The NHL held their Board of Governors Meetings last week in Manaplan, Florida. The Washington Capitals have a new General Manager in Chris Patrick after a successful Brian MacLellan era.
We've already compromised some of what went down at those meetings. You can find the link to those here and here. Quotes from the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman come from Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun's story from The Athletic.
Usually these meetings are the time when owners across the league along with general managers meet with Bettman to discuss topics and issues around the league. From potential schedule changes, the salary cap, media deals and more.
The salary cap could potentially increase up to $92.5 million which is more than the current $88 million. That is the basic five percent increase stipulated by the current CBA or it could be higher depending on collective bargaining agreement talks and whether or not there's a joint interesting in "phasing in" to a higher salary cap.
It sets things up nicely for Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers who is one year ahead of hitting free agency BUT he can also sign an extension this summer with the Oilers. The cap number will be relevant in those discussions per The Athletic. There was also talks of Olympic participation after the Four Nations Face Off this February where tragicially no Caps players were picked for the mini tournament.
There was also talks about a schedule change with less games in the preseason and more in the regular season but of course the NHL Players Assoication and the CBA have to reach an agreement on the matter.
In addition, there was a top of the mind conversation around the hallways about an expansion team. Per The Athletic, one of the two prospective Atlanta area groups even had representatives on the ground on Monday to plant a seed with current owners.
There hasn't been a signal on when or even if they'll look to add to beyond 32 teams but there's a growing list of suitors besides Atlanta. There's major markets like Houston and Phoenix currently without a team and Bettman even said there's been interest in smaller places like Cincinnati and Nebraska.
When asked about it, Bettman said, "There's nothing going on at the present time other than there continues to be expressions of interest."
Governors were also told that the Amazon docuseries that's also available on ESPN plus: FACEOFF: Inside the NHL, delivered strong viewership and genrate d alot of positive feedback. While nothing is finalized yet there appears to be an expected return for a second season with cameras again being granted acess behind the scenes in the new year.