Quebec City yesterday had its NHL application for expansion deferred, but Commissioner Gary Bettman "has not closed the door on the city getting back in the league," according to Michael Traikos of POSTMEDIA NEWS. Bettman, speaking at a news conference announcing Las Vegas as the league's 31st franchise, said, "Quebec's on our radar screen." Quebecor Media President & CEO Pierre Dion added the city and its bid group "need to be patient and timing has to be right. ... I'm confident the Nordiques will be back eventually." Traikos notes the "best option for that would be relocation, which would be fitting." But "don’t hold your breath" waiting for a team like the Hurricanes. Bettman: "The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t going anywhere” (POSTMEDIA NEWS, 6/23). The CP noted the low Canadian dollar "undermined the potential success" of a team in Quebec, and the NHL BOG "was concerned about geographic imbalance if they were to add another team to the Eastern Conference, which currently has 16 teams to the West’s 14" (CP, 6/22). POSTMEDIA NEWS' Traikos writes Quebec also "cannot grow the game beyond Canada like Vegas can." But if a team like the Hurricanes or Panthers ever decided to relocate, the NHL "will have a landing spot ready and waiting" in Quebec (POSTMEDIA NEWS, 6/23). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell wrote it was "intriguing" that the NHL "did not dismiss" Quebec's bid. Campbell asks of the deferral, "Until when? Well, that of course, is the pivotal question." The league is either "holding Quebec City as a landing spot for an existing franchise (cough, Carolina) or it's playing this market like a fiddle." Any team that "wants to go with its hat in hand to the taxpayers for a handout knows it could play the Quebec City card to gain leverage" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 6/22).
NORTHWEST PASSAGE? In Seattle, Geoff Baker writes hedge fund manager Chris Hansen's "best arena chance could involve bringing a hockey team here first." With the NBA "not expanding and the NHL needing another Western team to balance conferences, it might be worth giving that 'NHL first' option another look." The key to "making it work would be the belief that if a Sodo arena gets built for NHL, the NBA and new investors eventually would join Hansen." Most believe an NHL team alone "wouldn’t provide enough revenues to succeed long term" (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/23).
