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It looks like Quebec and Las Vegas will have to play the waiting game for NHL expansion a little bit longer. Renaud Lavoie, a hockey writer for Journal de Montréal, reported that no league decision will be reached in December, as both cities had been hoping.
NHL executive committee will meet in December (regarding expansion) in conjunction with the BOG in Pebble Beach...
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 2, 2015
No decision on expansion should be made at the NHL Board of Governors meeting in December.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 2, 2015
One could key on the word 'should' in that last tweet, but KING5 reporter Chris Daniels later confirmed that there will be no decision forthcoming.
I can confirm #NHL Board of Governors will NOT vote on expansion at December meeting. "Still working" says league. #Vegas #Quebec #Seattle
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) November 2, 2015
Prospective Vegas #NHL owner Bill Foley had told reporters he was expecting vote in December. #Quebec has new arena ready to go…
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) November 2, 2015
He goes on to tweet about what he knows we want to know. You know?
And lurking in background… #Seattle and ##Tukwila. Seattle w/ a likely vote in January on #SeattleArena. Tukwila still reviewing plan. #NHL
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) November 2, 2015
@mrtommygman Still working.
— Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels5) November 2, 2015
So what do we take from this? I'm sure that the fans in Las Vegas and Quebec will be frustrated, and who can blame them? The fact that the league is hesitating seems good for us. Is Bettman waiting for a Seattle group to push an arena across the finish line? I want to believe that, but it's hard to say.