Gary Bettman turned down a very reasonable request from the Florida Panthers
Despite the Florida Panthers being the President's Trophy winners this season the Panthers are having trouble selling tickets for their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series. D tickets being as low as $50, the crowds just aren't flocking to the Panthers games. But there might be a reason that's even out of the Panthers.
Barry Jackson, of the Miami Herald, has reported that the Panthers had made a request to NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman to move the dates of their two home games. The reason behind it? The NHL chose to schedule the games on the same night as the Miami Heat's playoff games.
The Panthers campaigned that playing on a different night than the Heat would help draw in more fans. In the end, the NHL and Gary Bettman refused to grant the request.
It truly doesn't make sense that the NHL wouldn't make these adjustments to not only maximize on tickets but to also try and maximize on energy in the arena.