If someone has the money, the NHL might consider expansion.

In the never say never mode, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman during an appearance on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio in New York said his business is not in an expansion mode and that his business is fine with 32 teams, but. The but is important here because if there is an owner in a market that could support the NHL with a state-of-the-art building available, then that just might pique the NHL owners’ interest. Right now there is a state-of-the-art building in Québec City but the league has not been very keen on returning to the small market Canadian city that has a small corporate sector as it is a government town. The Canadian dollar has weakened to around 71 cents versus the US dollar and with a new American administration coming in and threatening to put tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States, now may not be the time for Québec City to be considered for an NHL expansion franchise.

The NHL owners might consider Alpharetta, Georgia about 30 miles north of downtown Atlanta where there is a proposal for an arena-village with some sort of public funding available. The Atlanta market has fizzled twice because one group of ownership in the 1970s didn’t have the cash needed for a franchise and sold the team in 1980 to a Calgary, Alberta business group which took the team to Canada and poor ownership groups in Atlanta doomed the expansion Thrashers franchise and the business moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2011. There have been expressions of interest from groups in Houston, Cincinnati and Omaha, Nebraska who want an NHL franchise and the NHL would like to return to the Phoenix-area if an arena is ever built in the market. Bettman said the NHL is not expanding but if the right offer is made, the NHL will listen.

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