NEW YORK (AP) — Watching games in empty arenas in the quarantined bubbles during the 2020 playoffs, the 2021 season and even in Canada earlier this year gave Gary Bettman even more of an appreciation for what NHL hockey is like in front of a sellout crowd.
“Our players get an extraordinary amount of energy and excitement form our fans and our full buildings,” the longtime commissioner said.
The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their second of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships at home last summer in the middle of a packed house, but that was far from the norm everywhere.