The concept of NHL expansion has been explored through three distinctive phases, but league Commissioner Gary Bettman implied Tuesday that pro hockey won't necessarily add any teams in the foreseeable future.
"We have work to do," said Bettman, per Pro Hockey Talk's Ryan Dadoun. "The committee is going to have to get together at least one time, if not more, and ultimately begin deliberations. There are a lot of issues and questions that are going to have to be answered before any decision can be made."
NHL.com's Dan Rosen highlighted another key takeaway from Bettman's press conference on Tuesday:
Bettman confirmed that expansion teams, if the NHL decides to expand, wouldn't start playing before the 2017-18 season.