TORONTO

Some words of advice to those seeking relief from potential NHL expansion chatter: Don't hold your breath. It’s going to be a while.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday the world's top hockey league is not rushing the evaluation process, will not hold a vote on whether to add a team or two at its annual board of governors' meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif., in December and is not committed to anything at this point.

In fact, “nobody’s sure” from the current team owners’ perspective if there is even an appetite for expansion, according to Bettman, who was a headlining guest at the PrimeTime Sports Management Conference & Trade Show, an annual event co-chaired by Calgary Flames president Brian Burke.

Gambling on the two interested groups and their pitches — Bill Foley in Las Vegas and Quebecor in Quebec City — may not make business sense in the long run, Bettman said.

“If you’re in Quebec City or you’re in Las Vegas, you say, ‘this is a no-brainer, give us a team.’” he noted. “If you are an owner of an NHL team, you want to understand who may be the potential owner, whether or not the market can support the team, what — perhaps most importantly — it does for the league as a whole. Does it enhance what we’re trying to do nationally, both in Canada and in the U.S.?”

Expansion fees, while jaw dropping to the average Joe at US $500 million per new member, do not have the same appeal to the league's owners now compared to, say, 2000, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined.

The NHL, by and large, does not need that one-time jackpot anymore. It’s a mature, stable league.

“It’s not a quick cash grab,” Bettman said. “People think, ‘Oh, of course you’re going to expand with all this money.’ No, not so fast.”

Currently, league revenues — think money generated by TV deals, special events like the Winter Classic, etc. — are split 30 ways. Expansion would downsize everybody’s slice of the pie and, seeing as at least 75% of the league’s governors need to sign off on expansion for it to go through, that’s a tough sell.

“We've evolved as a league to a much stronger place," said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who starred on a league operations roundtable at the conference. “Our owners are taking a much longer view of the expansion process.”

Vegas and Quebec each presented to the board of governors’ executive committee in September for more than an hour. Both have NHL-quality arenas in place and have shown promise in terms of fan support.

But, in 2015, with the league in a happy place financially, will those qualities entice the highest-ranking suits?

OLYMPICS: BOTH OR NONE?

It’s beginning to sound like the hockey product at the next two Olympics will be a packaged deal. NHLers at both or neither.

The league, its players’ association and the IIHF have yet to settle on a plan ahead of the next Winter Olympics, in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Bettman on Monday was non-committal on a firm timeline for a participation verdict, only saying it will come down in “approximately the next year.”

Something complicating matters is the Olympics immediately following Pyeongchang, the 2022 Games in Beijing.

The NHL views China as a crucial market, with recent success stories — such as Andong Song (172nd overall, New York Islanders) becoming the first Chinese-born draft pick this summer — proving it’s an untapped area.

“I don’t think the IIHF has any interest in moving in both directions,” Bettman said. “I think they want us in for both, or not.”

As well, the NHL and NHLPA are weighing the pros and cons of sending their prized assets — and shutting down the league for weeks — across the world to compete in a demanding tournament that most North American fans won't be awake for.

“We view growth of our fan base and (penetrating) markets that we might not have been before to be a priority for the league, and that may create opportunities to help build hockey’s profile in Asia,” said Daly, adding the 2022 Olympics would “give us an opportunity to make a real impression” on the Chinese population.

LOOSE ENDS

Eric Macramalla, a partner at Gowlings, chimed in on the Patrick Kane rape case during a panel about legal issues in sport. The TSN Radio legal analyst supports the NHL’s mentality on the situation, saying Kane “should have played” amid the controversy. “It might have made some people uncomfortable that he was playing, but he hadn’t even been indicted, for crying out loud. He hadn’t even been indicted,” Macramalla said. “We’re all entitled to a presumption of innocence. Again, it might make some uncomfortable, but you still have to abide by that. Ultimately, with Patrick Kane, I believe it ended up being the right decision.” … In a discussion about franchise relocation and expansion, CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said Rogers Centre was not “conducive to our style of football.” He then made a quip about it feeling as if the Argonauts franchise have relocated to BMO Field, even though they’re staying in Toronto … A few NHLers, including Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson, have been vocal about not being completely sold on 3-on-3 overtime. Asked about this pushback, Bettman said, “Overwhelmingly, it’s had a positive reaction. People are entitled to their opinion.” Meanwhile, Bettman isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, at least on his own terms. Retirement is “not on my radar,” said the 63-year-old.

At @PrimeTimeSE speaking on a Panel with Steve Fehr and @trevorwhiffen on domestic violence, concussions and DeflateGate — Eric Macramalla (@EricOnSportsLaw) November 9, 2015

Email: john.matisz@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @MatiszJohn