It’s incumbent on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to score big in Canada, because his timing for the U.S. national package likely produced a deal that is now below market. Why? Since negotiations began with NBC on the eventual 10-year, $2-billion deal in 2011, both CBS and Fox have launched national sports channels to compete with ESPN and the NBC fledgling NBC Sports Channel.

Properties of all kinds are getting ridiculous money from these startups to fill their rosters. The NHL could definitely have used this to sweeten its own pot had they come into the market 18 months later. Not criticizing, just saying that timing is everything in showbiz.

-Bruce Dowbiggin at the Globe and Mail.