NHL denies report of Quebec City out of expansion race
The National Hockey League usually doesn’t respond to rumors, especially when it comes to expansion.
However, a league official felt compelled to respond Monday to a report out of Montreal that Quebec City was no longer being considered for an expansion team. Las Vegas and Quebec City have applied for expansion franchises and have gone through a long vetting process.
“We will not comment on the substance of our process, which remains ongoing,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “No final decisions have been reached and no recommendation of any kind has been made or communicated by the league office or the Executive Committee either to the NHL Players’ Association or to the NHL Board of Governors.”
According to TSN.ca, former NHLer Georges Laraque said on Montreal radio station 91.9 FM Sport that the NHL Players Association was informed that Quebec City will not be included in the league’s upcoming expansion talks. That set off a firestorm throughout the province that quickly spread across Canada and resulted in Daly’s denial response.
Things had been relatively quiet on the expansion front since the All-Star Game in late January when commissioner Gary Bettman gave an update and said the process was ongoing. In a recent interview with the Review-Journal, Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman who is looking to bring the NHL to Las Vegas, said he hadn’t received any updates.
Reached in New Zealand Monday, Foley said he was aware of the news coming out of Canada and of Daly’s statement. But he didn’t think his bid was in jeopardy.
“We haven’t heard anything from the NHL as far as we’re concerned,” Foley said. “We’re still waiting and letting the process continue.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj
