Bettman said that the NHL will mostly stay out of the team name selection processGETTY IMAGES
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the league has "already promised the NHL Seattle group that the city will be awarded an All-Star Game" after the team begins play at the renovated KeyArena in '21, according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. Bettman added that Seattle "will likely get to stage either an entry or expansion draft before that." Bettman: "We've promised an All-Star Game to Seattle within seven years of playing. It doesn't mean we're going to wait seven years." Baker notes the NHL Seattle group has also "asked the league to stage an outdoor game." Bettman said that the rainy weather "could be an issue with that" and -- without ruling anything out -- seemed "cool to the idea of holding it under the retractable open-air roof at T-Mobile Park." NHL Seattle President & CEO Tod Leiweke said that his group "plans to put out a computer portal within 60 days where about 33,000 season-ticket deposit holders will get a detailed look at the timeline of how things with the team -- including its name choice -- are expected to progress" (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/10). The AP's Tim Booth noted the NHL Seattle team "still doesn't have a name or color scheme." Bettman said that the NHL will "mostly stay out of the selection process, aside from working with the Seattle franchise in colors, trademarks and other logistical parts of the expansion name." Leiweke said that the goal is to "have a name announced" by the middle of '19 (AP, 1/9).
