Gary Bettman Calls Out Paul Bissonnette Over His Maple Leafs Coverage During the Playoffs
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was not too pleased with Paul Bissonnette's bias analysis during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, calling him out for favoring the Maple Leafs.
It's not too surprising to tune into an NHL on TNT broadcast and hear Paul Bissonnette at least make one comment regarding his favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Unabashedly a fan, the man known as BizNasty won't back down from his love of the team, and had the chance to let one of the team's biggest detractors know his true feelings; that being NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Gary Bettman fires back at Paul Bissonnette
After Bissonnette took umbrage with the fact that the Florida Panthers end up getting a lot of breaks and help due to their lack of state tax, the NHL on TNT analyst believes there needs to be some investigation in order to bring parity to the league.
However, the commish didn't take too kindly to that, and decided to chirp back at Bisonnette during Game 3's broadcast; also taking a shot at the analyst's fashion choices as well:
Will you stop? It's a ridiculous; when Florida wasn't good for about 17 years, nobody said anything about it, and for those who played, were you sitting at the tax table; no you wanted a place to live and raise your family and play with a first class organization with good teammates.
Could it be a factor if everything were equal?
Potentially, but state taxes are higher in Los Angeles, in New York, what are we doing? Subsidize those teams?
Could it be a factor if everything were equal?
Potentially, but state taxes are higher in Los Angeles, in New York, what are we doing? Subsidize those teams?
Bissonnette was quick to respond back saying they should maybe take away some of the tax in Ontario to help out the Maple Leafs, to which Bettman retorted:
I was watching you during the prior rounds.
Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your journalistic objectivity. - Gary Bettman
Your attire was a little suspect in terms of your journalistic objectivity. - Gary Bettman
Jokes aside, is it a really big issue that the Panthers have a lesser tax?
Florida gets a lot of hate for something out of their hands
Look, we all dislike how the Panthers play; well, everyone except them and their fans. But the fact remains that Bettman is correct.
Florida was the laughing stock of the NHL for years, and besides a shock Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1996, they did nothing of note until recently.
From their inception in 1993-94 up until 2018-19, the team only had two first place finishes, five playoff appearances, and finished at or near the bottom for 75% of the time.
Let's also not forget the Panthers have only been this dominant for about three years. They lost the qualifier in 2019-20, the first round in 2020-21, and the second round in 2021-22.
Comparatively, the Maple Leafs have made the postseason 13 times in the same span, finished first multiple times, and while they never won, were a consistent perennial threat to the Cup.
Not for a lack of trying, and it does seem like the league is out to get Toronto at times, and Bissonnette is clearly frustrated as are all fans with the constant disappointment.
But it's not really Florida's fault, as much as we want to think it is.
it's a league problem, and it starts with the man who still sits in charge.
TRENDING NOW
