Monster statement from Gary Bettman about the next expansion team coming to the NHL: are the Quebec Nordiques interested?

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Elias Edmonson
October 16, 2023 (0:07)

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Last Wednesday, the governors of the 32 NHL teams met to discuss certain topics. Following this Board of Governors (BOG), Commissioner Gary Bettman was kind enough to answer journalists' questions.

The subject of a future expansion was once again addressed, and the commissioner is firm. The league is not yet in the process of expanding its ranks, but...

Upcoming Expansion?

But reading between the lines, we can see that the project is in their minds for realization in the medium/long term.

"The best answer I can give you is that we continually receive expressions of interest from places like Houston, Atlanta, Quebec, and Salt Lake City, but expansion is not on the agenda [...] But we are not in a mode where I say: 'OK, if you're interested in an expansion, submit your applications and we will evaluate them,' as we have done before. We are not there." - Gary Bettman

It therefore seems clear that an expansion will take place in the future. On this subject, Kevin Weekes recently posted the cities that have already expressed their interest:

The hockey informant also asserted that the city of Forsyth (near Atlanta) has obtained state approval for its development project and seems to be leading the pack at the moment among cities that do not yet have arenas.

It will be very interesting to follow this in the coming years. When we know that the arrival of Vegas cost $500M, that of Seattle cost $650M, and the Senators recently sold for $950M, there is no doubt that a new franchise will cost over a billion dollars. Imagine the profit that the league, and its owners, could obtain following this process.