Gary Bettman, the $8 million man?

The Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) for 2010 filed by the National Hockey League is a 40-page document and a tad interesting for those curious about Big Hockey which finds itself mired in another Big Lockout. 

The league reported $378,926,644 in assets and liabilities on this form, which says its mission is to "perpetuate professional hockey in the United States and Canada." (Note to Canadians: this is your beloved sport, but Canada comes second in the collective mind of the NHL.)

Commissioner Gary Bettman received $4,628,853 compensation from the NHL and $3,354,900 from related organizations. That's $7,983,753 combined. Compared to player compensation for the 2011-12 season, Bettman was paid more than Marian Hossa and less than Steven Stamkos. 

NHL related organizations are listed as: NHL Enterprises, NHL Enterprises Canada, NHL Network US, NHL World Cup of Hockey, 3918921 Canada and 3918939 Canada, NHL Network (Canada), NHL Interactive Cyber Ent., NHL Enterprises BV, NHL Coyotes Holding, Coyotes Newco, Arena Newco, CFV Holding, 3051349 Nova Scotia, Universal Ice Services, CFV 1 and CFV II

Bettman gets some of the same perks as the players. The form says "the Commissioner travels predominantly via a chartered plane. The other officers and key employees travel via a chartered plane occasionally… per the Commissioner's contract, he is permitted to use a charter plane for certain personal use, which is treated and included as a taxable benefit."

Bettman also received a $5 million loan from the NHL, approved by the board or committee. The balance due was listed as $1,071,428. 

Bettman is a lightning rod for criticism, mainly by Canadian hockey fans, but the form reinforces the fact that he serves at the pleasure of the 30 franchise owners. 

"The governing body reviews and approves compensation and the written employment contract of the Commissioner put forward as recommendation by the compensation committee."

It's also interesting what can be found in the small print. It says: "Part VI, Line 19 The National Hockey League's governing documents, financial statements and conflict of interest policies are made available to the public upon request."

Remember: if you're a hockey fan and this lockout makes you angry, you have the power to do something about it. Stop being a customer of the NHL and its entities. 

National Hockey League form 990 for 2010

Why I don't miss the National Hockey League

The battle of millionaires and billionaires that is the National Hockey League lockout continues until the day they kiss and make-up.

This lockout, like the one that cancelled the season in 2004-2005, has been all about economic issues that concern the players and owners. The fans, who ultimately pay the bills, are seemingly not on the minds of either side. Those fans have taken their wallets elsewhere and some of them may not return to NHL arenas in this shaky economy. 

During the era of Gary Bettman as commissioner, prices have risen and the quality of the game has fallen. Any discerning hockey fan who has attended a midseason NHL game knows this to be true. (Are all the people attending games, particularly in Canadian cities, true fans? Or are many taking advantage of corporate expense accounts?)

Following are my 10 reasons why I don't miss the NHL. 

No team has been rewarded with a point for losing a game in overtime or shootout. (C'mon NHL, be like soccer: 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss. Stop the socialism! Let a tiebreaker be a true tiebreaker!)

No worthless fights have occurred. (Does hockey really need fighting anymore?)

No player has been suspended 10 games while his victim is out for 20 games or more with an injury. 

No player has returned too early from a concussion. 

No player has suffered a season or career-ending concussion.

No player has been caught doping. (Yes, only one player has been suspended for failing one of the maximum two-per regular season tests that aren't conducted in playoffs or regular season. Former World Anti-Doping Agency boss Dick Pound says the NHL anti-doping program is a joke.)

Nobody is complaining about underperforming multimillionaires. 

Nobody is getting gouged at NHL franchise ticket box offices. 

No fans have been subject to price-gouging at arena concession stands, where arena owners (who are often team owners) exploit their hunger and thirst in a captive marketplace. (The fan cost index for the NHL -- the average cost for four tickets, hot dogs, two small beers, two small soft drinks, parking, two programs and two caps for a family of four -- was $328.81 in 2011. Six of Canada's seven teams were above the average. The Toronto Maple Leafs were tops at $626.45, followed by the Montreal Canadiens ($486.28) and Winnipeg Jets ($485.52). The Vancouver Canucks were sixth at $371.94.)

No specious sellout streaks. (Evidence shows the Canucks' sellout streak may not have existed after March 15, 2007. NHL teams use ticket scanners at gates and know precisely how many people enter their buildings. Many teams lazily and deceptively report a full house, even while there are obvious game-long groups of empty seats in various price categories. Fans are owed transparency. Show them, on the official scoresheets, the actual numbers of people who attended games. Tickets distributed is not attendance.)

Elimination is inevitable, commiserate responsibly

Vancouver Canucks: three-time Campbell Bowl winners. Two-time President’s Trophy winners.

Stanley Cups? Zero.

There is no doubt in my mind that fact will not change in 2012. The team is 0-3 and one loss away from the golf course. Regardless, if they steal a win at Staples Center, elimination remains inevitable. Stanley Park's Lord Stanley statue will not be getting a visit from a Cup-holding Canuck in 2012.

Just as it is hard to defend a Stanley Cup championship, it is equally difficult for a runner-up to return immediately for another challenge.

Losing in Game 7 on home ice, as the Canucks did in 2011, meant the players had the longest and shortest summers of their careers. It was a long summer of wondering why, how come and what could have been for the Canucks while members of the Boston Bruins enjoyed sharing the Cup with friends, families and communities.

Short, because (with the exception of the Bruins) the time to relax and recover before beginning the cycle anew at training camp was extremely limited. It was only 91 days since Game 7 and the players reporting for pre-training camp medical exams.

By virtue of geography and their playoff schedule, the Canucks are the most-played and most-traveled team in the NHL since September 2010. General manager Mike Gillis hired sleep consultants and other experts to mitigate the wear-and-tear, but that has only gone so far. The team exhibited weariness and unfocussed play since the so-called “Game 8” win over the Bruins in Boston. The team was 4-3 in tiebreakers before the Boston game, then went 11-6.

In March 2011, the Canucks went 13-2 (including 2 shutout wins and 1 overtime win) and outscored opponents 43-27. In March 2012, they went 9-6 (including 2-1 in overtime) and were 35-35 in the goals for/against columns. In 2011, the Canucks were hot, they were feared and they were dominant in regulation time down the stretch. In 2012, they were not. The final three regular season games in April were a preview of the 0-3 depression in the Kings’ series. The only regulation win, in which they clinched the President’s Trophy, was a game they struggled to win 3-0 over the lowly Edmonton Oilers.

Only twice since the NHL began expansion in 1968 has a runner-up rebounded. The Canucks will not be the third.

Why?

This is not a team like the 1984 Edmonton Oilers, who were led by young Wayne Gretzky, Jarri Kurri and Mark Messier. They lost in 1983 but stormed back the following year when Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders passed the torch.

This is not a team like the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost in 2008, had a mediocre start to the next season and fired coach Michel Therrien with a 27-25-5 record. They replaced him with Dan Bylsma, who guided the team to a hot 18-3-4 record down the stretch. Centres Evgeni Malkin (113 points) and Sidney Crosby (103) continued their dominance in the playoffs with 30-plus-points each. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was solid, from wire-to-wire.

To get to the Stanley Cup, a team needs to be a healthy team, working as one. It requires the right decisions by management and coaches. It also requires luck. The 2011 Canucks had all that, including the first round-winning overtime goal by Alexandre Burrows over Chicago and Kevin Bieksa’s bizarre Western conference-clinching ricochet goal against San Jose.)

In 2012, they were not dominant and decisive down the stretch. Gillis traded up-and-coming star Cody Hodgson for underperforming Zack Kassian. Daniel Sedin was injured with a concussion. Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond are not the same players they were before 2011 playoff injuries. Gillis failed to find a grizzled vet to play a Mark Recchi-type role. Gillis couldn’t coax Mike Modano from retiring and Owen Nolan was a training camp cut.

The runner-up jinx remains. May the Canucks have better luck in 2013.

Stanley Cup: the Battle of Whistler Blackcomb

A lot is being made of Cam Neely's return to Vancouver as president of the Boston Bruins, the last team standing in the way of the Vancouver Canucks' first Stanley Cup.

The right-winger was drafted ninth overall by the Canucks in 1983 but traded on his 29th birthday June 6, 1986 to the Bruins for Barry Pederson. When he retired in 1996, Neely had 395 goals and 299 assists in 726 regular season games and 57 goals and 32 assists in 93 playoff games. He was deservedly inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005. He also dabbled in the movies, as the notorious Sea Bass in Dumb and Dumber.

Neely was born in Comox, B.C. but raised in Maple Ridge, B.C. Though his executive post with the Bruins keeps him primarily in Boston, he retains Vancouver business ties as a member of the Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. board of directors.

Who else might you know on the Whistler Blackcomb board? John Furlong, who was the CEO of the Vancouver Olympics.

Furlong showed his colours April 24 during game six of the Canucks' first round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. You might've caught a quick glimpse of VANOC boss Furlong on Hockey Night in Canada, wearing a number 10 Canucks' jersey and waving a Canadian flag after Alex Burrows' goal in game six at United Center in Chicago. Furlong, amid a sea of red-clad Blackhawks' fans, was treated to the trip by Canucks' owner and VANOC sponsor Francesco Aquilini. A source tells me Furlong was sprayed with a drink by an unruly Chicago fan.

Furlong was in friendlier territory five days later when he flogged his Patriot Hearts book in a lunchtime speech to the Canadian Community Newspapers Association Ink + Beyond conference at River Rock Show Theatre at the Richmond casino. The audience included his new female companion, Deborah Shaw.

When Whistler Blackcomb's board of directors meets after mid-June, either Neely or Furlong will be sporting a bigger smile.