I didn't know Bettman was Jewish until this post so perhaps that flavours my comment to give Chelios some benefit of some doubt.
Not a good choice of words, but I think the lynching of Chelios is a little premature. He clearly is referencing Bettman being fired for gross incompetence. Taken within context, I don't automatically jump to an anti-semitic stance. Neither does the National Post article, written by the guy who actually took the quote, I assume. Reporters don't always recognize the significance of a comment. If the Post reporter did, he or she would have asked Chelios if he really meant to say that someone should "get the gas," which is inflammatory regardless of the religion of the target. Since Bettman is Jewish and actively involved in public efforts related to his faith, and Chelios is a likely Hall of Famer, the press should ask if his insult was an intentional reference to Bettman's religion. Personally, I have trouble believing that someone would innocently use the phrase "get the gas" as a synonym for fired. But we'll see. That quote will probably grow some legs.
Is "get the gas" a real euphemism for being fired? I've never heard it. I googled for it, but I couldn't find any instances of it being used that way.
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.
You haven't worked in the right places. I think what Chelios meant was he gave Bettman the Gas Face. 
I think its just a way of him saying to kill bettman off....and I dont think that Chelios is really even smart enough to put it all together that he made an anti-semetic comment, just coincidence.
Damn it, Yerfatma! Beaten to the punch ... now post the video to "Pop Goes the Weasel". I've heard athletes used the term "gassed" a lot also, referring to being completely wiped out at the end of a game. It's also been used as a phrase for being cut from a team. It's tough to know how Chelios meant it exactly here, but let's face it -- he's not exactly Ring Lardner.
I didn't know Bettman was Jewish until this post so perhaps that flavours my comment to give Chelios some benefit of some doubt. Neither did I. So did Chelios know Bettmann is Jewish? There's no context in which you can say a Jewish person should "get the gas" without it being anti-Semitic. Yes, there is, namely the context in which the person using the phrase a) uses it to mean 'fired from the job' and b) is not aware that Bettmann is Jewish. Do both of those conditions exist in this situation? I don't know.
Now we're getting somewhere. I couldn't find squat on Google where "get the gas" was a synonym for being fired. But here's some places where "get gassed" was used that way: Boston Herald story in 2003 on Bruins GM Mike O'Connell: "It's hard for anyone to get pumped up right now about a guy who's bound to get gassed in short order like many of his immediate predecessors." Toronto Sun column on Ron MacLean quitting the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada: "... it's nice to know that should anyone get gassed at a newspaper mere journalists are now worthy of huge outrage; there will be parades of protest, people outside with pickets and sports radio callers demanding ... oh, never mind. Been there, done that ... didn't happen. " Internet discussion from 2003 on Pat Quinn in Toronto: "Quinn is safe for now after back-to-back victories over the Canucks, I would think. There would have to be a heck of a losing skid for him to get gassed now." Now that we're getting closer to understanding what Chelios might have meant, I'm going to turn my attention to what Samsonov was referring to when he said the guy F-ed himself in the B. Fondled himself in the backyard?
You know, I'm just going to say it -- fucked himself in the butt. NOW let's see who finds us using Google!
Found himself in the Bastille?
Fried himself in the Bacon?
Whether "get the gas" is a common euphemism for being fired, in the context he used it that is certainly what he meant. Please disperse...nothing to see here.
Getting gassed or getting the gas is a commonly used phrase for getting fired. Why does everything anyone says need to be taken out of context. Get a clue.
Getting gassed will probably be new to some people who read the Chelios still gunning for Bettman story in their papers tomorrow. The only time I'd ever heard it was when hockey players talk about being winded after a long shift. I wonder if we'll get some people wandering in from Google, like we did when SportsFilter was early on the Reggie White sarcoidosis/steroids discussion.
I wonder if we'll get some people wandering in from Google, like we did when SportsFilter was early on the Reggie White sarcoidosis/steroids discussion. I am waiting anxiously for the GoogleAds on this page to turn ugly. We've got a lot of loaded keywords in here...
I am waiting anxiously for the GoogleAds on this page to turn ugly. They've already turned fictional. "NHL Games live on TV..."
I'm sure this ruins a wonderful friendship between the two. I don't know if Chelios intended the comments to be anti-semitic, and neither does anyone not named Chris Chelios. Will anyone remember this next year? Not too much. More important for discussion-will guys like Chelios have a place in the new NHL world? Older guys with high cap numbers, specifically. That's what we should be worrying about.
Maybe he meant that Bettman should try some of his chili?
