Skip to main content

Report: NHL pushing for Seattle franchise

Seattle could be the next city to get an NHL franchise. (Photo by SonicsArena.com)

Seattle could be the next city to get an NHL franchise. (Photo by SonicsArena.com)

The city of Seattle missed out earlier this year when the Phoenix Coyotes decided to stay in Arizona instead of moving to another city.

But there may be new hopes for the Emerald City to get an NHL franchise.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is pushing for an expansion team that would begin play in the city in the 2014-15 season and is "encouraging" the NHL's Board of Governors to grant Seattle a franchise, according to Seattle radio station KJR.

The team would most likely have to play in KeyArena, the former home of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics before they left in 2008 to move to Oklahoma City. Quebec City, Las Vegas and Kansas City have also been mentioned as cities for possible league expansion.