Quotes from Gary Bettman

It's not about big markets or small markets. It's not about dominant teams or not. It's about the actual competition and how good the games are, how good the series turn out. That's what I think is the most important for fans.

Young people, particularly in their teens and 20s, are not consuming sports the way my generation did. They are doing lots of things; they are multitasking. They are getting downloads; they are getting alerts on their computers or on their cellphones, and they are consuming sports in a more real-time but less full-time basis.

I don't worry about the integrity of the game. Our players are professionals.

Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the 'fighters,' meaning these guys would not have NHL careers.

I believe, certainly in the NHL, a player who can help a team win because he can contribute on the ice is going to be coveted whatever his beliefs may be or whoever he may be. That goes to national origin, religious beliefs, or sexuality.

If you want to know how I feel, I'll summarize it in one word - terrible.

I believe that the Greater Phoenix Area is a terrific sports market; it's a terrific hockey market.

We are not giving up on the Coyotes in the Greater Phoenix Area... The team has got a number of options and is going to pursue them, so nobody should think that team is moving other than out of Glendale.

On the issue of behavioral health and the like, the program we have in place has always been available to former players as well.

I'm not here to win a popularity contest.

I'm having trouble understanding why there hasn't been further progress on CalgaryNext.

I think it's very difficult to generalize as to why, in a particular league or a particular industry, somebody has or has not come out. We certainly don't want a player to come out for our sake. It should be what's right for him and something that he has to be comfortable with.

You can have the biggest markets in the world, but if the game isn't exciting, compelling, and competitive, it's not going to generate a lot of interest.

There are lots of come-from-behind wins, games getting tied in the last period, teams going on to win. That, I think, tells the best story. Whether or not some teams have more grit, better chemistry, or more luck or more skill, it's still within the parameters. I think that makes for great storytelling and great interest for our fans.

I think that when somebody loses a bet, they tend to sometimes confuse their motives in rooting and enjoying the game because if you lose your bet, even though the team you're rooting for wins, you have a potentially conflicted outcome.

Obviously, we're focused on the Winter Classic.

Our franchises have never been healthier. Our league, in terms of its economic footing, has never been healthier.

Doing jersey advertising for the World Cup is not in the same universe as putting advertising on NHL sweaters.

We don't tell the officials to change the standard for the playoffs, but as we all know, time and space tends to evaporate very quickly in a playoff game; there tends to be a lot more physicality and a lot more adjustments in the course of a series.

Relatively, a very small percentage of betting takes place on hockey and even baseball because of the nature of the game and the scoring.

We encourage the growth of women's hockey.

Fighting is one of those things that gets tons of attention, far more than it deserves.

A good fan base has developed around the Hurricanes, and I see the opportunity for continued growth for this franchise in the future.

If the IOC would move the Olympic hockey tournament to the summer, that would be great. We'd be thrilled to have our players participate because then it doesn't affect our season.