NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that there is "still no decision on expansion and no timeline when the NHL will get an official recommendation from the 10-member executive committee," according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Bettman: "If we decide we’re going to expand for 2017-18, then we probably need to have a decision by June" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/17). The GLOBE & MAIL's James Mirtle reports the NHL is now saying that expansion, if it is coming in time for the '17-18 season, will be "announced before the draft, which makes this June’s annual awards gala -- in Las Vegas -- a natural platform to make things official" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/17).
FIND YOURSELF A CITY: TSN.ca's Gary Lawless wrote Quebec City is the "most natural choice for NHL expansion." Ticket revenue is "still the No. 1 economic driver in the NHL." More than "any other expansion candidate, Quebec City will thrive in this area." The expansion bid has an owner, a building and is in "a suitable market." If the Canadian dollar was trading at 85 cents, this "wouldn’t be a discussion, Quebec City would be getting a team." Fans there will "buy tickets for a winner or a loser." The city "averaged more than 14,000 fans a game for 13 of the Nordiques’ 16 NHL seasons" (TSN.ca, 3/16). SPORTSNET.ca's Elliotte Friedman reported hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, the prospective owner of a Seattle-based NHL franchise, was "recently seen in the NHL's Manhattan offices." But NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly "once again shot down any possibility that city could re-enter the process." Daly: "It’s not unusual for (Hansen) to meet with us when he comes to New York. But, as we’ve said before, Seattle is not going to be part of this." Friedman wrote there is frustration in the NHL with the Seattle area, with some execs "feeling the league shouldn’t touch it with a 50-foot pole after none of the rumoured groups submitted an expansion application" (SPORTSNET.ca, 3/16).
ROUGH DRAFT: In Winnipeg, Ken Wiebe reports NHL GMs this week discussed "the plan for potential expansion clubs to fill out their respective rosters." If one team enters the fold, current teams "could lose a maximum of one player in the expansion draft and that number rises to a maximum of two players if two franchises are added." First and second-year players are "exempt from the process." It "sounds like teams will be given the choice to protect between nine and 11 players -- with a few other important details, like what impact no-trade or no-movement clauses might have in the process, left to be ironed out in discussions with the NHLPA" (WINNIPEG SUN, 3/17). The CP's Jonas Siegel noted GMs in determining a new expansion draft process had a "goal of having more competitive expansion teams from the get-go." Senators GM Bryan Murray said, "They want them to be somewhat competitive" (CP, 3/16). USA TODAY's Kevin Allen asks of the plan, "Will it be enough to give an expansion team hope of being competitive sooner than teams in the past?" It is "difficult to project without knowing how much maneuvering teams will be able to do with salary cap" (USA TODAY, 3/17).
