NHL says no plans to shrink league

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York, December 1, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of the National Hockey League dismissed suggestions it needs to shrink or move any of its financially troubled teams to other cities, possibly in Canada.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York on Tuesday, said that all of the North American sports league's current 30 teams should survive in their present cities.

"I believe that all 30 markets can sustain their clubs," he said.

A number of teams are facing financial issues, including Columbus, Tampa, Dallas and most notably Phoenix, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year and was purchased by the league. That has raised questions about whether the NHL should contract, possibly by two to four teams.

"There are franchises in all sports in this environment that are losing money," Bettman said. "But the tales of despair are greatly exaggerated. Yes, there are some clubs that need to be doing better, but none are in what I would call dire straits or anything close to it."

Bettman also kept open the possibility of expansion. No current teams were likely to move to Canada, he said, but new teams could be located there.

I know that there is substantial interest in a number of places in Canada," he said, citing Quebec City, Winnipeg and southern Ontario. "We are actually intrigued."

"We're not seeking to relocate any franchises and as a result expansion would be the way to satisfy that interest, but in this economic climate I'm not exactly comfortable that this is the right time to be expanding," Bettman added.

Any new market would need a state-of-the-art arena and an owner with the financial resources, said Bettman, adding there were many people who believe enough player talent exists to satisfy the needs of extra teams.

He dismissed criticism that the league's expansion and relocation into the South and Southwest regions have failed, saying franchises in any sport go through up and down periods.

As for the current 2009-2010 hockey season, Bettman said attendance will likely rise 1 percent to 2 percent from last season's record 21.5 million. Revenue should be flat to up 1 percent from last season's record of more than $2.6 billion, he said.

"In this challenging and difficult economic climate, we are actually doing OK," he said.

In Phoenix, Bettman said the league is talking to three or four potential buyers for the Coyotes, which the league bought out of bankruptcy for $140 million. He said there was no timetable for getting a deal done but the NHL wanted it sold as quickly as possible.

Any new lease with the city of Glendale, Arizona, for the arena where the team plays would be negotiated by the new owner and not the league, he said. When the league took on team ownership, it assumed the lease only through this season.

As for Jim Balsillie, the Canadian billionaire who tried to buy the Coyotes out of bankruptcy against league wishes, Bettman said it would be tough for the co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM.TO) to get another chance.

"There is a lot of water under this bridge and I'm not prepared to say that the bridge hasn't been washed out," Bettman said.

(Additional reporting by Paul Thomasch and Phil Wahba; Editing Bernard Orr)