NHL Rumors: Insider believes Gary Bettman dropped major hint on potential expansion team

The NHL is rumored to be mapping the return of Atlanta to the league for the third time after failing to establish a hockey club in the Georgian city.

On Wednesday, insider Pierre LeBrun reported on commissioner Gary Bettman's claims that the NHL has no current plans for expansion, but it continues to receive interest from cities that would be great hockey markets.

Pierre LeBrun reported:

"Bettman said no current plans for expansion but did say the NHL keeps getting interest from would-be markets. If you were to read between the lines, it seems to me more and more likely it’s eventually happening again."

The National Hockey League's last expansion to the cities of Vegas and Seattle was a huge success. The league successfully established two hockey clubs in each city, known as the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken.

However, the scenario has not been the same with Atlanta, as the league has failed in its attempt to form a well-established hockey market in the city twice. This time, though, the NHL remains optimistic about exploring the options in Atlanta for a third time.

During the NHL/NHLPA media tour in September, the NHL's deputy commissioner Bill Daly shed some positive news regarding the expansion to Atlanta. He said that the challenges faced by the league in Atlanta in the past were different.

Now, the time and demographics have also changed dramatically since they first explored options for expansion in Atlanta. He added that the capital city of Georgia now has a lot bigger business opportunities than in the past (via ESPN):

"I think times have changed pretty dramatically and the market demographics have changed pretty dramatically since the first time we went there and then again in 1999," he said. "I think a lot of bigger businesses are in Atlanta (now)."

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Why did Atlanta turn out a failure for the NHL?

Atlanta is a huge city. The National Hockey League first expanded there in 1972 and formed the Atlanta Flames. However, in 1980, the team was relocated to Calgary and became the Calgary Flames.

Then, in 1999, the National Hockey League decided to give it one more shot and went back to the city. This time, the Atlanta Thrashers became the second team from the region to join the league. However, like in the past, the Thrashers could not stay for too long and collapsed.

In 2011, the Thrashers were relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and became the Winnipeg Jets. Poor ownership, stagnant attendance and mediocre results to remain competitive and relevant in the league were some of the key reasons for the National Hockey League's failure in Atlanta.