misleading them. I think it is counterproductive. There’s also the matter of credibility. Most people who deal with me know if I tell you something you can rely on it. That’s the way I like to function.”

It’s not like Bettman is making someone an offer he can’t refuse. But it’s close. Two of the three times he made the NHL Players’ Association an offer, they tried to refuse. They eventually took it.

“He’s a very smart guy, a very good negotiator,” says Healy. “If you go into a negotiation with him, you better do your homework.”

Take the most recent efforts to get the NHL into the Olympics. In 1998, when the NHL sent its players to the Winter Games for the first time. the International Olympic Committee and the league entered a mutually beneficial relationship. The NHL could grow the game internationally; the IOC could boost interest in the Games with an event featuring the world’s best players.

Over time, the relationship has waned. The NHL has its metrics and concluded it doesn’t get a popularity bump for its participation, which includes shutting its regular season down for nearly three weeks.

But Bettman still tried to get a deal, laying out what he wanted in return for the league’s continued participation: either an extension on the collective bargaining agreement from the players, along with a commitment for two Olympics and two World Cups of Hockey; or agreement from the IOC to allow the use of Games footage on NHL properties, along with any travel and insurance costs for NHL players.

Bettman got nowhere. He walked away.

Healy likens it to a dance.

“For the Olympics, the league wants the players to extend the CBA,” says Healy. “Can’t find a dance partner with the players, can’t find the dance partner with the IIHF/IOC. So there’s no one to dance with, so there’s no Olympics, so he’s vilified.

“If they extended the CBA, you’d have two World Cups, two Olympics. But you’re not dancing with me (so) there’s no Olympics. The music stops.”

THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE ROOM

There was a time Gary Bettman’s detractors would call him the smartest man in the room in derision. They now say it with begrudging respect.

Behind hockey’s closed doors, Bettman’s intellect stands above the rest.

“To underestimate him is death. You’re doomed. Don’t ever underestimate him,” says one source who has been an adversary, speaking on the condition his name not be used. “He’s ruthless. But you have to be in that job.”

Bettman might not agree with the tone of his adversary, but he doesn’t dispute the sentiment.

“That is part of the portrait that is painted,” says Bettman. “I will be the first to ask questions. I know what I don’t know. I like to be inquisitive. I tend to think I am smart. But only because you can’t do this for as long as I’ve done it if you weren’t smart. But I don’t think that makes me the smartest person in the room. And I never act like I’m the smartest person in the room.

“I try to lead by consensus and I tried to learn and understand and I’m not afraid to make decisions. Tell me everything I need to know and I’ll make a decision. I don’t need to waffle. A lot of people don’t like to make decisions and they don’t like to tell people what they don’t want to hear. I don’t have a problem with either of those.

“If that makes me smart or that makes me tough or independent that’s fine. That’s part of me being transparent.”

THE NEGOTIATOR

It should be pointed out that no one from the NHL Players’ Association, despite multiple requests, wanted to speak to the Star regarding this story.

It’s no wonder, really.

Bettman shredded the NHLPA with the 2004-05 lockout. The association, under Bob Goodenow, had won the day during the first lockout, in 1994. But Bettman learned from his mistakes. Back then, owners — most of whom relied on team revenue as their chief source of income — could overrule him with a simple majority. And they did. And Bettman’s dream of a salary cap was over.

What Bettman did to counter his predicament was engineer a way to keep the queasy owners from having too much sway. There were fines for speaking to the media. Most importantly, it now required a super majority for owners to overrule him. In other words, Bettman only required eight owners on his side — not half the league — to keep the players locked out.

It took a lost season and a civil war within the players’ association, but Bettman eventually succeeded in implementing the salary cap.

In the next round of collective bargaining that led to the 2012-13 lockout, Bettman found himself in a showdown with Donald Fehr — the most feared sports union leader from his days representing Major League Baseball players — and again prevailed, earning even more concessions from the players.

“The fact that he could do business and achieve success with Donald Fehr is in itself a landmark. It is a testament to his resilience,” said one executive who requested anonymity in order to speak about Bettman.

Under Bettman, the players’ share of NHL wealth went from more than 70 per cent of revenue to 50 per cent. And if you believe some agents, the share is much lower, closer to 44 per cent.

Ask agent Anton Thun what he thinks of the job Bettman has done, and the answer is one of grudging respect.

“As commissioner of the league is he’s got a variety of roles,” says Thun. “The best job he’s done is, and he probably deserves an A-plus, is cost containment. Over the span of the 25 years he’s been in the business, he’s reduced the salaries the players are making.”

Thun believes Bettman hoodwinked the NHLPA. He says salaries are closer to 44 per cent of hockey-related revenue because players have to pay for their own health insurance, dental plans and pensions — nearly $150 million a year in costs that normally would be paid by an employer.

As well, the definition of hockey-related revenue, which the NHL says is $4.54 billion, favours the owners since many things — most notably expansion fees — are not considered hockey related and go straight into the owners’ pockets, pushing revenue toward $5 billion.

“There’s been effectively a transfer of wealth from the players to the owners,” says Thun. “You can see in the expansion franchises — for Seattle they’re talking $650 million — why they’re getting those prices.”

THE ADVERSARY

Jerry Moyes knows what it’s like to cross Gary Bettman.

The former owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, Moyes tried to sell his money-losing team to BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie, who had visions of moving the club to Hamilton.

Bettman dug in his heels.

“He’s a little banty rooster,” says Moyes. “It’s his way or the roadway. No matter whose idea it is, it’s his idea and that’s the way it’s going to be. He was bound and determined that the Coyotes would stay here. The math just don’t work.”

Under Bettman’s watch, the Quebec Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche, the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes, the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars, the Winnipeg Jets became the Coyotes and the Atlanta Thrashers became the Winnipeg Jets.

So Bettman’s loyalty to the greater Phoenix area all this time seems somewhat empty.

'He’s a little banty rooster. It’s his way or the roadway. Jerry Moyes former owner of the Phoenix Coyotes

Maybe it had something to do with the size of the market, and how it might affect the league’s deal with NBC. Or perhaps Bettman was quietly ensuring there would be no second team in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ market, or that of the Buffalo Sabres.

But Moyes felt Bettman’s wrath.

“We had this thing sold to Hamilton. But Gary Bettman said no way in hell. We’re not going to do it. We thought we had the deal done. He screwed the thing up,” says Moyes. “If he was representing me as an owner, he should have helped me get this thing done. Instead he did not.

“We went into bankruptcy, the organization (under new owners) is still losing money, $25 (million) to $30 million a year.

“We had a method of getting it solved. Balsillie had a lot of money. The team probably should have gone to Hamilton.

“He was totally against it.”

Moyes, owner of a trucking company, says it’s all water under the bridge now.

“The problem with Gary is he tried making hockey work in the South. If you go down the list of teams, none of them have made it. I think they’ve all lost tons of money.”

The salary cap may have mitigated some damage, but the teams with historic attendance problems — Carolina, Florida and Arizona — have fans that speak with drawls.

“The big criticism is he started putting the teams in the South where nobody knows how to spell puck,” says Moyes. “It only cost me $300 million to learn how to spell puck.”

THE LAWYER

There is a line between what is known, and what is believed to be true. The line gets thinner between what science has proved and what science believes it is about to prove.

And as far as concussions are concerned, the side of the line Gary Bettman is on may well be on the wrong side of history.

But he is completely comfortable sticking to what is known and what is proven even as he nudges however slowly — through concussion protocols, reduced fighting and the introduction of suspensions for head shots — toward making the game safer to play.

“I would have liked to have seen greater changes in the NHL towards the safety of its players,” said Dr. Charles Tator, Canada’s foremost concussion researcher. “Yes, they have virtually eliminated the role of the enforcer. That’s quite a dramatic shift. But there is still a lot to be done.

“We lived through a terrible time of brain damage during Gary Bettman’s reign. He could have done a lot more to establish himself as someone who wants to save the game, rather than increase the profits. He should spend more effort toward player safety, and less effort on enrichment of the owners.”

In the summer of 2016, Bettman wrote a letter to Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal and U.S. district judge Susan Richard Nelson outlining his position on concussions, as far as they relate to brain damage in hockey players later in life.

'We lived through a terrible time of brain damage during Gary Bettman’s reign.' Dr. Charles Tator

The NFL recognized the link between head trauma and brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy and agreed to a settlement with its former players that will pay individual sufferers from a pot of about $1 billion.

Blumenthal had requested clarification over the NHL’s stance on the link between head trauma and CTE; Nelson was presiding over a class-action concussion lawsuit against the NHL.

“The science regarding CTE, including on the asserted ‘link’ to concussions that you reference, remains nascent, particularly with respect to what causes CTE and whether it can be diagnosed by specific clinical symptoms,” Bettman wrote, according to the New York Times. “A causal link between concussions and CTE has not been demonstrated” and “the relationship between concussion and the asserted clinical symptoms of CTE remains unknown.”

Former players Derek Boogaard, Bob Probert and Steve Montador were found to have CTE after they died, though Todd Ewen did not suffer from it despite suffering multiple concussions in his career.

In his letter, Bettman said too many people jumped to the conclusion “without reliable scientific support, that there is a causal link between concussions and CTE.”

But the letter, pointing out the NHL was the first sports league with a concussion program, came with a caveat true to his lawyerly self.

“While we agree that the ongoing research is very important, it is particularly unfair to criticize the NHL when we have followed the medical consensus of experts examining the science,” Bettman wrote.

“If that consensus changes, so, too, will my answers.”

At the NHL all-star game in Tampa last weekend, Bettman was asked how he came to hold this position.

“Actually it’s not my position,” said Bettman. “It’s the position of the medical community and the medical and scientific experts that advise us. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a scientist. I only know what I’m told, including out of the most recent consensus statement on the International Conference on Sports Concussions in Berlin that was held. You can read those reports. I only repeat in response to a question of what those reports say. I’m not the one who is making the determination.”

THE CURATOR

Just how responsible is Gary Bettman for the game itself?

He certainly acts in the best interests of the owners, at least most of the time.

And he has a soft spot for the Canadian markets, which represent the heartbeat of the league.

But if a child picks up stick in China, or dons skates in Spain, or subscribes to the NHL streaming service in Australia, is that because of anything Bettman has done?

“The sport in North America has grown at the rate it would have grown,” says Thun, the player agent. “Leagues have expanded and hockey has expanded under his management, but I don’t think that is anything that is exceptional. I don’t think quite honestly it had anything to do with Gary Bettman.

“But in terms of growing the sport internationally over the past 25 years, it’s a failure. Hockey in this 25-year-period, hockey has had the most varied international players of any sport. What has happened is basketball has seen that opportunity and decided to grow outside the North American marketplace.”

The NHL doesn’t have a permanent office outside North America. NHL teams play overseas from time-to-time, but profit seems to be the prime motive. They won’t go if they can’t make money.

“It is maybe not his job to grow the sport,” says Rene Fasel, who has served as president of the International Ice Hockey Federation since 1994, almost as long as Bettman has been commissioner of the NHL.

“He is so much better than me at business,” says Fasel. “He was always interested in the business side. It was always about that. About compensation for the players when they leave their countries. About the Olympic Games: ‘How much money do we get?’

“For sure he is interested in rules and where the game is going, but this is not his main (area of concern).”

Fasel laments the NHL is passing on this month’s Olympic Games in Pyeongchang as a missed opportunity to introduce the game at the highest level in prime time in front of an audience of two billion or so.

“The league and the union could not come together on a proposal that made sense to both,” says Gretzky. “Ultimately, Gary took the blame. He looks like he’s the guy who cancelled the Olympic Games, but it’s 100 per cent not true. There was ample time to negotiate a partnership with the players.

“People might’ve thought he was bluffing, but I hope people know that the commissioner doesn’t bluff.”

THE WORKAHOLIC

It’s late November in Montreal, and Gary Bettman seems relaxed — affable even — taking time to talk about his remarkable 25-year run as commissioner of the National Hockey League.

He’s proud to be the longest-serving active commissioner of any of the major North American sports, closing in on the record of 30 years set by his friend and mentor David Stern.

The conversation lands between suit fittings and glad-handing season-ticket holders near the end of a whirlwind 10-day tour that took him to Europe for a pair of games between the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, then to Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony, then to New York for a few days of office work, then to Montreal to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the league he runs, then back home to his wife of 42 years, Shelli.

It’s a hell of a schedule for anyone, much less a 65-year-old father of three, grandfather of five who shows no signs of slowing down when anyone else his age would be looking for three months in Florida at this time of year.

“I love what I do,” says Bettman. “I try as best I can to juggle the requirements of being a good husband, father and grandfather, and doing what I do.

“There will come a point when I decide it’s time — and nowhere in the short term, I’m assuming sometime in my seventies — there are things I need to do as a husband at this stage in life, and red-eyeing three times in a two-week period is probably not a great idea when in your seventies.

“But people might say it’s a bad idea in your sixties. But I do now.

“It doesn’t bother me and I do it all the time.”

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