- Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province: Sources that are close to the expansion situation are indicating that an expansion team to Las Vegas is a done deal. Who the owner will be hasn’t been determined yet. The NHL also be looking at least one other expansion team. Seattle has been mentioned before but there are no surefire plans to build a new arena. That could change quickly as Vancouver billionaire Victor Coleman is one of many people interested in bringing an NHL team to Seattle. There are two less teams in the West, so expanding there makes sense.Gary Bettman recently.
“There’s a lot of interest. We’re hearing from multiple groups in Seattle and in Vegas and Kansas City and Quebec City,” Bettman said to the Tribune while scoping out Target field in Minny for yet another trip to the well of outdoor games.
“We have not decided to engage in a formal expansion process but we listen to expressions of interest. It’s not something we’ve seriously considered yet.”
Kansas City may not be a serious contender for a team unless they are thinking about adding four teams. Quebec City could then be a possibility.
- David Pagnotta: “Expansion. It’s coming, NHL fans. You’ll be hearing more everywhere soon enough. Quebec City, Seattle and Las Vegas have been the 3 markets pushing hardest for an NHL team. QC & Vegas have arenas already being built. There is an ownership group in place wanting to bring the NHL back to QC. There’s a group now in SEA (but no new rink yet). Vegas is most interesting, and there have been some groups that have expressed interest, but don’t know if there’s a clear-cut group now. Kansas City is always in discussion, but it’s a big darkhorse. Biggest challenge for SEA now is new arena. For LV, it’s proving it can sustain a local fan base of roughly 12k season tix (full/semi). I haven’t heard Vegas is a “done deal” but it’s definitely in serious contention. Again, needs sound ownership and proof of local support.”
