Gary Bettman Gary Bruce Bettman ( born June 2 , 1952 ) is the commissioner of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) , a post he has held since February 1 , 1993 . Previously , Bettman was a senior vice - president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . Under Bettman , the NHL has seen rapid growth of league revenues , from $ 400 million when he was hired to over $ 2 . 2 billion in 2006 – 07 . Bettman oversaw the expansion the NHL ' s footprint across the United States , with six new teams added during his tenure , bringing the NHL to 30 . Bettman has also been at the middle of much controversy . Bettman has often been criticized for attempting to " Americanize " the game , and has been a central figure of two labor stoppages , including the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout that saw the entire season canceled . NHL Commissioner . On February 1 , 1993 , Bettman ' s tenure as the first commissioner of the National Hockey League began , replacing Gil Stein , who served as the NHL ' s final president . The owners hired Bettman with the mandate of selling the game in the U . S . market , end labor unrest , complete expansion plans , and modernize the views of the " old - guard " within the ownership ranks . Expansion and relocation . When Bettman started as commissioner , the league had already expanded by three teams to 24 since 1991 , and two more were set to be announced by the expansion committee : the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim , who would begin play in 1993 – 94 . Similar to the previous expansion cycles , the focus was on placing teams in the southern United States . The Nashville Predators ( 1998 ) , Atlanta Thrashers ( 1999 ) , Minnesota Wild ( 2000 ) and Columbus Blue Jackets ( 2000 ) completed the NHL ' s expansion period , bringing the league to 30 teams . In addition , four franchises relocated during Bettman ' s tenure : The Minnesota North Stars to Dallas ( 1993 ) , the Quebec Nordiques to Denver ( 1995 ) , the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix ( 1996 ) and the Hartford Whalers to North Carolina ( 1997 ) . Led by Bettman , the league focused expansion and relocation efforts on the Southern United States , working to expand the league ' s footprint across the country . As a result , there has been significant growth in the sport of hockey at the grassroots level with children in the U . S . South playing the game in increasing numbers . The move towards Southern markets has been heavily criticized as well , however , with fans in Canada and the Northern United States lamenting the move away from " traditional hockey markets . Bettman has also been accused of having an " anti - Canadian " agenda , with critics citing the relocation of the franchises in Quebec City and Winnipeg and his apparent refusal to help stop it , along with the aborted sale of the Nashville Predators in 2007 to interests that would have moved the team to Hamilton , Ontario . Jim Balsillie accused Bettman of forcing the Predators to end negotiations with him to purchase the team . Bettman was satirized in this vein as the character " Harry Buttman " in the 2006 Canadian movie " Bon Cop , Bad Cop " . However , Bettman also championed the " Canadian assistance plan " , a revenue sharing agreement that saw American teams give money to help support the four small - market Canadian teams – Calgary , Edmonton , Ottawa , and Vancouver – throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s . Labor unrest . 1994 – 95 lockout . Although Bettman was tasked with putting an end to the NHL ' s labor problems , the league has none - the - less locked out its players twice during Bettman ' s tenure . The 1994 – 95 lockout lasted 104 days , causing the season to be shortened from 84 - to 48 - games . A key issue during the lockout was the desire to aid small market teams . Led by Bettman , the owners insisted on a salary cap , changes to free agency and arbitration in the hopes of limiting escalating salaries , the union instead proposed a luxury tax system . The negotiations were at times bitter , with Chris Chelios famously issuing a veiled threat against Bettman , suggesting that Bettman should be " worried about [ his ] family and [ his ] well - being " , because " Some crazed fans , or even a player [ . . . ] might take matters into their own hands and figure they get Bettman out of the way . " Last - ditch negotiations saved the season in January 1995 . And while the owners failed to achieve a full salary cap , the union agreed to a cap on rookie contracts ; changes to arbitration and restrictive rules for free agency that would not grant a player unrestricted free agency until he turned 31 . The deal was initially hailed as a win for the owners . 2004 – 05 lockout . By the end of the deal in 2004 , the owners were claiming that player salaries had grown far faster than revenues , and that the league as a whole lost over US $ 300 million in 2002 – 03 . As a result , on September 15 , 2004 , Bettman announced that the owners again locked the players out prior to the start of the 2004 – 05 season . Three months later , Bettman announced the cancellation of the entire season with the words " " It is my sad duty to announce that because a solution has not yet been attained , it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season . Accordingly , I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play . " " The NHL became the first North American league to cancel an entire season because of a labor stoppage . As in 1994 , the owners ' position was predicated around the need for a salary cap . In an effort to ensure solidarity amongst the owners , the league ' s governors voted to give Bettman the right to unilaterally veto any union offer as long as he had the backing of just eight owners . The players initially favored luxury tax system , and a 5 % rollback on player salaries — later increased to 24 % . As the threat of a canceled season loomed , the players agreed to accept a salary cap , but the two sides could not come to terms on numbers before the deadline expired . Following the cancellation of the season , negotiations progressed quickly , as a revolt within the union led to National Hockey League Players Association president Trevor Linden and senior director Ted Saskin taking negotiations over from executive director Bob Goodenow . Goodenow would resign from the NHLPA in July 2005 . By early July , the two sides had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement . The deal featured a hard salary cap , linked to a fixed percentage of league revenues , a 24 % rollback on salaries , and free agency beginning after seven years of service . After being panned as one of the worst managers in business in 2004 for canceling the season , Bettman was lauded as one of the best in 2005 for his role in bringing " cost certainty " to the NHL . Television . Bettman quickly accomplished one of his stated goals , signing a five - year , $ 155 million deal with the Fox Broadcasting Company to broadcast NHL games nationally beginning in the 1994 – 95 season . The deal was significant , as a network television contract in the United States was long thought unattainable during the presidency of John Ziegler . The FOX deal is perhaps best remembered for the FoxTrax puck , which while generally popular according to Fox Sports , generated a great deal of controversy from longtime fans of the game . Canadians were also upset as the league gave preference to FOX ahead of CBC for scheduling of playoff games , as Pat Hickey of the " Montreal Gazette " wrote that the schedule was " just another example of how the N . H . L . snubs its nose at the country that invented hockey and its fans . " The controversy repeated itself in 2007 , as CBC was once again given second billing to Versus ' coverage of the playoffs . Despite falling ratings , Bettman negotiated a five year , $ 600 million deal with ABC and ESPN in 1998 . It was the largest television contract the NHL ever signed . The $ 120 million per year that ABC and ESPN paid for rights dwarfed the $ 5 . 5 million that the NHL received from American national broadcasts in 1991 – 92 . The NHL ' s television fortunes have faded since the ABC deal , however . In 2004 , the league could only manage a revenue sharing deal with NBC , with no money paid up front by the network . Also , coming out of the lockout , ESPN declined its $ 60 million option for the NHL ' s cable rights in 2005 – 06 . While wishing to retain the NHL , it stated the cost was overvalued . However , Bettman was able to negotiate a deal with Comcast to air the NHL on the Outdoor Life Network channel , now called Versus . The three year deal was worth $ 207 . 5 million . Bettman has been heavily criticized for the move to Versus , as detractors have argued that the league has lost a great deal of exposure since moving to the much smaller network .