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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly believes possibility for expansion to Seattle ‘is there’

Seattle

The National Hockey League is on a break because of the Olympics, but the topic of possible expansion to Seattle is once again back in the fold.

The league has discussed Seattle as a possible market in the past, which coincides with the city’s efforts to construct a brand new arena in the SoDo District. The NHL has been keeping its eye on the arena situation in the Emerald City, according to reports last summer.

“When that happens, I think Seattle will certainly be an intriguing marketplace from the league’s perspective,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly recently told the Seattle Times.

“I think we have a belief in the Pacific Northwest. It being good hockey territory. I think, obviously, the Canucks have done a fantastic job — in Vancouver, but also throughout British Columbia and the Pacific region — at driving interest in the sport.

“So, we think the possibility is there. It’s kind of more obvious than some of the other areas. It doesn’t mean we’ve done our due diligence. We’d need to satisfy ourselves on the marketplace, but just the objective factors around the marketplace suggest Seattle would be a good hockey market.”

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