Seattle is not part of the expansion process..but we knew that already

In Gary Bettman’s annual state of the league address he said in no uncertain terms that Seattle will not be getting a team in the current expansion process. This was known and the league message has been consistent from the very  beginning. This expansion process is about Quebec and Las Vegas, not Seattle. There have been several stories that bubble up from time to time that speculate that the league is dragging its feet on expansion while waiting on Seattle, but every time a story comes up the league denies it.

If you are with me and rooting for a team in Seattle, then our hope would be that the NHL chooses to expand by one team in this round of expansion, which would open the door for another team down the road. Several media outlets are “predicting” (aka speculating) that the scenario could play out with Las Vegas landing a franchise and Quebec City being left out in the cold as a relocation option. The Canadian Dollar is just too weak for an expansion team in Quebec City. It wasn’t too long ago when the NHL was assisting all Canadian teams outside of Montreal and Toronto.

What does this all mean for Seattle? Not much. Nothing has materially changed since the 3 potential ownership groups in Seattle missed the NHL expansion application deadline last July. It appears that there are still groups trying to get an NHL team in Seattle, but we’ve heard very little from any of the camps, so it is not clear if any option will emerge anytime soon.

Bettman’s comments yesterday have changed nothing since Seattle missed the deadline and was consistent with the grades I handed out for the year. I know this will be a great market for the NHL and I am optimistic that the Greater Seattle Area will land an NHL team eventually. The biggest hurdle to landing a team has always been an arena. Without a clear arena solution in either SoDo, Tukwila, Bellevue, or who knows where else, this remains the major blocker for even the optimist in me. This news cycle can be brutal on us at times, but NHL-to-Seattle remains committed for the long haul and is not going away anytime soon. We continue to provide fair and balanced assessments of our situation as the NHL-to-Seattle community continues to grow and thrive.