Expansion was not discussed at the NHL’s board of governors meeting on Wednesday, commissioner Gary Bettman said afterward.
The league has been at 32 teams since Seattle entered for the 2021-22 season. There are groups who aspire to have franchises in Atlanta and Houston, among other places.
“There is, and continues to be, interest from lots of places,” Bettman said from New York. “But none of it has reached the level that we need to focus on at this point.”
Asked if the door could be opened on the expansion front at the next board meeting in December in Colorado Springs, Colo., Bettman said that’s not for the NHL to decide.
“If somebody knocks on the door, we’ll peek around to see who’s knocking and then decide what to do with it,” Bettman said.
Among other topics, Bettman expressed concern about the construction timeline of the main hockey arena in Milan for the upcoming Olympics and said it’s up to the International Olympic Committee.
“We are constrained in what we can and can’t do, request and demand and if it reached a certain point, we’ll have to deal with it,” Bettman said. “But I’m not speculating, and we’ve been constantly assured by the IOC and the [International Ice Hockey Federation] that it will be OK.”
The salary cap is seeing record increases this year and over the following two as revenues are skyrocketing. Bettman flatly denied buzz that had been going around about the cap being more than $104 million US next season.
“There’s no change,” Bettman. “I know there’s a rumour going around that we’re in discussions about the cap. That’s absolutely, categorically untrue. There have been no discussions. It is what we’ve already agreed to.”
Bettman opened his chat with reporters saying there was no news to report.
“Basically, it’s a nuts and bolts meeting,” Bettman said. “Nothing too dramatic.”
Governors — a mix of owners, team presidents, general managers and other executives — got updates on the state of the league, hockey operations and officiating and efforts to grow the game internationally.
Bettman said he had nothing to share on the sale process involving the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As planning continues for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he expects 18 cities in North America and 10 in Europe to bid to host part of the event.
Asked about his future running the NHL, the 73-year-old Bettman said: “I’m here, and I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while. And I don’t know what a while is.”
