CBC Grills Bettman . . . Well, Not Really

Last night’s second intermission between the Canucks and Blackhawks provided the perfect stage for a dramatic interview with Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the NHL. The topic of the interview was the future of the Phoenix Coyotes and the team’s potential relocation from Glendale, Arizona to its original home in Winnipeg. As luck would have it, the man conducting the interview for Hockey Night in Canada was none other than Winnipeg resident Scott Oake.

Now a little background is needed here. As rumours of the Jets return to the Manitoba capital have intensified over the past few months and weeks, Oake said on one broadcast that he, like countless Winnipeggers, had been hurt before when rumours of the team’s return surfaced in the past and that he didn’t think it was wise to get too emotionally attached this time around until it was a done deal. He also didn’t appreciate the league using Winnipeggers as bargaining chips. So when news came last night that the Winnipeg name may have been used only to leverage a deal with Glendale’s City Council, Oake’s segment with Bettman promised to be juicy.

The interview begins at the 3:00 mark of the below video clip. When Oake starts to talk about Winnipeg’s arena and proposed ownership structure at the 4:43 mark, only to have Bettman interrupt with “you say that’s true, but nobody has confirmed that in Winnipeg for sure,” Oake gave such an emotional facial expression at 5:00 that I was sure fireworks were going to explode between the two. Unfortunately for those of us wanting to watch Bettman squirm for a bit, Oake quickly regained his composure and an explosion was averted.



Instead, Bettman playfully adds at 5:25 “you’re from Winnipeg?” (as if he didn’t know this ahead of time) and then, my personal favourite at 5:45, “you are a very good journalist the way you phrase that,” to which Oake turns to the camera and grins. It took about one minute for Oake to transform from Bettman’s inquisitor to his patsy – even less time than it took for the City of Winnipeg to have its hopes of an NHL team dashed – at least for now.

I’m still betting the Jets will be in Winnipeg next year.

TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Canadiens at Penguins – Game 7, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Bruins at Flyers – Game 6, 8 p.m. (TSN)