from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

Gary Bettman is everything Canadian hockey fans revile.

He is not a hockey guy but he is the worst kind of empty suit: a corporate lawyer from New York. In two decades on the job, he's yet to demonstrate a passion or love for this game which is so deeply embedded in our national psyche. And, when you come right down to it, there's something inherently unlikable about the little man.

Oh, yes. One other thing. Under Bettman's watch, the NHL is currently enduring its third major work stoppage of the last 18 years. Short of putting a Darth Vader helmet on him, you couldn't cast a better villain for this piece. But, while it's kind of fun to make Bet-tman the target of all our derision and scorn - OK, it's a lot of fun - it misses the point.

The issue, and be prepared to be pummelled with the obvious here, concerns the divide that exists between the NHL's wealthiest teams and its poorest.

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