NHL expansion likely a when, not if, proposition

Expansion appears to be on the horizon once again for the National Hockey League.

Amid rumours of possible expansion, including a return to Atlanta, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun suggests additional franchises joining the league appears to only be a matter of time.

"Yeah, for me it’s a matter of when and not if," LeBrun said Thursday on Insider Trading. "You certainly got that sense from listening to Gary Bettman and looking at the body language of the NHL commissioner Wednesday at the Board of Governors meeting in New York. It felt like he came so close to just saying it’s going to happen, but he said ‘No, we aren’t ready yet.’ But then he talked about the recurring interest in conversations that he’s having with those four cities that you just mentioned: Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake and Quebec City.

"He was also asked what the next expansion fee would look like. Remember, Seattle went for $650 million. He said, ‘A lot,’ and he mentioned the recent valuation of some NHL franchises. Ottawa just sold for $950 million, so do the math. And, finally, I traded text messages today with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who you may remember he said a few months ago said he wants an NHL team. And he reiterated to me that he is ‘super interested’ in getting an NHL team. So, options there for the league when they’re ready."

Before the NHL can consider expansion, though, the league needs to know the long-term outlook of the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes will play in Mullett Arena with a capacity of just 5,000 once again this season after their latest proposal for a new arena in the area was shut down in May.

"There’s no question that this feels like a once-and-for-all proposition for Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo to get some finality on whether he can fix the arena situation in Arizona," LeBrun added. "What Gary Bettman said Wednesday was that they hope to have some clarity in January or February, and that they remain optimistic that Arizona could actually figure this out. We shall see.

"But as other governors told me Wednesday at the meeting, there’s no question you have to figure out Arizona first in case you have to move them to one of those cities that we just talked about. Especially whether that’s Houston or Salt Lake City."