Bettman cools NHL expansion talk as Texas process continues

On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman grounded talk of expansion to the booming city — or to the capital of Texas — being imminent just three months after announcing the opening of a process to explore the feasibility of a second franchise in the Lone Star State.

It was after the June board of governors meeting that Bettman announced the NHL was granting exclusivity to possible expansion in Houston or Austin to the Friedkin family, with Dan Friedkin, the CEO of the Friedkin Group, serving as the prospective owner of what would become the NHL’s 33rd franchise. He added that expansion to either city would require an approximate $3.5-billion investment from the family, which would include the expansion fee to the NHL and the cost of construction for a new arena. A six-month timeline to further explore both locations was also announced.

But as of Tuesday afternoon, the commissioner was unwilling to suggest the NHL was doing anything other than due diligence on a serious bidder for potential expansion.

“Expansion is a multibillion-dollar transaction, which has an impact on all the other clubs in the league,” Bettman said following Tuesday’s four-hour board of governors meeting at Peak Hudson Yards. “A lot of I's have to be dotted and T's have to be crossed, and if there's going to be expansion, three-quarters of the governors are going to have to be comfortable that this makes sense to them. And that's not something you do overnight.”

“We're not under any time constraint,” Bettman added. “This isn't a situation where we said, 'We're going to expand by X date, get your applications in.’ We're dealing with unsolicited — but we're grateful to have them — expressions of interest. And it'll sort itself out on whatever timetable makes sense to everybody.”

When asked if the board would be in a place to vote on expansion to Houston or Austin at its December meeting, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly reiterated Bettman’s statement.

“I don't think we're putting time limits on things,” Daly said. “We're working through the process. (The Friedkin Group is) working through the process. Originally, we contemplated at least knowing where we are in December.