Bettman Shrugs Off Exit Talk Entering Year 34

Gary Bettman is in his 34th year as NHL commissioner, and he is not exactly feeding the succession rumor mill. When a commissioner starts batting away retirement chatter that hard, it usually means he still plans to keep the room under his own control. Bettman has seen enough storms to know that silence breeds speculation, and this one has had no trouble finding oxygen. The league keeps moving, but the man at the top is making sure nobody mistakes longevity for exit signs.