If you haven’t already noticed, the hot topic surrounding the NHL at the moment involves expansion.
The first story to surface came from the Vancouver Province, which reported that expansion to Las Vegas is “a done deal.” Then, a tweet from Sports Business News’ Howard Bloom suggested that four teams would be added to the league through expansion by 2017 — Quebec City, Seattle, Las Vegas and a second Toronto team.
When asked about the possibility of the league expanding in the near future, deputy commissioner Bill Daly refuted the reports.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ChrisDaniels5/status/504674221478645761 align=”center”]
Daly’s comments echo what the league has said regarding expansion over the last few years.
“We’re not planning on expanding,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said before Game 1 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in June. “We’re not in an expansion mode or formal expansion process. We listen when people say, ‘We’d like to come visit you and tell you why we’re interested and where we’re interested.’”
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild were added to the league via expansion for the 2000-01 season. That’s the last time the league expanded.
