from the CP at TSN,

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman might not yet have anything definitive to say about expansion, though he does have a fee in mind.

How's $500 million sound?

Without committing to what the price might be, Bettman told a meeting of Associated Press Sports Editors on Friday that he considers a half-billion dollars to be a reasonable figure.

"From your question, you seem to be inferring that would be a lot of money for an NHL team," Bettman said, when the $500 million figure was posed to him. "I happen to believe that number — not that I'm confirming or denying it — would be not a lot of money. I think NHL franchises should be worth at least that."

That would be a significant increase from the $80 million price tag Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota each paid the last time the NHL expanded in the 1990s.

Bettman cautioned the fee will be determined by the league's Board of Governors, and the time for that discussion has not yet arrived.

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