Gary Bettman content with NHL's current fighting policy

On Wednesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman turned up as a special guest on the famous "The Pat McAfee Show" to discuss various things related to the league as part of the program's Hockey is Awesome segment.

Bettman shed his thoughts on various topics centered around the NHL, such as the growth and popularity of the sport, the excitement surrounding outdoor games, future expansion plans, promoting star players, fights in the sport, and others.

Dropping the gloves has deep roots in the NHL and has become a tradition, making the league more competitive and entertaining. Gary Bettman shared his thoughts on NHL fights during a conversation on "The Pat McAfee Show".

Bettman said:

"There is a balance. So let's take a step back. First of all, when you think about the nature of the game, it's high speed, players are encouraged to make physical contact with each other. It's emotional, it's nonstop."

He continued:

"Fighting in the spontaneous sense, tends to act as a bit of a thermostat when things happen in the course of the game. And it keeps the game under control. What's really come out of the game is the staged fighting and the designated fighter. And part of that is because the competitive balance is so intense."

Gary Bettman also emphasized the league's commitment to players' health and safety. He stated that while fighting is penalized in the game, its occurrence in the heat of the moment has remained a good outlet for the league, which has also aided in the reduction of staged fights:

"We're obviously aware of health and safety concerns. And that's something we've been dealing with with the Players Association for decades. But I think right now we're in a good place. Yes, fighting is penalized but fighting in the heat of the moment is something that has been a good outlet, and we don't need the staged fighting anymore"

What did Gary Bettman say about the NHL's expansion plans?

The NHL's most recent expansions to the cities of Vegas and Seattle saw huge success as they came up with two successful hockey clubs in those two cities with the establishment of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken.

Since then, there have been huge speculations around the NHL in their attempt to further expand the league to big markets, which could turn out to be great hockey markets for the league. Additionally, there were reports that the league was planning an expansion to the city of Atlanta for the third time.

The NHL first tried to establish a successful hockey club in Atlanta but failed to do so twice in the past. There is currently additional information on whether the league would give Atlanta a third shot.

On "The Pat McAfee Show," Gary Bettman mentioned Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Quebec as cities interested in expanding. He further stated that expansion is not at the forefront of the league's plan, and they are content with 32 teams at the moment.

“In terms of moving forward, we’re getting expressions of interest all the time. We’re getting it from Houston, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Quebec City. Expansion isn’t on the forefront of what we’re thinking about. I take meetings all the time, I listen to expressive interest, I’m not ruling it out, but it’s not something we’re focused or pushing to do right now.”