NEW YORK — Commissioner Gary Bettman said the prospect of National Hockey League expansion “was never raised in any form” as a topic during Tuesday’s three-hour Board of Governors meeting at the Westin Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
“We don’t feel any obligation to do that at this time,” Bettman said. “We just had the most successful season in our history, we have labor negotiations to sort out, we have new media arrangements to make in Canada in the next few years. If something came along that checked all the boxes, and we thought it might make sense, we might consider it. But we’re not there right now, and it seems like everyone is pushing us, on the one hand, pushing us saying, ‘Why don’t we go bigger,’ and at the same time saying: ‘Why would you expand?’ So this is not a hot topic at the moment.
If this happened outside the meeting room, it was because of the interest expressed by groups from Atlanta, Arizona, Houston, Quebec and Toronto.
But Bettman reiterated once again that the subject was not discussed with the league’s biggest influencers on Tuesday.
What was on the agenda for these meetings was a general business update and a vote by the board of directors to approve Michael Andlauer’s purchase of an additional 12 percent stake in the company. Ottawa Senators of the Armoyan family.
The board of directors also approved the acquisition of 54 percent (more than 60 percent within three years) of the Tampa Bay Lightning from a group led by business magnates Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz.
Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly then walked out of the meeting, expressing confidence that league revenues will continue to increase to allow the salary cap to rise from $88.5 million this season to $92.5 million next season.
While Bettman may not have committed to guaranteeing that figure for 2025-2026, saying the projection was “very, very, very, very preliminary,” Daly said afterward that things are going well.
What Bettman was willing to commit to was beginning negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players’ Association as soon as possible.
The current agreement is set to expire in the summer of 2026, but the league hopes to begin negotiating with the PA shortly after January 1, 2025.
“I said it could be as early as November, but I think everyone has homework to do,” Bettman said. “I know the union is in the middle of a tour, so it’s not a big deal. It’s just that I think in terms of a timeline, it’s probably the most realistic, which is still well before (the expiration of the current collective agreement), 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 replied: “I don’t want to speculate, but if we do it through my media in the Stanley Cup Final, everyone would be very happy.”
“But it’s not a discussion in terms of timing that I had with (PA chief) Marty Walsh,” he added. “I don’t want to impose unfair or undiscussed parameters on it. It will be like that. But I think, given the state of our relationship, everything will be fine.”
It’s a welcome rhetorical tone, given the contentious nature of the last three negotiations, which led to lockouts in 1994-95, 2004-05 and 2012-13.
– Bettman didn’t deny the governors’ appetite to potentially shorten the preseason and extend the regular season — a talking point brought up in connection with the serious injuries suffered by Drew Doughty, Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher in exhibition games last week.
However, this is a collective bargaining issue, so implementation of this change must be negotiated with the PA.
But Bettman said the idea was “on a list of things to think about.”
– As Aaron Portzline Athletics reported earlier Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets have received permission to remain under the cap until October 7 (the date NHL rosters must be submitted for the 2024-25 season), following the tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau this summer. Daly confirmed that, 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, leaving them about $1.4 million below the $65 million floor.
When asked what “a reasonable time frame” would be for the Blue Jackets to comply with the floor, Daly did not elaborate.
– A resolution on the case of Robin Lehner, after the Vegas Golden Knights The goalkeeper did not report to training camp for his pre-season physical, which has not yet been contacted.
But Daly said someone might come later this week.
Lehner’s absence from the pre-camp physical could be grounds for contract termination, but as Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said a little over a week ago: “There are unique circumstances surrounding this situation that the NHL, the NHLPA and (Vegas) must overcome.” »
Lehner is owed $4.4 million in this final year of his five-year, $25 million contract.
He last appeared in a game for the team in April 2022, then underwent hip surgery that summer. He was also not expected to play this season, and he released a statement on September 21 saying the Golden Knights, the league and the AP knew why he would not show up for his physical.
“I am calmly waiting for things to be resolved,” Lehner’s statement read.
– Daly confirmed that teams participating in the next Four Nations showdown (February 12-20) must submit their full roster to the league by December 2.
He said the league believes the deadline could be moved up a few days (between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2), but that any desire by team general managers to move it back would not be accepted by the AP, which wants submissions made as soon as possible “so the players can make plans.”
Daly also confirmed that players injured before the tournament will be able to be replaced “up to and including February 12”.
– A formal agreement on the NHL’s Olympic participation in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games is still being worked out, but concerns previously expressed by Bettman and Daly regarding the construction of the arena where the games will be held have been reconciled.
