A proposed Las Vegas NHL franchise remains nothing more than an idea as NHL officials continue talking, rather than acting, on a potential league expansion.
The league’s 30 general managers met in Boca Raton, Florida, this month to discuss potential league expansion and how it might work. A proposal would allow existing teams to lose up to one player if the league expands by one team and up to two players if the league adds two teams.
Teams would be allowed to protect one goalie, three defensemen, and seven forwards under one proposal, while another would allow teams to protect a goalie, plus eight other players.
If an expansion is to occur for the 2017-2018 season, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the decision must be made prior to the June NHL draft.
Although NHL general managers are discussing a potential expansion, Bettman said no decision has been made to go through with it, and the league’s executive committee, which is comprised of 10 members, must make an official recommendation, first.
Bettman said the NHL won’t expand without the executive committee’s okay, and there is no urgency to expand the league, which currently has Las Vegas and Quebec City and potential expansion locations.
In Las Vegas, entrepreneur Bill Foley has campaigned to bring an NHL expansion team to the city, where it would play in the new T-Mobile Arena, which opens in April. More than 14,000 people paid deposits to secure season tickets to a potential NHL franchise in Las Vegas.
