Just what exactly will play out on the expansion front on Sept. 29 when NHL owners meet?

I’m not sure the league will necessarily get any official direction from the board of governors that day on expansion because the league itself might not be ready to make recommendations yet.

There likely will be a report to the board regarding where the league is in the evaluation of the expansion applications. Having said that, the league could get feedback about the owners' stand on it, so who knows where that conversation will lead that day.

But the sense is that recommendations on expansion, either way, will come out of the December board of governors meeting.

Certainly, what will happen at the very least on Sept. 29 is that for the first time in an official capacity the Las Vegas and Quebec City ownership groups will present to the board's executive committee ahead of the full board meeting. So that’s obviously significant. And no doubt that will be part of the league’s update to the full board as to where the applicants stand.