Gary Bettman chides Paul Bissonnette over ‘ridiculous' NHL state tax concern
Bissonnette, who played in the NHL and minor league hockey before launching his media career, had previously expressed the concern following the Panthers' Eastern Conference Final series-clinching victory over the Hurricanes on TNT.
TNT hockey analyst Anson Carter pushed back almost immediately when Bissonnette brought it up, and Bettman was forceful in his dismissal of it when he broached the subject on Monday night.
Advertisement
Gary Bettman is pictured during the TNT broadcast on June 9.
Screengrab via X/@awfulannouncing
'When the Florida teams weren't good, which was for about 17 years, OK, nobody said anything about it,' Bettman said before puck drop on Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Panthers and Oilers. 'For those of you that played, were you sitting there with a tax table? No, you wanted to go to a good organization in a place you wanted to live where you wanted to raise your kids and send them to school. You wanted to play in a first-class arena with a first-class training facility with an owner, an organization, a GM and a coach that you were comfortable with.
'And you wanted to have good teammates so you would have a shot at winning. That's what motivates. Could it be a little bit of a factor if everything else were equal? I suppose, but that's not it. By the way, state taxes high in Los Angeles, high in New York. What are we going to do, subsidize those teams?'
Advertisement
Paul Bissonnette is pictured June 9.
Getty Images
While Bettman seemed to slam dunk on Bissonnette during the segment, the hockey analyst took it in stride and even chimed in on social media with a post on X in response to a clip of the segment.
'Get the people talking. Look at that engagement. Throwing Gary softballs,' Bissonnette wrote on X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Canadiens Player Signs With Colorado
Former Canadiens Player Signs With Colorado In July 2024, Montmagny, PQ native Alex Barre-Boulet signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. With 68 NHL games under his belt, the 28-year-old left-shot center was hoping to be able to make the team in October. He made the opening night roster, played the first two games, but was kept off the scoreboard and was swiftly waived and assigned to the Laval Rocket when he went unclaimed. 2:52 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Red Wings Legend Returns to Pro Hockey at 50
Former Red Wings winger Todd Bertuzzi makes return to pro hockey at 50 years old with Cambridge area team. The Red Wings haven't seen winger Todd Bertuzzi lace up since 2014 but a report on Friday may shock some fans. At 50 years old, it was announced that Bertuzzi would be joining a senior AAA team called the Cambridge Hornets in the Allan Cup Hockey League. Advertisement After playing 1,159 NHL games and recording 770 points, he now joins a local hockey club close to where he coaches a youth team called the Cambridge Redhawks. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. Bertuzzi played his entire junior career in the Cambridge area as he played for the Guelph Storm of the OHL for four seasons. He would go on to get drafted 23rd overall by the New York Islanders in the 1993 NHL entry draft. Besides playing for the Red Wings and Islanders, Bertuzzi also saw time with the Canucks, Panthers and Flames. Advertisement His most memorable season was back in the 2002-03 season where the Sudbury native put up 46 goals and 51 points for 97 points through a full 82-game season with the Canucks. He was named an all-star and would continue to produce in the 60-70 point range before maturing to a 30-40 point player in old age. Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Summer Of 2025 Has Been A World Of Difference For The Tampa Bay Lightning
SUNRISE, Fla. — Pontus Holmberg of the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Florida Panthers during first ... More period action at the Amerant Bank Arena on April 8, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by) This summer has been in stark contrast from that of a year ago for the Tampa Bay Lightning. While fans were not gathered outside Amalie Arena with pitchforks, there was much moaning, groaning and other expressions of disappointment when Steven Stamkos signed with Nashville upon the free agency window opening last summer. The writing had long been on the wall and in type that became bolder as time marched along and the Stammer can continued to be kicked down the street. Extending Victor Hedman (four years, $32 million) proved to be the imperative off-season duty for Julien BriseBois, and the late-May reacquisition of on- and off-ice pillar Ryan McDonagh from the Predators made it pretty clear the general manager was going about business in a manner that would not include the franchise's all-time leading scorer. A June 29 trade that could pay dividends for seasons to come had defenseman J.J. Moser and forward Conor Geekie, now 25 and 21, respectively, arrive in Tampa from Utah in exchange for blueliner Mikhail Sergachev and his $8.5 million AAV. That provided BriseBois with the capital to procure star forward Jake Guentzel (for a 2025 third-round pick) and sign him at a rate of $9 million per over seven years. Guentzel fared very well in his first season with the Bolts, collecting a third 40-goal season. Meanwhile, Moser proceeded to record a plus-20 rating despite missing nearly 30 games, and Geekie, showed flashes of his considerable talent during a rookie campaign (52 games, 8 goals) that also included a roughly two-month stint at Syracuse of the AHL. Indeed, nothing this summer was going to compare with last year's activity. Still, BriseBois and the Bolts, with $5.5 million in cap space, went to work fortifying the ranks in the aftermath of a draft that yielded eight selections led by forward Ethan Czata, who had 21 goals and 55 points in 68 games with Niagara (OHL), at No. 56. Keeping Goncalves With veteran Yanni Gourde already in the fold at an AAV of $2.33 million over six years, there was also a strong desire to retain the services of 24-year-old forward Gage Goncalves. In a 26-game stretch commencing with his season debut with the parent club November 5, the forward produced one goal and one assist and, ultimately, another flight to Syracuse. However, he was back with the Crunch for less than two weeks before he was summoned once again. 'You would just want to see guys go down there and not hang their head and keep working at their game, and that's what he did,' coach Jon Cooper said at the time. Goncalves was 7-11-18 over his final 34 regular season games. That was followed by 1-3-4 in all five games of Tampa Bay's first round playoff series loss to the Panthers, an experience that could only benefit Goncalves. Cooper, BriseBois, et al, undoubtedly approved of what they saw and re-signed him to a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.2 million. 'It really means a lot to sign this deal, and hopefully I can just keep growing as a player and kind of as a person in Tampa,' said the second-round, 2020 pick. Improving even-strength 'model' With UFAs Luke Glendening and Cam Atkinson not in the plan for 2025-26, the Lightning needed to address the bottom six of its forward ranks. The need was fulfilled when Pontus Holmberg and Jakob Pelletier did not receive qualifying offers from the Maple Leafs and Flyers, respectively, and signed with the Bolts. In Holmberg, Tampa Bay has a player who, according to BriseBois, can be tough to play against. 'He's a pest, goes to the hard areas, takes pride in his work ethic and, in being particularly competitive and feisty, draws penalties,' he said. 'Our model is to be a really good defensive team, a really good five-on-five team. He allows us to be an even better version of that model. That's why we brought him in.' Holmberg was brought in on a two-year deal at an average of $1.55 million. The 26-year-old, who made his NHL debut with the Leafs in 2022-23, played in 68 games with Toronto last season and was 7-19-26 in 12:40 of ice time. His 53 blocked shots were third among the team's forwards. BUFFALO - James Reimer of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save on a shot by Jakob Pelletier of the ... More Philadelphia Flyers in the first period during a game on April 17, 2025 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Ben Green/NHLI via Getty Images) The 24-year-old Pelletier was 7-12-19 in 49 games with the Flyers and Flames. He signed for three years beginning with a two-way deal for the 2025-26 season prior to the final two years converting to a one-way term. He has played 86 career NHL games and made his debut with Calgary versus the Lightning during the second half of the 2022-23 season. The Lightning also brought back Boris Katchouk on a one-year, two-way deal. The 27-year-old played his first 38 NHL games with Tampa Bay in 2021-22 prior to being dealt to the Blackhawks at that season's trade deadline. He was sent to Chicago along with a pair of first-round picks (2023 and 2024) and forward Taylor Raddysh in return for Brandon Hagel. That has worked out pretty well, hasn't it? Katchouk, who has played 176 NHL games with the Lightning, 'Hawks and Senators, spent last season with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, scoring 21 goals.
