Bettman cools NHL expansion buzz, expresses desire to start CBA talks in January

NEW YORK — Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the prospect of expanding the National Hockey League “never came up in any form” as a topic during the three-hour Board of Governors meeting held at the Westin Hotel, in midtown Manhattan, on Tuesday.

“We feel no compulsion to do it right now,” Bettman said. “We just came off our most successful season in our history, we’ve got collective bargaining to deal with, we’ve got new media arrangements to do in Canada in the next couple of years. If something came in and checked all the boxes, and we felt that it might make sense, we might consider it. But we’re not there right now, and it seems like everybody is, on the one hand, pushing us with, ‘Why don’t you expand,’ and at the same time saying, ‘Why would you expand?’ So, it’s not a front-burner topic right now.”

If it’s been one outside the boardroom, it’s due to the expressed interest of groups in Atlanta, Arizona, Houston, Quebec and Toronto.

But Bettman reiterated once again that the subject wasn’t broached with the league’s biggest power brokers on Tuesday.

What was on the docket at these meetings was a general business update, and a vote by the board to approve Michael Andlauer’s purchase of an additional 12 per cent ownership stake in the Ottawa Senators from the Armoyan family.

The board also approved a 54 per cent acquisition (upwards of 60 per cent within three years) of the Tampa Bay Lightning from a group headed by business moguls Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.

Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly then emerged from the meeting expressing confidence league revenue will continue to trend upwards to allow for the salary cap to jump from $88.5 million this season to $92.5 million next season.

While Bettman may have been non-committal on guaranteeing that number for 2025-26, saying the projection was “way, way, way, way, way preliminary,” Daly said afterwards that things are lining up well.

What Bettman was willing to commit to was getting negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players Association underway as soon as possible.

The current agreement is set to expire in the summer of 2026, but the league is hoping to start negotiating with the PA soon after Jan. 1, 2025.

“I’ve said that it could be as early as November, but I think everybody’s got some homework to do,” Bettman said. “I know that the union’s on their full tour, so no big deal. It’s just I think, in terms of timing, that’s probably the most realistic, which is still well in advance (of the current CBA expiring), and we think we’re collectively, in terms of the relationship, in a good place.”

When asked if being on good terms could lead to a quick settlement with the PA, Bettman said, “I don’t want to speculate, but if we have it done by my media avail in the Stanley Cup Final, everyone would be very happy.”

“But that’s not a discussion in terms of the timetable that I’ve had with (PA leader) Marty Walsh,” he added. “I don’t want to put any unfair or undiscussed parameters on it. It’ll be what it’ll be. But I think, based on the status of our relationship, this will be fine.”

It’s a welcome rhetorical tone, considering the contentiousness of the last three negotiations, which led to lockouts in 1994-95, 2004-05 and 2012-13.

Other key takeaways

- Bettman didn’t deny the appetite of governors to potentially shorten the pre-season and expand the regular season — a point of discussion broached to major injuries suffered by Drew Doughty, Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher in exhibition games last week.

However, it is a collective bargaining issue, so going through with that change must be negotiated with the PA.

But Bettman said the idea is “on a list of things to think about.”

- As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported earlier on Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets were given permission to remain below the cap floor through Oct. 7 (when NHL rosters must be submitted for the 2024-25 season), in the wake of Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death this summer. Daly confirmed this, and he also confirmed that the NHL and NHLPA will include the $2-million signing bonus that was paid to Gaudreau in July under the Blue Jackets’ cap, which leaves them roughly $1.4 million below the $65-million floor.

When asked what would be “a reasonable amount of time” for the Blue Jackets to become compliant with the floor, Daly wouldn’t specify.

- A resolution on Robin Lehner’s case, after the Vegas Golden Knights goaltender didn’t report to training camp for his pre-season physical, has yet to be reached.

But Daly said one could come later this week.

Lehner missing the pre-camp physical could be grounds for contract termination, but as Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said just over a week ago, “There are unique circumstances surrounding this situation that the NHL, that the NHLPA and (Vegas) are working through.”

Lehner is owed $4.4 million for this final year of his five-year, $25-million contract.

He last appeared in a game for the team in April of 2022, and then he had hip surgery that summer. He was not expected to play this season, either, and he released a statement on Sept. 21 stipulating the Golden Knights, the league and the PA were aware as to why he wouldn’t be reporting for his physical.

“I am waiting calmly for things to be sorted out,” Lehner’s statement read.

- Daly confirmed that teams competing in the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off (from Feb. 12-20) must submit their full rosters to the league by no later than Dec. 2.

He said the league does believe that the deadline could be moved up by a couple of days (between Nov. 29-Dec. 2), but any desire from general managers of the teams to have it moved back wouldn’t be agreed upon by the PA, which wants the submissions to be done as soon as possible “so that players can make plans.”

Daly also confirmed that players who are injured prior to the tournament can be replaced “up to, and including, Feb. 12.”

- A formal agreement on NHL Olympic participation for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games is still being worked on, but previous concerns Bettman and Daly expressed over the building of the arena where the games will be housed have been reconciled.