PEBBLE BEACH, California — An avalanche of information. But no decision.
Las Vegas and Quebec City will just have to keep waiting, possibly until this time next year, to find out when or even if they (and their $500 million) are going to be accepted with open arms into the NHL lodge.
On the first day of the NHL’s board of governors meeting on Monday, there was presentation by the league on possible expansion that was, in the words of one governor, " very neutral," leaving one and all with no new sense of where this is headed next.
There were no representatives from either bid on hand to doing any lobbying, and after the executive committee chewed on all the information gathered on the expansion candidates in the late morning, the full board heard the facts, just the facts, later in the day.
None of this was a surprise. But it still begged the question; what the heck is really going on here?
This has been unlike the expansion efforts of the past 25 years in that there was a surge of interest when the NHL announced it was considering expansion, and then a focusing of that interest when only Las Vegas and Quebec City applied, and now…uncertainty.
It suggests that some governors are having second thoughts about the wisdom of adding teams, even if it brings $1 billion in to be split up between 30 teams, or at least that there are some thorny logistical questions here that aren’t close to being answered.
A guess? Most governors are sold on bringing in Las Vegas, but not so much on Quebec. Could you add one without the other?
Commissioner Gary Bettman said this is a complicated process for many different reasons.
"I’m not going to give you an exhaustive list, " he said. "But, for example, when? What will be the terms of an expansion draft? What would be the terms of an expansion draft if it were one or two teams? What will be the role or the position in the entry draft?
"There are a myriad (of questions), and within that there are a lot of sub-issues that have to be addressed…(and) that’s after you get past the point, do we want to expand? Are these the right applicants? Are we comfortable with the arena? The list goes on and on. It’s an important, significant business decision, and it’s being treated in a businesslike way."
The one issue Bettman did put to bed was speculation that the delay in the expansion process might be to allow the league to re-open the bidding, possibly to allow other cities like Seattle to step forward.
He made it clear this is about Las Vegas and Quebec City.
"Period," he said.
We could, of course, see the league make a decision on expansion as early as next month at the all-star game, and if not, the earliest it could announce something would be in June. If that were the case, we’d be looking at a new team or teams for the 2017-18 season at the earliest, and maybe part of what we’re seeing is a deliberate slowing down of the entire process.
The most concrete news on the day, and it wasn’t that concrete, was that the salary cap could rise to something in the neighbourhood of $74.5 million next year. Prudent teams are planning on having no more than $1 million more to spend.
"It tells you the league’s revenues continue to grow, and that while there’s a lot of speculation as to what the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar means, most of that commentary and speculation is a little off the mark," said Bettman.
Left for Tuesday’s discussions were a decision on whether to continue the current system of compensation for coaches and executives going to new teams – expect the league to dispense with it – and a discussion of the league’s concussion protocol and use of concussion "spotters" around the league.
Also, the league is waiting to hear a decision on Tuesday from Broward County on whether the Florida Panthers can re-work their lease at the BB&T Center, which would amount to an $86 million aid package for the struggling club. The vote is expected to be close, and if the Panthers are turned down, there will be immediate speculation that the club could re-locate.
