LAS VEGAS -- Gary Bettman is a lawyer. He chooses his words carefully.
And when he's entering one of his few annual press conferences days after a major league news story, you have to assume that he's gone through some level of thought or preparation on how he's going to address the inevitable when the topic is broached.
On Wednesday, Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz and his son, team CEO Danny Wirtz, were part of a team town hall event in Chicago. Danny was asked about what steps the team is taking to empower its players to ensure that no situations like the alleged 2010 sexual abuse of player Kyle Beach by video coach Bradley Aldrich -- and the subsequent failures of the team in its handling of the matter -- ever happen again.
Rocky interjected and cut his son off from answering.
"I think the report speaks for itself," Wirtz said. "The people that were involved are no longer here. We're not looking back at 2010. We're looking forward. And we're not going to talk about 2010."
He was pressed on the matter again.
"What we're going to do today is our business. I don't think it's any of your business," Wirtz responded. "Because I don't think it's your business. You don't work for the company. If someone in the company asked that question, we'll answer it, and I think you should get on to the next subject. We're not going to talk about Kyle Beach. We're not going to talk about anything that happened. We're moving on. You want to keep asking the same question? What more do I have to say? You want to hear the same answer? What's your next question?"
Rocky issued a statement that night apologizing for his response, saying that it "crossed the line."
As commissioner, someone who works for the league's owners, Bettman had to have expected that the Wirtz comments would be the subject of a question in his All-Star weekend press conference here in Vegas.
Bettman was asked Friday for his reaction to the comments, and whether the league has had any further dialogue with Wirtz on the matter.
Bettman went on to explain why he believed Wirtz responded the way he did.
"The way I think it's been characterized is it was an 'outburst,'" he said. "I think that what has happened with that franchise because of Kyle Beach, and with Kyle Beach -- for which we all agree was horrible, and they acknowledge as well -- I think this has been very emotional and frustrating and draining for the Blackhawks and Rocky in particular."
Again, with Bettman being a lawyer and someone who chooses his words carefully, and given that he had to have some level of preparation ready for this question, his phrasing here immediately stood out to me.
The framing of this as being something that's draining for the Blackhawks?
Because of Kyle Beach?
Who is the victim here?
"I think they're trying to focus on the things they need to do organizationally to move forward," Bettman went on to say. "I think it was an emotional moment, which Rocky promptly on his own apologized for."
Bettman said the league wouldn't sanction any punishment toward the team or Wirtz for his response.
"We will continue as we do with all our clubs, to hold them accountable to do the work and make sure they're doing the right things."
Given that Bettman works for the owners, I don't think anyone expected him to tear Wirtz apart with his response.
But for Bettman to go so easy on Wirtz and try to provide some kind of justification for the comments, is striking.
And yet in some way, it isn't.
MORE FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE
• The Bruins will host next season's Winter Classic at Fenway Park. An opponent has yet to be set. This is just my speculation here, but I'd imagine that the group that owns Fenway Park would like to see the hockey club they now own be that opponent. Just a thought.
• The Hurricanes will host a Stadium Series game next season at Carter-Finley Stadium. A date and opponent have not been set.
• Next year's All-Star Game will be hosted by the Panthers in Sunrise.
• The Global Series returns next year, with planned games in Germany, Finland, Switzerland and Czechia.
• The draft this summer is still scheduled to be held in-person in Montreal. It's possible that crowd restrictions may make it impossible for the number of club personnel alone to be in-person for the draft, in which case there would have to be a change. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it could be held virtually again. Bettman interjected and said it could be moved to a new city. So all options remain on the table.
• The big topic of discussion Friday was what's going on with the Coyotes. If you haven't been following along, the Coyotes' lease ends after this season and the city of Glendale announced it would not be renewing the lease, leaving the Coyotes scrambling to find a new home before a new arena can be built. Bettman said Friday that "the Phoenix Suns have apparently no interest in sharing the building (Footprint Center) even on a temporary basis with the Coyotes. My guess is they would prefer that the Coyotes leave town."
Something the team is currently looking into is playing at Arizona State University's rink, which holds 5,000 fans. The Coyotes average around 11,600 fans this season.
"We're not sure there's going to be material difference between their revenues at ASU than where they are at a level at Glendale," Bettman said with a little chuckle. "In fact, under one projection that we've done, we think they may do better."
• Some Canadian teams have raised the question of playing in a different city this season due to attendance restrictions, Bettman said if restrictions continue then they may have to consider.
• Bettman still expects revenue to be in the "$5 billion range" this season.
• Bettman said that television ratings are "up pretty substantially" as a result of the new ESPN and TNT deals.
