The NHL’s nine-member Exec Committee yesterday "met for just over four hours" in N.Y., but would "not reveal its decisions on expansion and what recommendations it would make" to the league’s BOG on June 22 in Las Vegas, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Fidelity National Financial Chair Bill Foley, who is behind the NHL expansion effort, said that he "did not know the outcome of the meeting." A spokesperson for Las Vegas NHL minority investors Joe and Gavin Maloof said, "We haven't heard anything" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/8). However, Las Vegas-based NHL blogger Ken Boehlke cited sources as saying that the committee yesterday "formulated a positive recommendation for expansion to Las Vegas and the official announcement will come" on June 22. There has "not yet been confirmation on division, expansion draft date, or any other details." The announcement is "currently scheduled to take place at a press conference in Las Vegas" prior to the NHL Awards. The next step in the process is for Foley to "sign the expansion contract and send it," plus $500M, "back to the league." The sources "were not told directly whether or not Quebec City will also be awarded a franchise." Instead, the sources said that it is "pretty much widely assumed" Las Vegas is "coming in alone” (SINBIN.vegas, 6/7).
PLACE YOUR BETS: ESPN.com's Burnside & LeBrun debated why Las Vegas is a "good bet for expansion." Burnside noted the "time is ripe for the league to make this move." Las Vegas represents an "interesting marketplace, even though there remains skepticism from some owners and executives that it can support an NHL franchise and make it successful so it won’t drain revenue sharing." That is "really what has slowed this process." LeBrun added that there has been "much work put into the expansion draft rules, of which the general details released to the media over the past few months suggest very much a chance for Las Vegas to ice a better team than its expansion forefathers." For $500M, it "appears Las Vegas should get itself a better team out of the gates than the old days of expansion." Burnside added it will be "fascinating to see just what kind of marketplace Las Vegas turns out to be." Although there have been "rumblings the NFL might take a run at the Vegas market, the NHL is miles ahead and should, in theory, reap the benefits of being first through the door" (ESPN.com, 6/7).
