Gary Bettman: Novelty of outdoor game hasn't worn off

Has the NHL flooded the market with so many outdoor games that the charm and novelty has all but worn off?

No, no they haven't. 

At least they haven't according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman (via LAKingsInsider). 

No, because first of all, it’s six games out of twelve hundred and thirty regular season games. Two, when you go to one of these games, if you haven’t been to one and you see what’s here, the reaction of the fans, the intensity, the emotion, the excitement is off the charts, and what we’re hearing from our fans and from our clubs and from the markets in which we play is they can’t get enough of these. And teams that have had a game don’t want to wait 10 or 15 years to get another one, and teams that haven’t been in one want to be in one. So, no, the number of games is dictated more by what we think we can handle logistically because the level of interest is off the charts. 

I rarely agree with the commish...and I'm not about to start now. Especially when one of the upcoming games is being played at the "kind of, but not entirely outdoors" B.C. Place between "hated" rivals Ottawa and Vancouver.

In the same media scrum, Bettman took the opportunity to (figuratively) stab citizens of Quebec and Seattle right in the heart. 

There’s always a lot of talk. [Reporter: Are they viable?] It’s great to know that there’s lots of interest in having teams in places where there aren’t. But as we stand here today, it’s nothing we’re pursuing right now in any sort of organized way. We listened to the expressions of interest, and they’re gratifying. But that’s all it is right now. [Reporter: Do the Leafs have any type of veto power if a team wanted to go into Markham?] Majority vote.