NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Saturday said that the league "continues to get expressions of interest from potential expansion sites but isn't prepared to add teams," according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. TIMES. Bettman said that he "met with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray last week," but uncertainty "surrounding the construction of a new arena clouds that picture." He also said that while Fidelity National Financial Chair William Foley "continues to gauge fans' interest in buying tickets for a franchise" in Las Vegas, the NHL "is not controlling that process" (L.A. TIMES, 1/25). Bettman said of Foley's Las Vegas ticket drive, "Bill asked to do it, so we could get a sense as to whether or not the market would support the grassroots level, if you will, franchise. He has to make those judgments. My guess is the campaign kicks off in February. If he’s still running it in next October, my guess is tickets didn’t sell so quickly. If he’s able to get to a number that makes a lot of sense and shows a great deal of enthusiasm in 2-3 weeks, we’ll have a better sense of the market" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/24).
CAP CRUNCH: The GLOBE & MAIL's James Mirtle wrote the NHL's salary cap could be a "big casualty" of a slumping Canadian dollar. Bettman's projected $73M cap "was based on revenue" of approximately $3.85B. If it is $60M lower, the cap projection "will fall by somewhere in the neighbourhood" of $1.2M. If the Canadian dollar "falls further, there would be more pain than that." A low or no-growth cap "would create massive pain for successful-but-capped out franchises" such as the Blackhawks, "who have been signing players under the assumption the NHL’s ceiling will continue to rise." Some teams around the league are already "considering a 'vulture' strategy, where they’ll purposely head into the summer with a lot of cap room in order to take advantage of distressed teams" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/24).
ELDER STATESMAN: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Alexandra Wolfe profiled Bettman in the paper's "Weekend Confidential" feature, noting he is the "longest serving commissioner in any major league sport today." Part of his strategy "in finding new fans involves TV and technology." Bettman called fans booing him at league events "part of the game." He said, "It’s become part of the ritual, and I’m OK with that. If I’m the one that people want to focus that attention on, I’ll take it -- as long as they’re fans" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/24).
