from Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

When Bettman explained the three scenarios the league was contemplating — expand by one or two teams, wait a year or put expansion on hold indefinitely — he covered both ends of the rink as far as Las Vegas and Quebec City are concerned.

The league’s nine-member executive committee meets this week, likely on Tuesday, though NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly refused to confirm the date. The group is expected to recommend Las Vegas to join the league for the 2017-18 season while deferring Quebec City until 2018-19.

When the NHL’s Board of Governors meet in Las Vegas on June 22, they are expected to rubber stamp the recommendation, culminating in a historic day as the city will get its first major league sports franchise after decades of campaigning.

If you think Bettman doesn’t already know the end game of this process that began last July, skate yourself over to the penalty box and serve your two minutes for being ignorant.

Why let Las Vegas launch in 2017 with only 15 to 16 months to prepare instead of two years as the last two expansion teams (Minnesota and Columbus) did in 2000? Because billionaire businessman Bill Foley and his group are way ahead of the game in terms of preparation.

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