League set for smooth-as-ice start to 2014-15 season

With the NBA trying to recover from the Donald Sterling fiasco and the NFL reeling from a string of domestic violence cases, the National Hockey League opens a new season on Wednesday free of controversy.

With a $5.2 billion Canadian television-rights deal and guaranteed labor peace through the 2021-22 season, it seems as if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is looking forward to the 2014-15 campaign with a smile.

"The game on the ice has never been more exciting, more entertaining, more competitive," Bettman told the Canadian Club of Toronto last month. "We're coming off our best season ever and we think this year is going to be even better.