Gary Bettman Shows Who His Favorite NHL Team Is With Latest Decision

The NHL and its league staff are supposed to be impartial participants in the league. They are not supposed to pick sides or favorites when handing down rulings on controversial issues.

Today Gary Bettman showed that he indeed does have a favorite NHL team and ruled in favor of them giving them an advantage.

Earlier this offseason it was announced that Gary Bettman and the NHL gave the Seattle Kraken and Shane Wright special treatment. The NHL ruled that Wright was eligible for a special exemption that allows him to play in the AHL when he is supposed to have another year of eligibility in the OHL.

Last season Wright split time between the NHL, AHL, and OHL. It was clear he was too good for the OHL but wasn't allowed to play in the AHL yet. Now he will be able to a year early. This could mean a huge step for his development by playing against men in one of the best leagues in the world.

Fans of other teams believe that the Kraken are receiving special treatment based on the NHL's ruling. Several other players have shown that they could play at the AHL level like Wright has but have been denied an exemption.

While just about every team has one player who is likely too good for junior hockey in their prospect ranks one team and their fans took offense to the ruling in particular.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and their fans were quite upset by the ruling that allowed Shane Wright to go to the AHL this season. Their fans believe that they have 2 players that should qualify for the same treatment.

Both Mateychuk and Dumais have torn up the junior ranks over the last 2 seasons. They are both producing at extraordinary rates for their position in their league. Despite this, they will not be granted an exception.

The two biggest differences between the Columbus pair and Shane Wright are their draft position and then of course team. If Shane Wright is able to succeed in the AHL and put up a lot of points this exception could become a trend.

For now, most teams will send their players back to juniors while the Kraken get a massive advantage.

As Read On - Hockey OTB - REPORT: Gary Bettman Shows Blatant Favoritism For Expansion Teams

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