Morning Skate: Yikes

It’s Tuesday, another day without a game for YOUR Boston Bruins.

Rest up.

The NHL fell flat on its face in spectacular fashion yesterday, with Gary Bettman putting in an embarrassing performance at a press conference.

The main topic of conversation was, of course, the ongoing legal issues facing the Chicago Blackhawks.

You’d think it would have been a slam dunk for Bettman to come out, show remorse for what happened, pledge to hold those responsible accountable for their actions (or inaction), pledge to ensure this never happens again, etc.

But in true NHL fashion, Bettman and Bill Daly did their best to continue to make us all uncomfortable for following this league.

Lowlights included:

• Bettman seemingly going out of his way to not let TSN’s Rick Westhead ask a question (Westhead’s reporting has been key to publicizing Kyle Beach’s story).
• The league saying it only learned about Beach’s lawsuit in December but took the Blackhawks at their word when they said it had no merit.
• Lying about contacting Akim Aliu about their “investigation” into Bill Peters.
• Claiming that the NHL’s $2 million fine against the Blackhawks is appropriate because it’s a different context from the heavier fines levied on the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes (for salary cap/draft issues).
• Implying that it was correct to let Joel Quenneville coach against the Bruins last week because he didn’t want Quenneville to think he had pre-judged him.

Good stuff.

Obviously it’s hard to say for sure, but it seems pretty likely that Bettman, Daly, Don Fehr, and other power brokers knew about this stuff long before they claim they knew.

At the very best, they found out about this lawsuit in December and...did nothing, assuming the Blackhawks were acting in good faith. Nice.

Aren’t you glad you watch this product?

Today’s discussion topic

Wouldn’t it be nice if the NHL committed to legitimate action instead of circling the wagons?