NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reveals plans for league extension, Ottawa Senators sale, and more

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman recently spoke about the state of the league and addressed rumors about a potential expansion. He stated that while there are entities and cities expressing interest in having a franchise where they don't have one, expansion is not currently on the front burner for the league.

One city that has been mentioned as a possible expansion location is Atlanta, which has a history with the league. The Atlanta Flames were a team from 1972 to 1980 before moving to Calgary, and the Atlanta Thrashers played from 1999 to 2011 before relocating to Winnipeg.

Bettman said that the league hasn't looked into whether Atlanta could sustain another club but has received expressions of interest from the general Atlanta region in locations for arenas that are different than where the teams previously played.

He also confirmed that the NHL's playoff format will remain the same. The league transitioned to its current wild-card layout in 2013-14, where the two teams from the same division played in the first round, and Bettman said that the method worked really well.

In terms of finances, the league is on track for the same previously predicted $1 million boost to the salary cap next season. Bettman said that this will not be the case unless the Players' Association wants to discuss what a further increased cap would mean for their outstanding escrow.

He also addressed the Ottawa Senators' sale, which remains a "work in progress" with the first round of bidding complete. The second phase of the process will include "winnowing down" the interested parties.

Finally, Bettman spoke about Diamond Sports Group, which owns regional broadcast networks for 12 teams, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He said that the league has been assured that all its regular-season games will be carried out as planned and that there are "a series of options" at the NHL's disposal as a backup to ensure coverage continues through the final stretch to the playoffs.

The commissioner seems confident in the state of the NHL and is not looking to expand the league at this time. With the playoffs looming and financial matters being addressed, the focus for the league remains on the ice.

The NHL Expansion Draft process followed during the time of "Seattle Kraken".

In the NHL expansion draft, the Seattle Kraken were required to select at least 20 players who had contracts for the upcoming 2021-22 regular season.

The total value of the contracts of the players chosen had to be between 60-100% of the salary cap upper limit from the previous season. Similar to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Kraken selected their roster by taking players from other teams around the league.

The teams had the option to protect either seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie or eight skaters (a combination of forwards and defensemen) and one goalie. There were specific conditions that teams had to follow when choosing which players to protect.