Bettman said reports that the NHL might vote on the expansion in June "are absolutely not true"GETTY IMAGES
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday said that it would "not surprise him if the board of governors addressed Seattle’s expansion application 'in the fall, or early winter at the latest,'" according to Kevin Allen of USA TODAY. Bettman, speaking at his annual State of the League address, said that reports that the NHL "might vote in June 'are absolutely not true.'" A key aspect of Seattle’s application to become the 32nd NHL team is the remodeling of KeyArena, which "isn’t scheduled to be ready" until the fall of '20. Bettman: "There is no delay. We just haven’t gotten the train to the station yet" (USA TODAY, 5/29). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell noted there had been reports that expansion to Seattle is "on the docket" for the NHL BOG meeting on June 20 and the "red stamp would be ready to be used." However, Bettman said that there will "not be a vote at that meeting." There was a "commitment that once Seattle does become a league member -- and barring catastrophic event that will happen -- it will be granted the same expansion draft rules" that made the Golden Knights a "league powerhouse in Year 1." It would "hardly be fair" to charge Seattle a higher expansion fee than Las Vegas ($500M) and "not give it the same opportunity to be good" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 5/28). ESPN.com's Emily Kaplan noted with the renovation of KeyArena, it is "expected to seat about 17,000." Tod Leiweke also recently "left his job" as NFL COO for a hockey position in the Pacific Northwest, and in March, the group "launched a season-ticket drive and said it reached 25,000 deposits within the first hour." That exceeded the "goal of 10,000 deposits, which was reached in the first 12 minutes" (ESPN.com, 5/28). Seattle-based KING-NBC's Chris Daniels tweeted there is "no harm in waiting ... until #Seattle crosses t’s and dots i’s on KeyArena plan" (TWITTER.com, 5/28).
ONE DOOR CLOSES...: SPORTSNET.ca's Chris Johnston wrote the hopes of bringing an NHL team back to Quebec City "appeared to be on thin ice earlier this month" after comments made by Bruins Owner Jeremy Jacobs that the city is "challenged." Jacobs is NHL BOG Chair, but Bettman indicated that he "wasn’t expressing a view shared by the league’s head office." Bettman said of Jacobs, "He has one vote -- equal to the other clubs. And he may have an opinion, but in the final analysis, on important business matters, each club, each governor, decides, having reviewed all of the facts and circumstances and whatever materials are put together." Johnston noted a more appealing market for the league could be Houston, where Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta has "shown an interest in bringing a hockey team." NHL Deputy Commission Bill Daly said, "We’ve had some discussions with Houston. I don’t think at this point in time there’s an interest in filing for an expansion franchise." He added, "The guess is at some point in time we’ll have a discussion with them as to whether there’s an NHL team that they want to pursue" (SPORTSNET.ca, 5/28).
