Quite a while ago I received an e-mail from a reader asking for a post on Gary Bettman. Specifically, explaining why exactly I hated the man in charge of running the NHL. It was a topic I was only too happy to tackle.

I decided to go through the history of Bettman's tenure as commissioner and made what I liked to call 'a timeline of disaster'. It was going to be a smashing hit. Accompanying events would be snippy little remarks or explanations of what the event signified. For example, "1996: Winnipeg Jets move to Phoenix. Gary Bettman's popularity could only decrease if he kidnapped Wayne Gretzky."

But a funny thing happened: after getting through the lockout the timeline of disaster just started to fizzle out. All of a sudden there was nothing bad to say about the man, which surprised me because it seemed like there was always something bad to say about Gary Bettman.

From that day I began to think something so utterly taboo that I didn't dare mention it in public. Has Gary Bettman become a good commissioner?

That's the topic I wrote about for the Good Point this week. I wasn't proud of defending Gary Bettman - I felt dirty and had to take a shower - but I think he deserved it.

Last summer I wrote a post outlining the results of an NHL Entry Draft that featured fictional players from all sorts of movies, but most prominently the Mighty Ducks series. Since that time there have been plenty of people who have asked Google questions about the Mighty Ducks. Those questions led here.

These are the answers to those questions (edited for grammar, of course).

After the lockout, fans and management alike were quick to congratulate the game for ridding itself of clutching and grabbing and creating a much more exciting product on the ice. Goal scoring was up and teams could no longer sit on a lead in the third period, otherwise they would quickly find themselves on the losing end of the scoreboard.

Flash-forward to the present day and most people agree that the league is as strong as it has ever been.

People generally acknowledge that an increase in goal-scoring is the cause of the league’s revival, but the numbers actually paint a different story.

If you’ve read this blog for a while you should already know that I pretty much hate every Canadian team in the NHL, except for Toronto obviously. The short answer as to why is that pretty much everyone else in Canada hates the Leafs, so why shouldn’t I return the sentiment?

But at the same time I am intensely passionate about bringing struggling southern franchises back where they belong: Canada. We need to stop the charade in Phoenix and move them to Quebec.

I, like most people, was extremely happy when the news broke that Winnipeg was getting a team again. And, oddly enough, I will cheer for the Jets this season, despite the whole ‘I hate everyone but Toronto’ thing I have going on.

The reason for cheering on the Jets is that they’re wounded. They’re back in Winnipeg, but their economic viability is somewhat of an unknown. I want to see them do well until they establish that they’re back and aren’t going anywhere.

At the point where they’re safely entrenched in Winnipeg, I can proceed to hate them.

I wrote a post for the Good Point arguing that the Jets have a shot at the playoffs in their first season in Winnipeg. It will make for a nice feel-good story and I’m sure more than a few people will be rooting for the little guys.

Of course if it comes down to Winnipeg and Toronto for the final playoff spot they can contract the Jets for all I care. I’m beginning to forget what the playoffs are actually like, so a heart-warming Jets story will leave me nothing but cold if it costs Toronto a chance at Lord Stanley’s mug.