Gary Bettman

Doing jersey advertising for the World Cup is not in the same universe as putting advertising on NHL sweaters. ”

My message to the kids and our fans is hockey's a great game. There's a lot of hockey being played at all levels. Get involved, do it. We will be back and we will be back better than ever and hopefully as soon as possible. Don't give up on the game. It's too good. ”

There are lots of come-from-behind wins, games getting tied in the last period, teams going on to win. That, I think, tells the best story. Whether or not some teams have more grit, better chemistry, or more luck or more skill, it's still within the parameters. I think that makes for great storytelling and great interest for our fans. ”

There are a couple people who have complained on other teams about some of the things that Pittsburgh players have done. Some of that goes in the category of gamesmanship. Some of that goes to the fact that we need to be vigilant as a league to make sure that players aren't unnecessarily and inappropriately hurt. ”

I think it's fair to say that all of the teams that have been in the playoffs have played very physically. ”

We are not giving up on the Coyotes in the Greater Phoenix Area... The team has got a number of options and is going to pursue them, so nobody should think that team is moving other than out of Glendale. ”

Our economics are not baseball's economics. Our game is not baseball's game. Our owners are not baseball's owners, with one or two exceptions. Our union is not baseball's union. What we do has to be crafted and suited to address hockey, to address the NHL, to address our 30 teams and our 700-plus players. ”

The good news for us is the NHL has never been stronger, never been more popular, and that, I guess, has led to a lot of interest being expressed from a number of places, an interest in getting an expansion team, and Las Vegas happens to be one of those places. ”

My rooting interest these days is first and foremost competitive hockey, and secondly in officials not making a mistake. ”

You can have the biggest markets in the world, but if the game isn't exciting, compelling, and competitive, it's not going to generate a lot of interest. ”