Seattle-hockey

TORONTO -- The NHL is on track to have its Board of Governors vote on the expansion bid from Seattle at its meeting next month, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday.

The Board of Governors meetings will be held Dec. 3-4 in Sea Island, Georgia.
"I would expect that we'll have a decision on Seattle," Daly said.
Daly said the ownership group in Seattle, which would pay a $650 million expansion fee, is still pushing for the team to be ready to play in the 2020-21 season, but that is subject to when the renovation of KeyArena will be complete.
Daly said he had heard KeyArena, which would be the home of the new team in Seattle, is targeted for completion in November of 2020, which could be too late for the team to start play in the 2020-21 season.
"We'll see how that timetable adjusts over time," Daly said.
The NHL is not interested in having the potential team play its first season in an alternate home arena.
"They've mentioned that possibility, but I don't think that's an ideal way to bring in an expansion franchise by playing in an alternate venue for any period of time, really," Daly said. "We'll see how that plays out. I know they have an interest in starting in '20-21 and we'd like the accommodate them any way we can."