Expansion of the National Hockey League is “not a priority,” reiterated Commissioner Gary Bettman, who announced Tuesday that the league was moving forward with holding the 2024 draft in the Las Vegas Sphere. site which opened its doors in September and which presents itself as the largest spherical structure in the world.
Bettman said contracts still need to be finalized, but the league is excited about the possibility of holding the event there.
“I think it will be a pretty well-regarded event, both the draft itself and the viral use of the Sphere, inside and out. So we think it will be fun. We think it will be spectacular and compelling,” Bettman said after the league’s board of governors completed two days of meetings.
The league also mentioned that the salary cap would reach US$87.7 million for the 2024-2025 season.
“Not priority”
On the subject of potential expansion, Bettman said it’s not a priority these days, despite expressions of interest coming from Quebec, Atlanta, Houston and Salt Lake City.
“We are not considering, in the near future, doing what we have done in the past and saying: ‘If you would like to have a team, here is the deadline to apply,’” the commissioner said.
“We will listen, but are any of these projects going to come to fruition? Right now, that’s not what I’m focused on. »
Plans are moving forward for a four-country international mini-tournament to be held in February 2025, ahead of the 2026 Olympics.
However, there are still issues to be resolved between the National Hockey League, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee before an agreement that would allow players to participate in the next Olympics can be reached.
Bettman said he was concerned in particular by the state of the arena under construction which will be used for hockey, and by the end of the work quite early before the Olympics.