Gary Bettman Clear Quotations

just ridiculous to make that assertion. It's very clear that every initiative made in these negotiations have been made by Bob and the players' association.

People make too much out of the term drop-dead date. But, at some point, as a practical matter, it's clear that there isn't enough time left. Whether or not it's Friday night or Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, if we aren't actively engaged in drafting documents this weekend, I don't see how we can have a season.

It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document, memorializing our agreement this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of a season,

Even in those cases when there were instances of alleged provocation, we have made it clear that NHL personnel need to do everything possible to avoid a confrontation of fans, and the failure to do so is not acceptable.

I don't really think anybody thought there wouldn't be a positive test. But, I am told by the International Ice Hockey Federation that there were 150-to-200 tests last fall and this was the only positive. At this point, the record is clear that this is not a big problem throughout the league. But, we're going to continue with our testing plan.