I have heard the term "get gassed" to refer to losing one's job on many occasions. I've used it myself on numerous occasions. I've worked for several professional hockey teams and it's a very common term among hockey players. Perhaps he was misquoted and actually said "get gassed" rather than "get the gas", which does sound worse than I believe it was intended. I also didn't know that Bettman was Jewish, but I would bet that Chelios did due to his familiarity with Bettman. Still, I've met Chelios and know several people who are close to him and I've never heard him say anything or heard anybody else say anything that would leave me to believe that he's an anti-Semite. It was a thoughtless thing to say, but I don't think there was any anti-Jewish sentiment behind it. I do think that Chelly should redirect his anger, however. I agree with many of his brother NHL players that the majority of the blame lies not with Bettman, but with Bob Goodenow. This deal has been a long time coming and the NHL could not survive much longer the way things were going. Bettman did what he had to do and probably not only saved the game, but in the long run I think the game will be better for it. But then...that's just me.
Chris Chelios,
I have heard the term "get gassed" to refer to losing one's job on many occasions. I've used it myself on numerous occasions. I've worked for several professional hockey teams and it's a very common term among hockey players. Perhaps he was misquoted and actually said "get gassed" rather than "get the gas", which does sound worse than I believe it was intended. I also didn't know that Bettman was Jewish, but I would bet that Chelios did due to his familiarity with Bettman. Still, I've met Chelios and know several people who are close to him and I've never heard him say anything or heard anybody else say anything that would leave me to believe that he's an anti-Semite. It was a thoughtless thing to say, but I don't think there was any anti-Jewish sentiment behind it. I do think that Chelly should redirect his anger, however. I agree with many of his brother NHL players that the majority of the blame lies not with Bettman, but with Bob Goodenow. This deal has been a long time coming and the NHL could not survive much longer the way things were going. Bettman did what he had to do and probably not only saved the game, but in the long run I think the game will be better for it. But then...that's just me.