BETTMAN REVELS IN TOUR OF POST-SEASON SITES

NHL boss praises Edmonton for handling of 2020 `bubble' playoffs

Gary Bettman missed the campfire camaraderie. But all those fans were cool.

Just for old times sake, the NHL commissioner probably would have loved it if the Edmonton Oilers had cleared out the finally-opened Ice Plaza area of Ice District at Rogers Place after Game 2 on Wednesday and built a bonfire.

“I lived in Edmonton for three weeks — well, I didn't live in all of Edmonton. I lived in a three square block area where Mayor Stephen Mandel and Oilers owner Daryl Katz's vision came together,” he remembered.

“It's funny two years later that I'd look back on that as such a warm memory. But our head of broadcasting Ivan Gottesfeld used to make fires there at night and we'd sit around the bonfire.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At least I hope it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” the NHL commissioner said of checking into the J.W. Marriott where he spent the entire mandated week of COVID-19 quarantine prior to Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

Bettman looked out his hotel room window during his quarantine period and saw the lonely Tim Hortons truck surrounded by picnic tables where players could sit outside and get some fresh air in the afternoons. In the evenings, the NHL executives would claim the area. Last night, 2,200 fans occupied that space for the second time in three evenings as the Oilers took on the Kings in Game 2 of their firstround series.

Bettman's Edmonton visit was the third stop on his traditional tour of Stanley Cup playoff host cities — a tour he hasn't been able to take for the last two seasons because of the pandemic.

You knew that Edmonton would be one of his first stops.

In Carolina on Monday and Calgary on Tuesday, he and NHL media relations companion John Dellapina were scheduled to fly from here to Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Bettman was here two years ago as Edmonton played host to 81 Stanley Cup games in a bubble and he eventually presented the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

During the lead-up to making Edmonton the host with the most games, including the semifinal and finals, there seemed to be a rumour that the NHL was leaning to a different site.

“That got misconstrued,” Bettman said.

“What happened was that COVID was breaking out in different areas. We were always going to do two bubbles. Edmonton was always one of the finalists but I made the decision at the time because Toronto and Edmonton were less affected by COVID than any of the other cities that we were considering.

“We could not have asked for anything more when it came to Edmonton. With the support we received from the city and the way the complex and the bubble were set up, it couldn't have worked any better for us and we were thrilled to present the 2020 Stanley Cup in Edmonton.

“We did 33,000 tests over two months and didn't have one positive test. Everybody felt good about being here and everybody left feeling everything was first rate.”

You'd figure that a priority of Bettman's stop in Calgary would be to make the rounds holding meetings in an attempt to get a new arena in Calgary back on the rails.

But that wasn't it at all, he said. “There's nothing going on with respect to a new building at this moment. That wasn't the purpose of my visit. I was there to take in a playoff game and I always enjoy seeing the Sea of Red,” he said. “We got it done in Edmonton. And ultimately there is no question that Calgary needs a new arena.”

Bettman was in a terrific mood Wednesday because most everything was well in his world.

The NHL changed U.S. broadcast partners this season, going back after decades of separation to ESPN.

“For the first night of the playoffs, the Carolina-boston game was the highest rated first game of the playoffs in 20 years,” he said.

We did 33,000 tests over two months and didn't have one positive test.