Gary Bettman gets caught in an embarrassing lie during his press conference

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Brett Thomas Wills
January 25, 2023 (1:26 PM)

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Two things ring true about the commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman. You either love him, or you hate him; most experience the latter.

Bettman who is the longest-serving head of a major sports league in North America has done more good than bad for the NHL by expanding the league through expansion from twenty-four to thirty-one, as well he's aided in the relocation of just shy of a handful of organizations that were struggling in their original market.

While he's managed to move the National Hockey League into a relevant entity, his tenure has not gone without some downfalls. Bettman has been the man in charge through the leagues only two lockouts in history.

When pressed about teams tanking for a better chance at a higher draft pick, Bettman had the following to say:

Nobody tanks because we have a weighted lottery. You're not going to lose games to increase your percentage points. That's silly. And frankly suggesting tanking, I believe, is inconsistent with the professionalism that our players and our coaches have. Nobody tanks. Our players and our coaches do their best to win. And again, just because you may finish with the worst record in the league you've got something like a 75 percent chance that you're not going to get the first pick.

While he may make a good point, it's painfully obvious whether deliberate or not a handful of teams are doing a pretty good job to #TankForBedard.