Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Gary Bettman And The Calgary Mayor

09/28/2017 at 7:46am EDT

from Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun,

NHL commish Gary Bettman dishes the inside scoop on a mid-March sitdown he had with Nenshi and the mayor’s chief of staff.

It is in that closed-door conversation Bettman says he asked Nenshi a question and got an answer surprising and disappointing the commissioner.

“We were talking about the type of deal that was and wasn’t doable,” says Bettman.

“At one point I said: Let me ask you a question. I wasn’t being threatening. I wanted to understand. What happens if the end result of this is the Flames have to move?”

“And you know what the mayor said to me? So they’ll move.”...

Nenshi responds upon hearing of Bettman recounting the mid-March meeting.

He says his recollection is “somewhat different.”

“It is fair to say he wasn’t making any overt threats. But he certainly did say: You know, if you screw this up the Flames are going to leave and that is going to be miserable and it’ll destroy your city,” says Nenshi.

“I remember very well saying to him: That would be an awful outcome but it’s not going to destroy my city.

“He intimated it is the end of a political career if you lose a hockey team. I said: Be that as it may, we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got to make the right and the fair deal for taxpayers.”

more

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 3 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 3 hours ago
Comment by Steeb in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 4 hours ago
Comment by calquake in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 5 hours ago
Comment by StargateSG1 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 5 hours ago