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Monday, February 5, 2001
Bettman won't ax 2002 All-Star Game
Associated Press
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DENVER -- The NHL won't alter its 2001-02 schedule or scrap
its All-Star Game to accommodate any pre-Olympics training camps,
commissioner Gary Bettman said Saturday.
Coach Herb Brooks, whose "Miracle on Ice" upset in 1980 is
widely regarded as the greatest victory in U.S. Olympic history,
created a stir by urging the NHL to scrap the 2002 All-Star Game to
facilitate practice.
Because the NHL has agreed only to a 12-day Olympic shutdown,
compared with a 17-day hiatus in 1998, its players will have only
one day to travel and practice for the Salt Lake City Games.
The NHL will play until two days before the Olympics begin, then
resume their schedules two days after the Olympics end. As a
result, any Olympic team with NHL players will have less than a
full day together before beginning Olympic play.
The 1998 U.S. Olympic team was a huge disappointment in Japan,
finishing out of medal contention with a 1-3 record and
embarrassing themselves with a room-trashing incident that brought
them international condemnation.
Brooks will be under considerable pressure to deliver a
medal-winning team next year, which could prove difficult if he has
only a few hours of practice time with his team.
Still, Bettman defended the schedule, saying the NHL wouldn't
have agreed to take part in the Olympics again without such a
timeframe.
The 2½-week shutdown for the Nagano Olympics pushed the Stanley
Cup finals into late June, a delay the league now believes reduced
interest in the playoffs. The NHL has moved in recent seasons to
end the finals in early June.
"We're not changing it," Bettman said. "We looked long and
hard for 1½ years at all the situations involved, and we're not
going to change. ... If it (the shutdown) were any longer, we
weren't going to the Olympics."
The solution might be for the U.S. and Canadian teams to hold
weeklong camps in August, before the start of training camps, but
such an arrangement would require the NHL Players Association's
approval.
Also, the downside to the summertime camps is the teams wouldn't
be together again for five months, a long time to maintain any
cohesion or chemistry developed during camp.
However, Canadian Olympic executive director Wayne Gretzky said,
"I think we're all in agreement that we'd like to somehow get
four, five or six days together."
During his annual state-of-the-NHL remarks at the All-Star Game,
Bettman said Mario Lemieux's comeback, the higher TV ratings it has
generated and a significant decrease in slashing-related injuries
are major plusses this season.
Only three players have missed playing time due to slashing
injuries, compared with 16 a year ago.
Bettman also made his strongest remarks yet suggesting that NHL
owners will push for a salary cap-type economic system during the
next round of labor talks with the NHLPA in 2004.
Such a cost-control measure is vital to keep small market teams
and the Canadian franchises economically viable, Bettman said.
Bettman repeatedly emphasized the importance of keeping six
teams in Canada, where Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa are in constant
economic trouble largely because of the devalued Canadian dollar.
Bettman also said:
He remains optimistic the long-stalled sale of the Phoenix
Coyotes to the group headed by developer Steve Ellman and Gretzky
will go through, and the latest deadline of Feb. 15 will be met.
The NHL has yet to do the necessary investigation needed before
American George Gillett is approved as the Montreal Canadiens'
owner. But he hinted Gillett's past economic problems won't hinder
the sale as long as Gillett can prove he has the money to buy and
operate the team.
The league is considering several All-Star formats other than
World vs. North America.
There are no plans to add more teams to the playoffs --
currently, 16 of 30 teams advance -- because doing so would lessen
the importance of the regular season.
The NHL is not yet ready to take legal action against the
Canadian lottery that allows wagering on NHL games, but he is not
ruling it out in the future.
Attendance is up 2 percent, and the league set records for
total attendance and per-game averages in December and January.
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