NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league will not have any commercial interests in the 2018 NHL season.
He says he’s confident in the talent in the league and believes it will produce a winning product for the fans and the sport.
“I think the fact that there’s a large fan base and a passionate fan base in this league and they’re ready to watch every game, I think that’s going to help make it a success,” Bettman said Wednesday.
We’re not doing anything. “
I don’t see a commercial element.
We’re not doing anything.
It’s all going to be in the fans’ hands.”
He added that while he was very confident in some of the players, the NHL is not yet ready to make a final decision on the commercial status of some players.
“The NHL’s been very clear about the fact, when the league is ready, they’ll make a decision.
The last thing we want to do is make any final decisions before the end of the season.
We have to see what happens with players, and obviously we have to get to the bottom of this,” he said.
Bettman said the NHLPA is going to look into how the league handles its partnership with sponsors, including the NHL and its television partners, which will include the National Hockey League Network.
Bettman was asked about the possibility of a television partnership with CBS Sports Network, which was recently bought by ESPN.
Beside the potential television partnership, Bettman mentioned the possibility that a joint venture with NBCUniversal could be formed, with Bettman saying it’s “a possibility.”
He said he would love to have it, but if it wasn’t possible, the league would be “a lot more flexible and a lot more open” to that.
Bethman said that the league’s TV and radio partners are all committed to bringing the best product to the fans, and he added that he is confident in his players and their ability to carry the team forward.
“Our players have the potential to be great and they can be tremendous, and they’ve done it with a lot of success.
But we’ve got to make sure that they can do it with the right support, that we’re doing it in a way that works for the league, the players and the fans,” he added.