The NHL Board of Governors met on Tuesday, and the process regarding potential expansion remains ongoing. Summer reports suggested the NHL was leaning toward expansion and adding another team in Texas. Whether that was Houston or Austin remained to be seen. Expectations were that the NHL could announce something on Tuesday, September 22nd, or announce a vote at the December Board of Governors meetings.
How far will the NHL take expansion, and why is there a push for it now?
However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly pumped the brakes on expansion talks, saying it’s still a process and still in the discussion phase, with the hope of knowing more by the end of the year on potential groups and where they want to go, if they decide to.
“We would expect that we’ll know by the end of the year which market they would prefer, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Bettman said when asked about a timetable and deciding on what city to pursue is an atypical expansion with one perspective from looking at two different markets.
Bettman continues to play coy about expansion and whether he is leaning one way or the other. He was asked whether the Board of Governors was leaning one way or the other on which city and group they would want. Even if the NHL had a particular group, they’d say it out loud to the media.
However, when the NHL does want to expand, or is in the process of expanding, they need to make sure everything is in place. As Bettman always says, markets across North America show interest, but there is no formal expansion window to submit applications.
Should there be some concerns about NHL expansion?
However, the NHL is doing more due diligence on markets after being burned in the past not only by the markets they went to, but also by ownership groups. Everything has to be in place: stable ownership, a building to house an NHL franchise, a steady fanbase, not just outsiders going to the market to watch their team play, and more. Every box has to be double- and triple-checked.
“I think everybody’s taking a wait-and-see attitude to see what’s being presented and what the pros and cons are,” Bettman said. “Expansion is a multibillion-dollar transaction, which has an impact on all the other clubs in the league. A lot of I’s have to be dotted and T’s have to be crossed. And if there’s going to be expansion, three-quarters of the governors are going to have to be comfortable that this makes sense to them. And that’s not something you do overnight.”
Back in June, the Friedkin family started a six-month process to evaluate Houston and Austin as potential locations for another team in Texas to join the Dallas Stars. The NHL has stated it will take a $3.5 billion investment, including a $2 billion expansion fee and the cost of the new arena, to bring another team to that arena.
NHL Rumors: Expansion is Coming But Where Will it Stop?
However, as previously mentioned, it is unclear which way the board of governors will lean in terms of Austin or Houston when it comes to another team coming into the NHL. But the six-month exploration process will end at the next board of governors meeting in December.
As both Bettman and Daly noted, this is a process and discussion between the Friedkin Family and the NHL. They are in constant communication, but there is no timetable for when the actual process will begin and a formal vote will take place.
“Yeah, I don’t think we’re putting time limits on things. We’re working through the process. They’re working through the process,” Bill Daly said. “Originally, we contemplated at least knowing where we are in December. I expect we we will certainly know a lot more than we do now come December. But I don’t think there’s any magic date by which something has to get done or not get done.”
“I agree with that. We’re not under any time constraint,” Bettman added. “This isn’t a situation where we said we’re going to expand by X date. Get your applications in. We’re dealing with unsolicited, but we’re grateful to have them expressions of interest, and you know it’ll sort itself out on whatever timetable makes sense to everybody.”
NHL Expansion Eyes Texas With Houston, Austin in Play
As for resistance to expansion from some owners, Bettman didn’t make that clear. In recent days, there have been reports of some resistance to the idea of adding more teams. There was some when Vegas and Seattle came in, but those went through. It seems more owners are waiting to see how things play out with all the available information.
“There probably are. I don’t know how many. We haven’t polled them, Bettman said. “I think everybody’s taking a wait in Seattle too to see what’s being presented and what the pros and cons are, and we’re nowhere near that stage yet. I think there are probably some owners who think expansion is the greatest thing ever, and I think there are some people who say, “Why do we need to expand? I can’t tell you the numbers.”
As of now, the NHL remains at 32 teams. However, for a while now, there has been a sense that the League could reach 34 or 36 teams down the road. But the talk of expansion will continue.
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
If you love our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a preferred source on Google.
