NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is "playing down the possibility of relocating" either the Panthers or Coyotes, and he reaffirmed at the league's owners meeting Panthers Owner Vinnie Viola's "commitment to South Florida," according to Andy Kent of the AP. There have been reports Panthers ownership "was trying to position the franchise for a move either to Quebec City or Las Vegas, two locales actively pursuing a hockey team." Bettman said, "There's nothing imminent that's happening. ... Nobody should be focusing on the Panthers as a relocation candidate, period." He added Viola, "both as a matter of his resources and his personal commitment, has consistently told me that he's committed to South Florida." Meanwhile, Kent noted the city of Glendale last year "narrowly approved a 15-year lease agreement" with the Coyotes, and "a little more than a year later, Andrew Barroway reached a deal to purchase a controlling interest in the franchise." The league is "still in the process of approving that ownership transfer, but like with Florida, the league doesn't envision the Coyotes relocating in the immediate future." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly: "Arizona and Florida aren't moving" (AP, 12/9). Bettman said of the Panthers, "If we’re having this conversation in two or three years, it might be a different issue. But I don’t believe we will. I believe that this market will support the Panthers and that they will reform the way they’ve done business over the last few years and I think the community will respond positively" (TORONTO SUN, 12/10). ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun wrote Bettman is "going to do everything he can to keep the Panthers in Florida, just as he has with the Coyotes in Arizona over the past several years." However, he noted it is "not like the league ever announced publicly that the Thrashers were leaving Atlanta until the day it actually happened" (ESPN.com, 12/9).
