NHL Rumors II: Salary Cap, Vegas Expansion, Senators and Sabres
NHL Expansion could be coming to Las Vegas
  • Elliotte Friedman: The Board of Governors were told that if the Canadian dollar remains at 88 cents, next years salary cap will be around $73 million. Renaud Lavoie: The NHL is projecting this years revenue to be between $3.9 and $4 billion.
  • Craig Custance: One owner is saying that an expansion number fee that has been “thrown around” is $500 million.
  • James Mirtle: One source said yesterday that expansion to Las Vegas could “be announced before end of year.”
  • Pierre LeBrun: Bettman on expansion to the Board: formal process hasn’t started yet, and no vote was taken. They are getting interest from Vegas, which is generating some discussion. Potential Vegas owner Bill Foley has been given permission to start a season-ticket drive to see what type of interest there is. This doesn’t bind the NHL to Vegas, but it allows Foley to seek out some market support.
  • Darren Dreger: The Vegas season-ticket drive is a one-off. The NHL already knows that the Quebec City market is strong, and expects the same in Seattle. The NHL supports Bill Foley in making sure that a team there would work.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Changes for the Senators may not stop with firing of coach Paul MacLean. They have been shopping Erik Condra, Colin Greening and Patrick Wiercioch. They are also listening on Zack Smith. There is also talk that they could use either Craig Anderson or Robin Lehner to help land an impact player.

    “I have talked to other teams about trades,” said Murray. “I’m talking to some teams about trying to make a move or two.”

  • Nichols on Hockey: Darren Dreger on TSN 1200  on potential Senators and Sabres trades.

    I know that Chris Stewart is certainly on that list, but not at the expected return from Buffalo’s perspective. So for Chris Stewart to become an Ottawa Senator, the asking price is likely going to have to drop and I don’t know what it is, based on the last time they even spoke of Stewart.”

    “But yeah, I think that Ottawa would like to add in their top-nine, as most teams who are kind of battling for a playoff spot would and they’d like to change what they’ve got defensively. But is Bryan Murray willing to peddle away some of his young assets to do that? It’s still relatively early in the season, and the asking price for players is always high at this time of year.”