NHL Commissioner Gary Pittman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley held their annual “State of the Union” press conference Saturday night in Las Vegas before the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. Here are the highlights from the press brief.
Arizona caravans
Bateman He said The Arizona Coyote is examining options in the Phoenix area.
Bateman asked Why he’s being patient with the Coyotes situation: “It’s a great market, there’s a lot of sports fans out there, it’s a growing market, it’s one of the biggest markets in NA and I think the club and through the implications for their fans have been in situations that have been unfortunate and maybe a little bit victim of circumstance, And so if we can achieve something…we’re now at a point where the league and ownership and our teams are strong, we’re in a better position to resist a move than we were 20 or 30 years ago and we want to make sure we explore all options at this point in where we are before we have to To think about moving the club I hope we don’t have to.”
Ottawa Senators
Bateman He said The sale of Senators is ongoing and could take an additional two weeks. “A very good result in the next few weeks.”
2023-24 salary cap
Bateman said the players’ debts would not be paid off at the end of the season. That likely means a $1 million increase in the salary cap next season, with a much bigger bump expected in 2024-25.
Promising future
“Expansion is not high on our priority list,” Daley said, but he confirms that there is interest from various parties (I’ll probably read in Atlanta and Houston).
Daly confirmed that the NHL had heard directly from Salt Lake City (Utah Jazz/Ryan Smith) about their interest in having an NHL team. (Potential relocation venue for the Coyotes though Bateman doubled down on saying he hoped to find a solution in Arizona)
outdoor games
Heritage Classic, Oct. 29: Flames @ Oilers (Commonwealth Stadium)
Winter Classic, January 1, 2024: Vegas @ Seattle (T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners)
MetLife Stadium Series: Devils vs Flyers (February 17) and Rangers vs Islanders (February 18)
The annual income
Bettman: “We think we’re close to $6 billion in hockey-related revenue for the year, and that’s an estimate, we still have beans to count from the bean counters.”
last
- Deputy Commissioner Daley said the NHL’s independent investigator has completed its investigation into the 2018 World Junior ceremony and is preparing their report. It is expected early in the summer.
- Bateman said Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman independently requested meetings with him after the Stanley Cup Final. Neither of them is currently eligible to return to work with an NHL team.
- Bill Daley said there is no ongoing investigation into Valery Nishushkin’s incident in Seattle during the playoffs. “We know exactly what happened and we believe it was dealt with appropriately.”
- Bateman He said They just had a meeting with the players and the new NHLPA system, a best-in-class international event that is a top priority for both parties.
- Bateman asked About a second team in Toronto: “The discussion takes place more in your world than it does in ours. It’s a matter of speculation, it’s a matter of putting things out there, but as far as the interest, the reality, what it involves, it’s not something that seems to resonate the way it does in other markets and other proprietary requests for any reason or reasons”
This year’s press book was really short, as the media in attendance ran out of questions very quickly. This is rare, but considering they’re in Vegas, it’s understandable.
Written by John Sorensen