Allen: NHL expansion inevitable, but Gary Bettman mum on when and where
PITTSBURGH -- Given the steady rise of the NHL’s visibility and popularity in recent years, expansion is inevitable.
The NHL is tracking toward expanding as early as 2017-18, although Commissioner Gary Bettman said no decision has been reached.
Bettman said Monday before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup that he expects the league’s Board of Governors to answer the question at a meeting on June 22 in Las Vegas before the NHL Awards show. Bettman said the league’s executive committee, which has been reviewing expansion proposals from Las Vegas and Quebec City, will make a recommendation.
“I’m not going to handicap what’s going to happen, but, again, when the Board meets, we will know more than we do today,” Bettman said at his annual Stanley Cup Final address.
Owners could say no to expansion, but it's hard to see why they would. It’s possible that the committee could recommend that expansion be deferred, because more time is needed to button up every detail.
But both cities are attractive for different reasons, and both are willing to pay a $500 million expansion fee. It seems likely that at some point, both cities will end up with an NHL team.
The enticement of Las Vegas is that the NHL will be first-in. With a new arena already built, the NHL can beat the NFL into the city.
Plus, the NHL needs more teams in the West. Las Vegas is a nice fit geographically with the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings.
Currently, the NHL has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the West. Placing another NHL team in hockey-crazed Canada is a safe bet. The newly-constructed arena will be sold out in minutes.
The only issue regarding Quebec would be that presently the weakness of the Canadian dollar makes it more challenging for Canadian teams. Players are always paid in U.S. dollars.
“When you go into a process like this there is not one issue,” Bettman said. “It’s almost like a jigsaw puzzle. If you are going to expand, you have to make sure the pieces fit.”
The timing is right. The NHL has not expanded since 2000 when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets came aboard.
With 16 months to go before the start of 2017-18, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley said there is enough time for an expansion team to set up for that season if the Board of Governors approves expansion.
NHL teams have already been warned that if the league expands, the expansion draft process is being devised to make expansion teams competitive as soon as possible. What that means is that teams might lose a scorer or a No. 3 defenseman. The league has been operating as if expansion was likely.
The ideal situation would have been to have two suitable applicants from the West. Seattle would have been a nice fit, but the city doesn’t have an arena to meet NHL standards.
What that means is that if the NHL grants expansion franchises to both Quebec City and Las Vegas, it will have to realign again.
What we know is that the Detroit Red Wings and the Blue Jackets would both fight to stay in the Eastern Conference.
One of the options the Board of Governors has is bringing in one team now and adding one or more later.
Or, they could agree to expand by two teams and not worry that feelings will be hurt by realignment. Historically, the league has not been afraid to realign. The current alignment is three seasons old.
Besides, a $1 billion expansion payday, split among 30 teams, would heal any wounds caused by re-alignment.