Gary Bettman shares his thoughts on the recent expansion rumors

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Tom Banks
September 23, 2024 (10:24 PM)

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For a while now, expansion in the NHL has appeared to be a matter of when, not if, but according to Gary Bettman, that may not be the case after all.

This past off-season, the NHL world was introduced to the Utah Hockey Club, a relocation team from the Arizona Coyotes, but according to all reports, they wouldn't be the league's newest team for long. Since that moment, reports have continued to emerged that the NHL is eyeing not one but two more teams, with Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City, Toronto and Quebec City among others all becoming genuine options for the NHL.

However, Gary Bettman has now shocked the world and shut down all of those rumours in a recent interview, stating that all reports and rumours relating to expansion anytime soon are completely false.

«We're not going through an expansion process. Other than updating the board in October of the places that expressed interest, nothing else is gonna be done. Everything else was either speculation or had no basis.»

These comments run completely contrary to legitimate reports from some of the sports top insiders, and given the money that the NHL stand to make with expansion (rumours have stated that the new entry fee into the NHL could almost make it to $1 billion), it makes no sense for him to shut it down. With all of the above cities putting together pitches to be the NHL's newest teams, even with these comments, expansion remains a possibility, and given the success of Vegas and Seattle, it's still only a matter of time.

Obviously it's not going to be as soon as many expected after Bettman's recent comments, but with the growing player base and the money involved, this remains a possibility, so keep a close eye on this situation moving forward as the NHL continues to grow as a league and a business.