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NHL will vote to expand on Tuesday

The National Hockey League will meet in Georgia for their winter meetings on Monday and are expected to vote in favor of Seattle expansion the following morning.

By Doug Mellon
Christopher Mast

On December 3rd, the NHL Board of Governors will gather in Sea Island, Ga for their annual winter meetings. The full agenda is yet to be released but we do know the league is set to vote on expansion to Seattle on the morning of the fourth. The group is also expected to announce divisional changes while the playoff structure will likely remain as is.

The big question heading into the day is whether the league will vote on a 2020 or 2021 inaugural season. While the Oak View Group has stated that they fully expect the renovations to KeyArena to be complete, the league is facing other hurdles with a potential 2020 lockout looming overhead due to an expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement.

A 2021 inaugural season is sounding more and more likely as each day passes but the league has kept quiet up to this point and, with some pressure relieved, a 2021 season could be beneficial in the long run.

”More likely the 2021-22 season than the 2020-21 season, so we have some time,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Emily Kaplan of ESPN. “A variety of factors. We’ve had that discussion on a preliminary basis with the ownership group and I think the ownership group is on board with that timeline. That’s not set in stone, but I don’t think either side is feeling any time pressure.”

Seattle Hockey Partners CEO Tod Leiweke and investor David Wright will be in Montreal to take in two Habs games before flying to Georgia where they will meet co-owner David Bonderman.

Dave Tippett, the team’s senior advisors, will remain in Seattle.

NHL Seattle fan event to be held at Henry’s Tavern

In a press release on Friday, NHL Seattle announced they will be hosting an event at Henry’s Tavern in South Lake Union (501 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109) where fans can join Tippet to watch the events in Georgia unfold. KJR Sports Radio will be hosting a remote show on-site from 8 to 10 am where there will be free food & beverages with some awesome giveaways. The event is open to all ages with doors opening at 7:30 am. We hope to see you there!

We will do our best to update you with any new information over the weekend.

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