- CP on SportsNet: Bill Daly on expansion in an email: “Nothing new to report on this subject” and “Nothing new has happened.” MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke on the Fan 590 yesterday.
“The commissioner and I had other business this morning, so we talked for a while and this came up, and I asked him, ‘Did I miss a meeting?’ And he laughed and said, ‘Nope,”’ Leiweke said in an interview on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “This isn’t on the agenda right now.”
Renaud Lavoie: Expanding by four teams is not something the NHL is working on. Bill Daly said that nothing has changed.
- John Shannon: “On the topic of NHL expansion…I truly believe the league hasn’t changed its philosophy…take slow,steady and do it at the right time. Expansion talk is good for business and it helps spur cities to contemplate building arenas,public or private. It will come in good time.”
- David Pagnotta: The NHL will continue to deny NHL expansion for now. Expanding by two teams is going to happen, but four would be wow.
- Chris Daniels: Three people who are involved in the expansion efforts for Las Vegas and/or Seattle say they are surprised by the internet chatter, that there is nothing new and that the reports are inaccurate.
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger yesterday morning on TSN Radio: “Difficult to really ascertain what it means . There’s a difference between formal/informal talks” … “The leading clip they use from Bettman, which is from when last May? He acknowledges they have interest all the time.” … “There has been continued interest out of Seattle and certainly out of Quebec City” … “If you’ve spent any time recently in Quebec City you can see that building is really close. That’s an NHL caliber facility” … “likewise for Las Vegas” … “Vegas has always been on the periphery when discussing expansion” … “Separating what is news and fact from what is speculation is a difficult process” … “My checks yesterday, just following up on Gallagher’s work, comes back to the same place: no formal plans for expansion” … “When you push those who appear to be in the know, and by that I don’t mean the Commissioner’s office, but NHL executives…” “…there are a lot of people, who are still working in the NHL, that believe a 2nd team in southern Ontario would fly” … “Where might that be on the pecking list of the NHL? I think Seattle and potentially Las Vegas are ahead of Ontario on the list” … “All of this is just wild speculation” … “I keep going back to, are Quebec City pouring all those hundreds of millions into that building for the good of their health?” … “Would have to be a lot of red tape that would have to be satisfied & cut through before…” “…we’re talking about a real 2nd team opportunity in the GTA“
