National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman said today that he thinks he was "set up" by the NHLPA last weekend, along with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
In an appearance on WFAN in New York on Monday, Bettman blamed the players' union for unfairly creating the impression that a deal to save the season would be struck at Saturday's CBA negotiating session. Instead of an agreement being reached, talks went nowhere on Saturday, leading to some bad public relations for all involved.
Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHLPA, issued a statement in respone to the allegations, saying Bettman's theory was off the mark.
"Earlier this evening Gary Bettman gave an interview to a New York radio station during which he made a number of allegations that are absolutely untrue and will only serve to increase the P.R. distraction that the League has already created," Goodenow said in the release.
During the interview in question, conducted by Mike Francesa of WFAN, Bettman sounded off on what he perceived as questionable actions by the union.
"I think this was a set up," Bettman told Francesa. "I think this was done intentionally to try and cause the type of reaction we saw all weekend. I think they were trying to position us into an offer they knew I couldn't accept - either because they wanted me to make a mistake that I couldn't get through my board (of directors), or so we would ultimately agree to something we couldn't afford."
Bettman said the whole ordeal was tougher to deal with than cancelling the season, which he did on Wednesday.
"What happened with our fans, in raising the level of expectation... I was sick to my stomach. It was more trying than what I had to do on Wednesday.
"And after Saturday, when everybody realized that they had been had, then they had a field day in the media, killing us on Sunday."
Francesa told Bettman both sides deserved the bad press for dragging the fans through that emotional roller coaster on the weekend.
"You're right," Bettman agreed, "except all we did was - all that information about a deal, a season, a press conference, the whole business of making an offer - it was all a pack of lies. I can't control the lies that are being told by whomever is telling them.
"We got criticized by people saying, 'How can you cancel the season Wednesday and then talk about undoing it on the weekend?' We never talked about undoing it.
"This is a case were it all ran amok, and none of it came from us (the league)."
Francesa then broached the pre-meeting rhetoric about Gretzky and Lemieux showing up at the meeting.
"Hockey people suggested Wayne Gretzky would only come in if the deal was getting done, that he wouldn't come in and preside over a loss," Francesa said. "The idea was that Wayne was the stamp that would get the deal done."
"That's right," Bettman agreed.
"So what you're saying is, that Wayne got set up too?"
"Sounds that way to me," said Bettman.
Goodenow took issue with Bettman's assessment of the situation.
"Regarding Gary's portrayal of the events of last week, I will make the following four points:
"One - Gary claims he heard that we wanted to have a meeting and talk to them. That is totally false - the League cancelled the season Wednesday, and on Thursday night, Gary and Bill Daly separately called Trevor Linden after 11 p.m. EST and invited Trevor and the NHLPA to come to New York for a meeting.
"Two - Friday morning, when arrangements for the League-requested meeting were being coordinated, Bill advised Trevor that Gary would not be attending on behalf of the League. As a result, I also did not attend.
"Three - There was never a suggestion by the NHLPA that we were making an offer. Our presence in New York only occurred because of the League's request to meet.
"Four - As for Gary's comments that we came to New York with the purpose of conducting a media campaign, that's just erroneous and the facts prove this to be the case. When Trevor, Vincent Damphousse and Ted Saskin met with the media at the St. Regis Hotel they actually met in a room that had been reserved and fully set up by the League for their own media conference. The room was left vacant when the League attendees slipped out of the hotel after they decided not to address the media after the conclusion of the meeting they called. The hotel then offered us the use of this room to accommodate the media stranded outside on the sidewalk.
"It is unfortunate that Gary Bettman would publicly engage in this type of false characterization of events that he himself set in motion last Thursday."
Both sides are set for their own internal meetings in the near future. The NHL has a Board of Governors meeting scheduled for March 1, while the NHLPA is expected to gather in Toronto next week.
Based on what's being said today, it's no wonder some people around the league are wondering if the two sides can get a deal done without some outside help. Calgary Flames GM-coach Darryl Sutter said it may time to bring in a third party.
"From my standpoint, I'm not so sure we don't need some sort of outside help, whether it's an arbitrator or a mediator-whatever you want to call it," Sutter told the Calgary Sun. "That might be the route now."