Quotes from Gary Bettman

The fact is, I view part of what I do is, if necessary, on difficult issues, be the lightning rod.

You don't want people rooting for anything other than the team that they love and the players that they think the world of to win. We don't want there to be another agenda.

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 there's always a line between what is parody in good fun in chanting and what is intended to belittle certain segments of society.

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

We're concerned how gambling and betting affects the NHL game and changes the perception of and challenges the integrity of the NHL game.

We're certainly not in position to expand into the East. We've been very candid and up front that if, in fact, we go through an expansion process, the world will know about it.

Let's put it this way: I would consider my skiing ability to be far superior to my skating ability. And, in fact, my 10-year-old grandson, who's a AAA squirt, can skate circles around me.

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

We profoundly regret the suffering this has caused our fans, our business partners and the thousands of people who depend on our industry for their livelihoods.

Having to respond to things that are made up or untrue tends to be a waste of time.

I don't feel that it's either necessary or appropriate for me to comment on what the NFL either says or does.

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.

Whatever you do needs to be sustainable over time, and taking the money in the short term and taking it in a bubble - like buying an Internet stock in 2000 - may not be sustainable.

What you want to do, particularly when you're dealing with a professional sports league and franchises and people's passionate commitment to the game and for the team they root for is, it has to be sustainable.

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.

There are always going to be critics... and I have always had a rule: no matter how good the commentary is, or how bad the commentary is, it's more important that you do what you think is right.

This is a sad, regrettable day that all of us wish could have been avoided.

I don't weigh into politics.

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.

Because of the way my words get scrutinized, I have to use a level of precision so people don't accuse me of misleading them.

In '94, we made the deal during collective bargaining that wasn't the right deal, just to save the season. Allowing the 'in the crease' rule, the foot-in-the-crease rule, we should have not done.

The Canadian franchises and Canada as a market for NHL hockey has always been a priority for us.

I think the media world is adjusting to the digital age.