News From Gary Bettman’s Annual “State Of The Union” Press Conference: Salary Cap, Expansion, Arizona Coyotes, Ottawa Senators
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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly held their annual “State Of The Union” press conference Saturday evening in Las Vegas prior to the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. Here are the highlights from the abbreviated presser.
ARIZONA COYOTES
Bettman said the Arizona Coyotes are studying options in the Phoenix area.
OTTAWA SENATORS
Bettman said the Senators sale process is ongoing and could take a couple more weeks. “a very good outcome in the next few weeks.”
2023-24 SALARY CAP
Bettman said the players’ escrow debt won’t be paid off by the end of the season. That likely means a $1M salary cap increase next season, with a much larger bump expected for 2024-25.
FUTURE EXPANSION
Daly said “expansion is not at the top of our priorities list” but confirms there’s interest from different parties (I would read into that Atlanta and Houston most likely).
Daly confirmed the NHL has heard directly from Salt Lake City (Utah Jazz/Ryan Smith) about their interest in having an NHL team. (Potential relocation spot for the Coyotes although Bettman doubled down on saying he hopes to find a solution in Arizona)
OTHER
- Deputy Commissioner Daly said the NHL’s independent investigator has completed their investigation into the 2018 World Junior gala and is putting together their report. It is expected early in the summer.
- Bettman said Joel Quenneville and Stan Bowman have independently requested meetings with him that will be held after the Stanley Cup Final. Neither is currently eligible to return to work with a NHL team.
- Bill Daly said there’s no ongoing investigation into the Valeri Nichushkin incident in Seattle during the playoffs. “We know exactly what happened and we think it was handled appropriately.”
This year’s presser was really short, as media in attendance ran out of questions very quickly. That’s rare, but considering they are in Vegas, it’s understandable.
By Jon Sorensen
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