Rumors II: Maple Leafs, Jets and Expansion

On the Maple Leafs …

  • Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet 590 on the Maple Leafs.

    “To me right now, the biggest question this organization has is: ‘What are we going to look like in goal in three years?’

    “That is the question I think they’ve got to be asking. I know they’ve started looking around and seeing what is available out there. Because I look at their organization right now and I see young players coming at forward. I see some young defensemen. I don’t see clarity long term in goal. And in this league, if you don’t have goaltending – you don’t got nothing.”

On the Jets …

  • Gary Lawless of TSN: Contract talks between the Jets and Dustin Byfuglien have been limited so far. Term and money are an issue.

On expansion …

  • Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: The NHL Board of Governors are set to meet on December 7th and 8th in Pebble Beach. It is unlikely that they will be voting on expansion according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

    “Given where we are in the process, it is clear that expansion will not be voted on in December,” Daly said Wednesday in an email to the Review-Journal.

    Commission Gary Bettman has repeatedly said there is no hard timeline for a decision. The next time they could meet to potentially on expansion would be at the All-Star weekend in late January.

    “We knew it was a possibility, and we’ve been in communication indirectly with the NHL,” Foley said. “We know we continue to make progress, and nobody has told us no at this point. So it’s still moving forward.

    “Obviously, the sooner it gets done, the better. But I understand they want to take their time. It’s an important decision. Hopefully we’ll know something at the All-Star Game.”