It has been reported that the NHL is planning an expansion, or is at least engaging in exploratory talks to expand by possibly adding a couple of new teams. Today, Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed those rumors (check out the video below).
Speaking in Toronto, Bettman hammered home the point that expansion was a major decision and something neither he, nor the league, would take lightly, especially considering one of the driving forces behind this movement, or media fabrication, seems to be a perceived "lack of symmetry" between the Eastern and Western Conferences.
Currently, the Eastern Conference houses 16 teams, while the Western only has 14.
Bettman said, "you don't expand just to fulfill somebody's notion of symmetry. It's a very important business decision to make, and you do it for the right reasons."
Howard Bloom of Sports Business News originally tweeted "news of the expansion" in late August:
NHL expansion – four teams added by 2017, Quebec City, Toronto, Seattle, and Las Vegas $1.4b in expansion fees
— Howard Bloom (@SportsBizNews) August 27, 2014
Those are all large market cities and with the exception of Las Vegas, already fairly rabid fan bases in at least a couple of the other major sports, and the proposed $1.4 billion budget does not seem out of line.
Still, Bettman did his best to rein in any hope of new teams being added to the league anytime soon.
"The fact is, this is the most stable our franchises have ever been," he said. "The healthiest we've been as a league. But we're not looking to expand right now. No teams are relocating."
But he also made sure to add the caveat that just because the league isn't looking to expand now, that they won't be looking to expand sometime in the not-too-distant future. He just doesn't want to make any promises.
"I'm not suggesting at some point in the future we might not look at it, but we're not ready to do it now. And I don't want to build up anybody's expectations, because that's not fair to people in a community that want to have a franchise."
Teams such as the Panthers, Hurricanes, and Coyotes have come up previously in the relocation conversation.
