In 2010, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was all about calming fears.
At his state of the league address in Chicago, he stated that the NHL was growing, albeit "not as strong perhaps in terms of the speed of growth that we were seeing and would like to continue to see as it was before the economic downturn." He said the Coyotes were staying in Arizona, the Hurricanes weren't leaving Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Islanders were safe in New York. (Ironically, no one asked about the Atlanta Thrashers.) He defended the idea of multiple outdoor games in a season, which the NHL was attempting for the first time.