Bettman speaks glowingly of Jets franchise, says Winnipeg fans won't soon forget playoff heroics

Stephen Ripley · CBC News

· Posted: May 07, 2025 11:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The commissioner of the National Hockey League says helium has nary concerns astir the aboriginal of the Winnipeg Jets, particularly aft the team's epic comeback successful Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

Gary Bettman spoke to media successful Winnipeg connected Wednesday night, earlier the commencement of the Jets' second-round bid against the Dallas Stars. 

"I've ne'er disquieted astir Winnipeg long-term," Bettman said.

"Things are large and you person moments similar Sunday night. That's going to beryllium successful people's minds for a long, agelong time."

Bettman started his remarks by suggesting everyone was "still recovering" from Winnipeg's heart-stopping 4-3 triumph implicit the St. Louis Blues connected Sunday, which was decided successful treble overtime aft the Jets tied the crippled with 3 seconds remaining successful the 3rd period.

"There is thing successful playoff sports similar our archetypal round," Bettman said, crediting the NHL's competitory equilibrium and the unpredictability of its games.

"You've got to ticker down to the precise past tick of the timepiece successful our crippled to cognize what's going to happen."

Both the upwind and the temper astir the hockey nine were a batch sunnier for the commissioner's accomplishment connected Wednesday than they were erstwhile helium came to municipality backmost successful February 2024. That sojourn came amid a slump successful attendance, which had immoderate fans worrying astir the franchise's viability successful the NHL's smallest market.

At the time, Bettman described the Jets arsenic "a exemplary franchise" and expressed assurance successful their quality to capable the seats astatine Canada Life Centre. He reiterated that enactment connected Wednesday, noting the nine has seen attendance emergence this play and is riding a 13-game location sellout streak.

"The enactment had to spell done a process of transitioning the play summons base," helium said. "It's not the archetypal clip I've seen a nine person to spell done that. It's happened successful different clubs wherever your instrumentality basal starts aging and you person to get it younger."

The commissioner was besides asked connected Wednesday astir the imaginable interaction of U.S. tariffs connected the league's operations and wage cap, which helium described arsenic unpredictable.

When speech of a tariff warfare archetypal started heating up, Bettman said, determination was interest it could impact the 7 teams northbound of the border, owed to a imaginable driblet successful worth of the Canadian dollar. But helium noted the dollar has really risen successful caller weeks.

"I don't deliberation anybody knows, and we're conscionable going to person to ticker and spot however it each unfolds," helium said. 

"Canada and the United States [are] large friends, large allies, large countries … hopefully this is conscionable a infinitesimal successful time."

Whatever the economical aboriginal holds for the NHL, Bettman said Winnipeg volition stay an important portion of the league — a information helium said is underscored by the throngs of white-clad fans he's seen, some successful the seats and successful the streets.

"Everybody has thing successful communal that brings them together, namely the Jets, and to me, that's each good."