Bettman doubles down on 8:30 Hawks starts, shrugs off Foley rant

NEW YORK — Maintaining his image of keeping a tight grip on the Blackhawks’ public image, team president John McDonough called NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday morning to apologize for TV analyst Pat Foley’s rant Thursday night about 8:30 p.m. puck drops.

“He was not happy with what was said and he wanted me to know that,” Bettman said during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors. “I said I didn’t view that as a Blackhawks issue. That was a [Comcast SportsNet] issue and I didn’t think from his standpoint that any apology was necessary.”

Hearing that fans and players have — at least privately — groused about the starts, Bettman offered no apologies.

“Not that it makes it right or wrong, but when it comes to these things, we actually play earlier than the other leagues do,” Bettman said. “We don’t do 9 o’clock starts, even in the Stanley Cup Final. We are trying to distribute all of our games nationally.

“That may sound like an unusual concept, but up until this deal with NBC, nationally in the U.S., we didn’t have all of our playoff games on national television. To get them all on television to a national audience, you have to stagger the times. And sometimes the geography requires you do that.”

Still, it was odd to hear an announcer rip the league with so much passion. Here’s what Foley said late in the game Thursday:

“I can say with certainty: Players cannot stand these late starts. Coaches cannot stand them. Most importantly, the fans can’t stand them. So as we approach midnight Eastern — again — on a work night, a school night, a simple question: An 8:42 puck drop serves … who?”

That prompted NBC Sports analyst Mike Milbury to fire back on the netw0rk: “You know what? If that’s too late for certain announcers, I think they should just let someone else call the game, and stay home and get a good night’s rest.”

Is everyone ready to drop the gloves?

Bettman shrugged.

“The clubs — and I spoke to John McDonough this morning — and [the clubs say]: ‘We’ll play at midnight, if you want.’ We are not going to be playing at midnight,” Bettman said. “The point is, I think Mr. Foley didn’t have his facts straight. I know there are lots of people who don’t agree with him. But we are trying to make the most number of games available to the most number of people.

“Historically, it’s something we didn’t get the opportunity to do. It’s a good problem to have.”

What did Foley get wrong?

“That everybody hates it,” Bettman said. “It was, I think, off the mark. I’m not going to get into a public debate with Mr. Foley. But the fact is, the club is perfectly comfortable with the scheduling of the time.

“We try to move it around. We try not to pinpoint one team. We try to make it fair among all the Central teams.”

Three 8:30 p.m. starts were scheduled for this series: Two in St. Louis, one in Chicago.

“The clubs buy into the overall goal,” deputy commissioner Bill Daley said. “It’s not ideal for them, obviously, they want to be as fan-friendly as they can be to their own fans. But they understand the obligations we have and the broader goal we have to build a national audience.

Added Bettman: “And if we put all of the games on at the same time, I guarantee you we would be criticized for that.”

Bettman also discussed the thinking behind making Chicago home to the 2017 NHL draft.

“It’s more the success of the Blackhawks,” Bettman said. “They have been terrific partners. Ask them to play host to an outdoor game, they say: ‘Great.’ Ask them to participate as the visiting team, they say: ‘Just tell us where to show up.’ Ask John McDonough to start at a certain time, he says: ‘No problem.’ ”

Bettman was laughing.