The Edmonton Oilers lose Game 6 5–1 against the Florida Panthers and lose in the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year. The Oilers cup drought of 35 years will have to wait, along with the Cup drought for all Canadian teams. The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in the 1992–93 season.

Gary Bettman became the commissioner of the NHL in February 1993. Now with social media and the internet, there are conspiracy theories out there just like most other topics. The theory that the NHL is rigged is ridiculous.

Of course, the league wants to generate revenue; after all, it is a business. The salary cap depends on how much money the NHL made in the previous year. How long a playoff series goes, and series matchups for TV ratings, matter for how much money the league makes. However, the argument that the league has a hand in who wins is outrageous.

Professional sports are businesses

The NHL isn’t the NBA, you don’t see Bettman trying to pair big market players with small market teams like David Stern and the NBA used to. Everybody knows professional sports is a business. The NBA has also faced allegations of being rigged after Tim Donaghy was caught betting on games which he was officiating. The NHL is now facing similar allegations because of the coincidence that the last year a Canadian team won, happened to be the same year Bettman became commissioner.

If the league was rigged for money, people would notice. People likely wouldn’t watch the NHL, and a Canadian team would’ve won a Stanley Cup in the last 32 years because the NHL’s popularity is typically higher in Canada.

The NHL experienced unprecedented growth worldwide this season, mainly due to the popularity of the 4 Nations Face-off. Many people across North America viewed the championship game as more than just a hockey game. Drawing 16.1 M viewers on television across North America, with more viewers in the United States than in Canada, according to NHL.com.

A lot of people think that the NHL draft lottery is rigged. Whether it’s Connor Bedard going to the Chicago Blackhawks, or the New York Rangers winning the lottery in 2020, because the guy putting the ping pong balls in happened to drop the one with the Rangers logo. I’m a firm believer that the lottery isn’t rigged.

If it were, people would’ve known and caught on to it by now. Let’s take this year for example. Matthew Schaefer, a defenceman for the Erie Otters in the OHL is likely going to be the first overall pick. He’s incredibly skilled, with a crazy hockey IQ, he’s going to make more money playing hockey than most of us can ever imagine.

Do you really think that the NHL is willingly sending him to the New York Islanders? A team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since the mid-1980s, and is less popular than the other New York team. Like I said, the NHL isn’t the NBA.

Hockey is a game of inches. To think the outcome is “rigged” is insane. Think about it, if the OIlers win Game 2 in overtime they go up 2–0 and the whole series changes. If it was rigged a Canadian team would’ve likely won a cup by now, simply because a city like Toronto or Edmonton is the biggest market.

The only thing Bettman controls is how the league is marketed. I’d say right now he’s doing a phenomenal job. He’s also doing it without persuading the outcome of games like David Stern did during his time with the NBA.

How officiating affects the game

Just like any other sport, officiating can of course have an effect on how a game, or a series ends. However, the league doesn’t have control of what the players do on the ice. Neither the refs, or Gary Bettman play the games and therefore have no control over what happens.

A lot of Oilers fans may disagree with me right now, but don’t get discouraged. You have Connor McDavid. He’s the best hockey player we’ve ever seen, maybe not by stats or accolades, but by talent. In my opinion, he’s too good not to win a Stanley Cup. It’s going to happen. However, if the league was rigged, wouldn’t he have already won one, given he’s the face of the league?

Canada has seven of the 32 NHL franchises. Unfortunately for 31 franchises, only one team can win each year. Some people say the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. Fans of the Canadian teams will have to wait a little bit longer, and unfortunately Gary Bettman can’t snap his fingers to give Canada a cup.

It doesn’t work that way!

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