Bettman: Jackets will turn it around

Associated Press

Columbus

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says he is aware of how frustrated Columbus Blue Jackets fans are about another losing season.

He is also certain that the franchise has the right people in charge to turn the sorry club around.

“I’m aware of the fact that there’s a little bit of frustration by some fans in the on-ice performance,” he said of the Blue Jackets, 15-32-6 heading into Thursday’s game against Dallas. “I can assure you, because I know it firsthand, there is nobody more frustrated than ownership and management.

“And nobody more committed to getting it right on the ice than ownership and management. I have no doubt about the future of this franchise because it’s in extremely strong, committed hands.”

A few hundred Blue Jackets fans held a rally recently to protest the club’s front office, which has overseen a terrible season. The team faltered at the start and hasn’t recovered.

Bettman has chosen to view the angry fans as a plus.

“I saw that somebody was trying to organize a pep rally. But that’s a good sign,” joked the commissioner, who is often met with jeers when introduced at games to make on-ice presentations. “It’s kind of like when you get booed when you go out on the ice, it’s better than when it’s quiet. I know about that firsthand.”

Columbus was recently awarded the 2013 NHL All-Star game. The Blue Jackets, who hosted the draft in 2007, are averaging 14,526 spectators per game this season and 16,236 over their 11 seasons.

Earlier Thursday, Bettman was in Detroit for the announcement of next year’s Winter Classic. The game between Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, is expected to draw around 115,000 to Michigan’s “Big House.”