Gary Bettman was directly involved in the serious penalty given to the Golden Knights.
Last week, the National Hockey League surprised everyone when they revealed that the Vegas Golden Knights would lose their 2nd round draft pick this year, and their head coach, John Tortorella, would have to pay a fine of $100,000.
Many people thought this punishment was too harsh, especially because it was said to be for serious violations of the NHL’s media rules. However, on Monday morning, a top insider from the NHL provided more information about why such a tough penalty was given.
“The league had warned Vegas about some issues before… I heard there were a few requests they didn’t agree to, and you aren’t supposed to deny requests from rights holders without a good reason,” Friedman explained on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
But Friedman highlighted one particular incident that hasn’t been reported yet, which he believes made everything click for him.
“Then I found out, and I got this from a couple of different sources, that there was a request for someone from Vegas to wear a microphone, and they said no,” Friedman shared. “When I learned that, I understood why they were punished so severely. ”
Once Friedman knew about the microphone incident, his viewpoint changed a lot, partly because he knows how NHL commissioner Gary Bettman thinks. Friedman noted that Bettman had clearly stated years ago, in a memo sent to all teams, that this specific kind of situation would be punished very seriously.
At the start of each new year, the league brings together all the coaches and general managers for a meeting. A few years back, Colin Campbell mentioned, “You all need to wear microphones and we don’t want to hear ‘no’,” according to Friedman. They told the coaches that they had to use the mics, but some of them started to refuse. Bettman even sent out a message making it clear that wearing the microphones was crucial for the league’s success. He reportedly said, “The future of our league is in danger,” and he emphasized that he would take it personally if anyone chose not to wear the mics.
Bettman’s direct involvement in this situation helps explain why the punishment was so severe. It also suggests that the likelihood of it being lessened, as many people think it might be, is quite low.
“When I learned that this was happening and then saw what occurred, I wasn’t shocked,” Friedman’s comment stated. “It’s not surprising that he penalized both the team and Tortorella. ”
In fact, the insider mentioned that some individuals in the NHL believed the Golden Knights were almost teasing Bettman before this punishment was given.
“I think another reason Bettman decided to act is that this issue became too bothersome. Someone even compared it to waving a red flag in front of a bull named Bettman; eventually, he was going to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this,'” Friedman explained.
Leave a Reply