Article content

It must get tiring for Gary Bettman to put up with rubes like the ones he’s stuck with in Calgary.

Hicks, hayseeds, bumpkins. For a slick lawyer from the big city, Cowtown is just another bunch of yokels fresh in from the sticks and just begging to be taken to the cleaners.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Kelly McParland: This Nenshi guy sure knows how to get under Bettman's skin Back to video

Bettman has been dealing with towns like Calgary — with their backwater mayors and excitable councils — since Methuselah was in short pants. Local big shots who think they know which way the world turns, basically begging to be fleeced. He’s seen it in ‘burg after ‘burg, across the National Hockey League. He barely has to leave his hotel room to peddle his magic elixir … the poor suckers are so eager they’re virtually pounding on his door demanding to give him their cash.

Bettman has been dealing with towns like Calgary since Methuselah was in short pants

The NHL commissioner visited Sticksville a few months back to confer with the mayor, fellah named Nenshi. His message was simple: the local hockey team, the Flames, wanted a new arena and they wanted big bucks from the city to pay for it. All he had to do was make clear the NHL’s requirements, ensure the money would be forthcoming, then head straight back to New York.