The NHL’s board of governors will gather next month for their annual December meeting in Pebble Beach and, while a decision on expansion won’t be made, there will be plenty of talk about it on the agenda.

While the league had originally planned to make an expansion announcement during the meetings being held Dec. 7-8, a decision has been put on hold after the only applicants to come forward willing to pay the $500-million price tag each were groups from Quebec City and Las Vegas.

Though there are plenty of factors involved in wanting to wait until the meetings at the NHL all-star weekend in January in Nashville at the earliest before making a decision on expansion, a league source told the Sun one issue standing in the way may be revenue sharing.

Yes, the NHL will reap $1 billion in expansion fees from Quebecor and Bill Foley in Las Vegas it decides to reward them both franchises, but that money isn’t going to last forever once it’s split among the 30 existing teams and the NHL needs to make sure both marketplaces will be healthy.

The source said there’s concern amongst some of the larger market teams that, in four years, Las Vegas and Quebec City will be among those teams that will reap the benefits of revenue sharing. That means those with higher revenues are going to have to pay more money into the pot.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly fully support expansion but they’re being urged by the governors to make sure all the homework has been done before a decision. In the end, revenue sharing won’t stand in the way of expansion but it might be delaying it a bit.

THIS ’N’ THAT

After the name of N.Y. Islanders blueliner Travis Hamonic, 25, landed on the trade market, it’s sparked a lot of talk on where he might end up. A league source says he wouldn’t be surprised if Hamonic finished the year in Brooklyn and wasn’t dealt by general manager Garth Snow until the entry draft in June because this won’t be an easy deal to make. “I think there’s an understanding between (Hamonic) and the Isles that he may have to play the whole year there,” said the source. “Not that he has a choice anyway. This thing just got public before they wanted.” The belief is Snow won’t bend one bit on Hamonic’s asking price. “In fact, he’s asking teams for more than Hamonic’s value. He’s asking for ridiculous return. They’re not trading this guy unless they get exactly what they want,” the source said. “I think they want a comparable asset or greater.” Hamonic admits he’d like to moved because of a personal situation and the Isles will try to accommodate him, but a couple of teams indicated they’d heard nothing about him being available until multiple reports last week confirmed he’d asked to be moved. Yes, Hamonic’s camp would like a trade as quickly as possible but this is a tough trade to make in the middle of the season, especially if Snow wants a high return ... Coach John Tortorella has been engaging and helpful with the media in Columbus — and across the league — since he took over from Todd Richards last month. Confirm or deny: It’s a job requirement. The belief in NHL circles is he was told when he took over, the crusty Tortorella with the media wasn’t going to cut it in it Columbus. He hasn’t been this easy to deal with since he started his head coaching career in Tampa.

RUMOURS DU JOUR

The Winnipeg Jets have been shopping Toby Enstrom for a while. He is making $5.75 million per-season through 2016-17 and if the Jets are to stand any chance of keeping Dustin Byfuglien from becoming a UFA on July 1 they need to get Enstrom’s deal off the books. The belief in some circles is if the Jets could get Byfuglien signed for six years and $30 million, that’d be great. But that won’t get it done by a long shot. He’ll be worth a lot more on the open market and the priority for the Jets is to get captain Andrew Ladd under contract ... An interesting name that’s surfaced is Anaheim LW Andrew Cogliano. The word is the Ducks have been sniffing around to see if there’s any market for the 28-year-old Cogliano, who went in Saturday’s visit to Tampa with 2-5-7 in 20 games and an ugly minus-9 rating. The issue is he has this year, plus two more seasons, left on a contract that pays him $3 million per season. His age might make him an option for some teams but the guy getting all the attention in Anaheim is 23-year-old defenceman Cam Fowler. If the Ducks are serious about moving him, they’re going to want a boatload and they went into the weekend only three points out of a playoff spot in the West ... A league executive on attempting to make a deal in a text Saturday: “It’s impossible to make a trade. Very little talk even going on. Will heat up after (Christmas).” Another NHL executive noted even trying to make a deal involving AHL contracts is next to impossible unless it’s a contract-for-contract situation. Gee, what a way to put a damper on the weekend.

Have a nice Sunday.

Twitter: @sungarrioch