NHL Owners Conclude December Meeting
PALM BEACH, Fla. (KDKA/AP) — The NHL owners came to no dramatic conclusion after their two-day meeting on television rights, franchise updates, a new head shot rule and a rise in the salary cap next season.
After the meetings NHL commissioner Gary Bettman held a press conference and said, "it was a usual routine meeting for us as the December meeting typically is."
Over the past 5 1/2 years, the NHL has had a television partnership with Versus and NBC. Currently the NHL is in an exclusive negotiation period with Versus that will end on Jan. 31. After the Versus negotiation, the league will then begin negotiations to extend the NBC deal.
Bettman and the league are looking for a large media deal after the success of the NHL playoffs the past two seasons on NBC. That huge deal could come if Fox and ESPN want to enter into the negotiations and start a bidding war.
The owners also discussed the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement and a rise in in the salary cap. The rise in the salary cap would mean a jump of at least $3 million next season.
