The prospects of NHL expansion continue to be a hot topic in hockey circles.
Seasoned observers have noted a recent All-Star Game Discussion by League Commissioner Gary Bettman on interest from Utah Jazz owners and groups elsewhere, as an indication that we may be headed toward adding a team or two in the next few years.
In an interview with Bettman by The Hockey News publisher W. Graeme Roustan for the Money and power problem 2024Bettman released financial numbers on the expansion that are extremely intriguing.
When Roustan asked if the franchise expansion fee would be in the $2 billion range, Bettman said that was a “notional amount” but that he had more to say.
“Whether it’s $2 billion, or $2.5 billion, or a billion-seven, I think that’s the range that owners would want to be in if we’re looking at expansion,” Bettman told Roustan before cautioning against the idea that expansion is imminent. “We’re not in expansion mode. I’m not saying to the world, ‘Submit your applications and we’ll pick the best one,’ because we’re not there yet.”
Needless to say, an expansion fee of $2 billion or $2.5 billion would be a huge sum for the 32 team owners, who don’t have to share a single cent of expansion fees with the NHL Players’ Association. Even Bettman’s modest $1.7 billion valuation for a new team would significantly raise the bar for all franchises in the league.
In the Money & Power issue, Roustan rated the league’s top teams at or near the $3 billion plateau. The Toronto Maple Leafs were valued at $3 billionwhile the New York Rangers were valued at $2.75 billion. Getting one or two new owners to pay close to that amount would be a major accomplishment on Bettman’s part.
The last time the NHL expanded, the Vegas Golden Knights ownership group had to pay $500 million in 2017, while the Seattle Kraken paid $650 million to join the league in 2021. Increasing those numbers to more than four times what they started with in less than a decade is more than enough reason for NHL owners to expand the league to 33 or 34 franchises.
Bettman’s remarks to Roustan, as well as his comments during a press conference during the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, signal that expansion seems more of a possibility for the league, even if it hasn’t been here for a while yet. Bettman is as meticulous in his dealings with the media as any hockey figure. He would therefore not have simply given a series of figures if he did not believe that they were achievable.
The current 32 owners wouldn’t hurt themselves if they took the expansion money: per new team, with a valuation of $2 billion, the owners would each receive $62.5 million. And with so many markets trying to do business with the NHL, with Bettman mentions Houston, Salt Lake City and Atlanta like a few, it could drive up the price.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Bettman has done very well for owners in the 31 years he’s been commissioner. And another round of expansion will only endear him more to the team owners he works for. There won’t be any expansion announcements anytime soon, but we’d be willing to bet that in the relatively near future the NHL will grow by another two teams.
When it does, players will be excited about the addition of 46 new NHL jobs, and team owners will be excited about the $125 million or more they would be given with two new teams if expansion fees were in that $2 billion range. There aren’t many downsides to expansion, and that’s why it’s almost certainly going to happen.
