NEW YORK — The prospective owners of a Seattle expansion team made their case to a group of NHL owners on Tuesday and expressed confidence as they await word on the next step.
The presentation to the Board of Governors’ executive committee at the league office lasted more than two hours. Seattle Hockey Partners President and CEO Tod Leiweke said he was proud of the effort.
Assuming the executive committee recommends moving forward with Seattle, the full board could vote as soon as Dec. 3 to award the league’s 32nd franchise to Seattle. That timeline would keep open the possibility of the team beginning play with the 2020-21 season.
While Leiweke and majority owner David Bonderman said the debate between starting in 2020 and 2021 took a backseat to the long-term implications of expansion, the city would prefer the team open play two years from now.
“I’m very confident we’re going to be able to move forward and get what we need from the NHL and the team and stick to the schedule so we have hockey in 2020,” Mayor Jenny Durkan said. “They know we want it in 2020 and [the league would] like to have it in 2020, too, if we get the team.”
Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly last month mentioned 2021 as a potential start date if the board approves a Seattle franchise. A possible impediment to a 2020 start is that the owners or players could vote in September 2019 to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement. If a new labor deal isn’t reached, it would expire Sept. 15, 2020, just a few weeks before the season would begin.
Leiweke, who along with brother Tim is spearheading the project to bring the NHL to Seattle, was careful to say the group is not assuming a team is a done deal. The presentation was the latest and most important sell job, and now the league must make the next move.
“It’s the NHL who’s in control of this process,” Leiweke said. “We’re not presumptuous, we’re not going to get in front of them and we’re not going to declare an early victory. We are going to wait and be patient and be completely respectful. It’s been a long time coming, and we can be patient.”
The full board met later Tuesday to receive updates on Seattle and other topics. Commissioner Gary Bettman was expected to meet with reporters afterward.