NEW YORK -- The NHL board of governors continues to take a "wait-and-see attitude" on adding two expansion franchises to the 32-team league, commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday.
The board didn't hold a vote on expansion at their meeting in New York. Bettman said that while the NHL continues to get pitched by potential owners, the league is not currently in a formal round of expansion.
"We continue to evaluate and receive expressions of interest, which I guess is a really good thing," Bettman said.
In June, the Friedkin family began a six-month process to evaluate Houston and Austin as potential locations for a second NHL team in Texas, joining the Dallas Stars. At the time, Bettman said it would take an approximately $3.5 billion investment to bring another team to Texas, including an expansion fee and the cost of the new arena.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league received a full briefing from the Friedkin group last week and an update before the board meeting. He said the group has identified potential arena sites in both Houston and Austin.
Bettman said that he expects to know whether the board of governors prefers Austin or Houston as a potential NHL expansion site by the end of the year. But while the six-month exploration process will end around the NHL's board meeting in December, Daly cautioned that there might not be a formal vote on the Friedkin family bid.
"I don't think we're putting time limits on things. We're working through the process. They're working through the process," he said. "Originally, we contemplated at least knowing where we are in December. I expect we will certainly know a lot more than we do now, come December, but I don't think there's any magic date by which something has to get done or not get done."
Along with the Texas bid, two locations that used to have NHL franchises have also expressed an interest in expansion.
Three different ownership groups around Atlanta, former home to the Flames and Thrashers, have reached out to the NHL. Bettman confirmed that "a couple of different groups" from the Phoenix area also are interested, but that "it doesn't make sense to talk about it" unless there are firm plans to build an arena there. The Coyotes ceased operations in 2024 after failing to secure a new building.
Bettman stressed that the league is receiving "unsolicited expressions of interest" rather than seeking to expand itself. As such, the league isn't under any time constraint to decide whether to add teams or not.
"Expansion is a multibillion-dollar transaction, which has an impact on all the other clubs in the league," Bettman said. "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."
Bettman said that while he hasn't taken a poll of the board of governors to gauge their appetite for expansion, he expects there are owners who don't want to add any more franchises.
"I think there are probably some owners who think expansion is the greatest thing ever, and I think there are some people who say, 'Why do we need to expand?' I can't tell you the numbers," he said.
Along with expansion discussion, the NHL board of governors unanimously approved Ted Leonsis as its new chairman. Leonsis, 69, is the chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and longtime owner of the Washington Capitals. Monumental Sports also owns the NBA's Washington Wizards and the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Leonsis succeeds Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, 86, who retired from the position after 19 years. Murray Edwards, governor of the Calgary Flames, will be the vice chair of the board of governors.
One task that lies ahead for Leonsis and Edwards is the succession plan for Bettman, who has served as NHL commissioner since 1993. The Capitals owners said the board didn't address succession at their meeting Tuesday.
"But it's the most important job for the board of directors of a company," Leonsis said. "I think when the time's right that Murray and I and the executive committee and everyone will be working on what's the right answer."
Bettman said no decisions have been made about his future.
"There are people that are going to be involved in that process and figuring it out, but we have nothing to announce," he said. "But listen, I'm going to be 75 years old. I think this is my 35th year. I think historically I may be the longest serving commissioner ever, not just currently. At some point, I've got to stop. But I love what I do. I'm energized."