Gary Bettman spoke to TSN 1050 on a variety of subjects, including realignment, hybrid icing, and the state of the Ottawa Senators. Below, the transcribed Q/A on the relevant matters:
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TSN: "Eugene Melnyk, the owner of the Ottawa Senators, has been quite public about the fact that his team loses money, and is a budget team / not a cap team for that reason. I'm curious how a team that reached the second round of the playoffs with a 96-cent Canadian dollar in an era with the salary cap -- how is it possible that Ottawa is a money loser?

BETTMAN: You know I'm not -- I make it a practice not to discuss individual team economics. Without disappointing you, that's a question you have to ask Eugene Melnyk. I'm not going to speak to any club's economic issues or opportunities. We believe in the system we have every team should be in a position to afford to be competitive. That is the goal. I suppose in any particular year a club could have some issues on the revenue side or expense side, causing them to not have the bottom line performance that they want. Overall, the long-term goal is to keep everybody competitive in a way that they can afford.
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TSN: So, after putting out these ownership situations in Phoenix, Florida, New Jersey ... is Ottawa a team that you have any extra attention for or need to pay extra attention to?

BETTMAN: They are not, as far as I'm concerned, on a critical list. You know, what's interesting -- the Coyotes, Panthers, and Devils were the subject of incredible and intense scrutiny ... rumors and speculation that they were in dire straits. They were probably never as bad off as was being suggested. Some of that may have been coming from places that were hoping one or more of the clubs would fail so that they would have to relocate to somewhere else. I don't think we are looking at any franchises that rise to that level that the speculation went to on those three teams.

(A critical list, eh? Maybe it does exist, then. )

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Thanks for reading!
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Thanks for reading!

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