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TORONTO — Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has the wealth and passion to run an NHL club in Hamilton. Wayne Gretzky remarked last week he would like to see a team in Southwestern Ontario.
There is an arena ready to go in Kansas City and one planned for the near future for Las Vegas. Last week, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league hopes to have teams based in Europe in the next 10 years.
But despite the apparent fascination, expansion was not a topic on the agenda at the NHL board of governors meeting in Toronto yesterday.
"We like our 30 teams now and we don't feel this an appropriate time to do it," commissioner Gary Bettman said. "What the future may hold, I'm not prepared to predict, but it's not on the agenda."
When an appropriate time for expansion arrives, Bettman was asked, would the NHL first investigate Europe or North America.
"I know there has been a lot of speculation about going to Europe," he said. "The fact is anything is possible. We don't have plans yet or maybe never to put franchises on the continent. We think endeavours in Europe are important because 30 per cent of our players come from Europe, but our first priority is here in North America."
Bettman acknowledged there continues to be expansion interest in both Canada and the United States. But with the slowdown of the economy, the uncertainty of North American financial markets and the slumping Canadian dollar, the league needs to make sure its revenue continues to grow and the struggling franchises get through the predicted tough financial times.
There have also been predicted tough times for the Nashville Predators, but both Bettman and Predators general manager David Poile said that even with the William (Boots) Del Biaggio situation, in which the minority owner filed for bankruptcy after having numerous lawsuits filed against him, it has become a simple matter of waiting for the bankruptcy trustee to find for the 27-per-cent share of the club.
"The current ownership is good," Poile said. "We had a little bump in the road, but that will get straightened out by the trustee."
How do the governors see the uncertain economy affecting their business?
"I'm praying that the Canadian dollar stops where it is and again stabilizes," Edmonton Oilers president and chief executive officer Patrick LaForge said. "It obviously affects our business big time. I'm not the banker, but the Wall Street pages are full and so are the Toronto stock market, and it's not a pretty picture."
The NHL's salary cap has risen to $56.7-million (all currency U.S.) from $39-million in four seasons since the 2004-05 lockout. But neither Bettman nor the league governors wanted to play the prediction game as to whether the salary cap would decrease next season because of the economy.
Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke said ticket sales across the league are in a better state than this time last season, but clubs should proceed with caution.
"Every time the cap goes up, even though it creates problems for individual clubs, it means the industry is strong," Burke said. "We're seeing a little slowness in our market in terms of ticket renewal and some sponsorship stuff. But there is not significant erosion. Our support basis is still strong. So far, so good."
Another issue discussed by the governors was the Alexander Radulov situation. The 22-year-old Russian forward left the Predators in the summer with one season remaining on his contract and signed with Ufa of the Russian Continental Hockey League (KHL). The NHL requested binding arbitration on the matter last weekend, but has yet to receive a response from the Russian league.
This has Bettman peeved.
"I don't think the way the KHL or the IIHF [International Ice Hockey Federation] has handled the Radulov situation is either fair or appropriate or in good faith," Bettman said. "We have, to say the least, reservations doing business with the KHL going forward. What they did here was wrong and they know it. This will sort itself out. It's not something that will keep us up at night. We know that the best players in the world will want to continue to play in the NHL."
There was word that Radulov would rather play for the Predators than in Russia.
"We've had lots of talk, no action," Poile said. "If anybody knows him, his dream is to play in the NHL. I was taken aback, as was his North American agent, when this decision was made."
