The New York Post published a column by Larry Brooks this weekend that states that the NHL should give some serious consideration to sacking their commissioner. Using the current troubled state of Krispy Kreme donuts as a comparison Brooks points out that the first guy off the bridge was the CEO, Scott Livenwood, who walked the plank when Krispy Kreme watched a stock price drop from fifty to 8 dollars a share, faced an SEC probe into reporting discrepancies and suffered three consecutive losing quarters.
With the NHL suffering much of the same kind of financial distress and falling franchise values it's suggested by Brooks that it's time for a turnaround specialist to be hired on, sending Gary off to a place where he need not discuss hockey anymore.
Player's sources claim that while many say it's a clash of ego between Bettman and Goodenow, the problem is purely Bettman, who refuses to discuss anything that doesn't include his much cherished salary cap. The players say that the league has lost their players now due to the loss of faith in the commissioner to listen to their concerns.
With Bettman out of the picture they feel there may be some possibility of forward progress. It's not likely to happen, but it certainly is a feeling that many besides the players believe in. For Bettman this is indeed the roughest patch he's had to deal with, a bitter and drawn out labour dispute that follows on the heels of lost television deals, an expansion policy that has provided a number of flailing franchises and a sport recognition factor in the US dropping at an alarming rate, not the best selling points for a CEO to take to his board of directors and survive!
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