from Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun,

GTA Sports and Entertainment CEO Graeme Roustan, who has been attempting to construct an 18,000-plus seat arena in the Markham area for several years, confirmed Wednesday night that his organization definitely will pursue the opportunity .

“I’d say that in the coming days we intend to reach out to the league about bringing another NHL franchise to southern Ontario,” Roustan said in a phone interview with Postmedia Network.

Roustan’s comments came less than an hour after commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league will open a formal process in which expansion applications will be accepted. The deadline to submit the paperwork for the interested parties will be Aug. 10.

“(The league’s announcement) means different things to different people,” Roustan said. “We’re now seeing an opportunity for a process to apply for an NHL franchise which we’ve privately been hoping for.

“We’re going to proceed with the process. Hopefully we’re successful with it.”

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added 8:16am, Zeisberger with more on the expansion talk...