Gary Bettman brushed off Jim Rutherford's concern over treatment of his captain before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The NHL commissioner was asked Monday about comments made by the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager on the eve of the championship round. Rutherford implied Sunday that Crosby and Pittsburgh's other stars are being pushed around without adequate consequences and that he might have to add some beef to the roster to protect them.
Bettman responded Monday, prefacing his reply by saying he thinks "the world" of Rutherford personally and professionally, but adding that the timing of the Penguins GM's remarks was a bit strange.
"The timing of what he said, to me, seems a little odd," the commissioner said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "That's something you do in a GM meeting, not the night before - or the day of - (Game 1 of) the Stanley Cup Final. Maybe he's trying to tweak the officials a little bit, but in the final analysis, we don't want our players getting hurt."
Bettman also pointed out that the Penguins have drawn criticism from other teams for the way they've played.
"I think it's fair to say that all of the teams that have been in the playoffs have been very physical," he said. "There are a couple of people who have complained from other teams about some of the things Pittsburgh players have done. Some of that goes in the category of gamesmanship. Some of that goes to the fact we need to be vigilant as a league to make sure players are not unnecessarily and inappropriately hurt. As I said, that is something we continue to monitor and will. Having said that, I take all of the concerns from all of our players, all of our clubs and all of our owners very seriously on this issue.”
Rutherford's comments largely fell on deaf ears until Bettman was questioned about them Monday before the opening game of the Cup Final.
“I hear year after year how the league and everyone loves how the Penguins play,” Rutherford told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News on Sunday. "(Everyone says) ‘They play pure hockey and they skate.’ Well, now it’s going to have to change and I feel bad about it, but it’s the only way we can do it. We’re going to have to get one or two guys…and some of these games that should be just good hockey games will turn into a s--- show. We’ll go right back to where we were in the '70s and it’s really a shame.”
Rutherford wasn't done there.
“The league has got to fix it,” the GM said. “In other leagues, they protect star players. In basketball, they don’t let their top players get abused. And in our league, well the thing I keep hearing is, ‘That’s hockey. That’s hockey,’ No, it’s not.”
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