NHL agent calls out Bettman for “fleeing” from TSN reporter Rick Westhead and his difficult questions

In case you missed it yesterday, Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl and longtime Edmonton Journal reporter Jim Matheson got into a minor war of words during Draisaitl's media availability. After Draisaitl provided a somewhat stale answer to Matheson's long-winded question, Matheson paused and then asked Draisaitl, "Why are you so pissy, Leon?"

Frankly, it was a somewhat jarring moment that, to me, says just as much about Matheson's level of professionalism as it says about Draisaitl's level of frustration. 

Here's the entire exchange:

Matheson: “Lots of reasons for why the Oilers are playing the way they are in terms of winning and losing. What do you think is the number-one reason for the losses? Is there one thing, in your own mind, where you’re saying ‘We’ve got to get better at that?'”

Draisaitl: “Yeah, we have to get better at everything.”

Matheson: “Would you like to expand on that?”

Draisaitl: “No. You can do that. You know everything.”

Matheson: “Why are you so pissy, Leon?”

Draisaitl: “Hmm?”

Matheson: “Why are you so pissy?”

Draisaitl: “I’m not.”

Matheson: “Yeah, you are. Whenever I ask you a question.”

Draisaitl: “I gave you an answer.”

Matheson: “Not a very good one.”

Draisaitl: “Okay.”

Matheson: “I have one more for you, Leon. You’re showing your frustration on the ice, last game against Ottawa. Is that a good thing when you show it, so the other team knows you’re frustrated?”

Draisaitl: “Yeah, it’s a good thing. For sure.”

Matheson: “Good.”

Draisaitl: “Yeah.” [Gets up and walks away.]

So... as you might imagine that exchange made some waves across the NHL today, with the buzzword of the day on social media being "pissy".

NHL super agent Alan Walsh, never a guy to hide his opinions on things, took the opportunity to talk about just how pissy NHL commissioner Gary Bettman can get and in particular called out Bettman for dodging TSN investigative reporter a few years back. At the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville, Bettman was clearly "pissy" at Westhead for questioning him about former NHL players suffering from CTE and head injuries.

Check it out:

Now to me... that's pissy. I'd love to see Bettman reacting to Matheson's inane questions following another loss in a high pressure city like Edmonton. Then you're REALLY see the true meaning of pissy.