Gary Bettman

I never rule anything in or out; life can surprise you. ”

If you're thin-skinned, you don't belong doing what I do for a living. ”

What we have tried to instill across the league through ownership and management is that we stand for inclusiveness and to judge somebody on the merits. ”

I think it's our job to create a culture and an environment where a gay player knows he is safe and welcome. If and when that happens, believe me - that person will have the full support of the commissioner's office. ”

We're not anti-Olympics, we're anti-disruption to the season. ”

I know when you're in the business of cover sports, you look for 60-minute games and a result. It's never that simple. ”

While players say they like the five-day break, they're also saying they don't like the compression that goes along with it, and that's something that is of great concern to us as well. ”

I don't really think about having a retrospective on my high-school years. It's not something that, from a positive or a negative standpoint, is a driving force in my life. ”

I don't think taunting chants at players on the other side of the ice is intended to be sexist in the slightest. It's like when you call a goaltender a sieve, they chant that. Is that now inappropriate also? ”

Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the 'fighters,' meaning these guys would not have NHL careers. ”