Air Canada threatens to pull NHL sponsorship

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman responded Thursday that his teams could retaliate by deciding to stop using Air Canada for charter flights, an important source of revenue for the airline.

The exchange between the commissioner and the biggest airline in hockey-mad Canada came after a Montreal Canadiens player suffered a concussion and cracked neck vertebra Tuesday night when a Boston player knocked him headfirst into a glass partition.

The Boston player, team captain Zdeno Chara, was ejected from the game but not suspended or fined.

On Wednesday, Air Canada's director of marketing, Denis Vandal, wrote to Bettman saying that the airline was considering withdrawing its sponsorship unless the NHL took immediate action including "serious suspensions" for players who cause serious injuries.