The NHL's board of governors has given approval to begin the exploration of potentially opening up the league to expansion.
Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement at press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon.
"With all of the discussion and all of the expression of interest, the board concluded that perhaps this was the appropriate time to begin a formal expansion review process," said Bettman.
"I think at this stage, the game and the business of the game … have never been stronger, and I suppose that all of the interest we've been getting is a reflection of that."
Bettman did not specify how many teams the NHL was open to adding.
"Expansion is a very serious and an important business decision -- you don't do it frivolously," he said.
The Eastern Conference currently has 16 teams, while there are 14 in the West. However, Bettman said that balance and geography will be weighed alongside other factors.
"I don’t think you expand just for notions of symmetry; it is too important of a business decision," said Bettman.
The NHL will begin accepting formal applications at the beginning of July, before initiating a formal vetting process.
It will be up to the board of governors to determine whether there is sufficient interest to green light expansion.
Bettman said even though the league has kick-started the process, there is no guarantee that the NHL will add more teams.
"It means we're going to stop just listening to expressions of interest, and to take a good hard look at what they mean and what they represent," said Bettman.
The commissioner said the league's executive committee will be charged with reviewing the applications.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that, at the earliest, a successful applicant would be able to ice a team for the 2017-18 season.
Bettman hinted at a potential dollar figure necessary to join the league, but did not explicitly the reveal the amount.
"We haven’t set a fee, but based on the discussions I've had with ownership I don’t think there wouldn't be any appetite unless the number started with a five," said Bettman.
The strongest appetite for expansion appears to be coming from Seattle, Quebec City and Las Vegas.
In particular, the spotlight was on prospective owner Bill Foley, whose season-ticket drive in Las Vegas has received more than 13,200 commitments from individuals in the area.
"The board's aware of the fact that Las Vegas stepped up in an absolutely significant way for having a team in Las Vegas," said Bettman.
The commissioner acknowledged that Vegas is not your "typical" hockey market and that many were skeptical about the viability of an NHL franchise in the U.S.'s 29th-most populous city.
"I think a number of people, including Mr. Foley, were curious as to whether or not there was a groundswell from the community itself – not just from the businesses, not just from the casinos, not just from the travel industry – whether there were real fans here that would embrace a professional team," said Bettman.
But he said that Foley's ticket drive proved there is "tremendous amount of interest" in the sport locally.
Bettman said he has also received interest from Quebec City, which saw its beloved Nordiques relocate to Colorado in 1995.
"I know of at least one group, but if someone else is interested, I suppose we'll find out in the next few weeks," said Bettman.
Over the years, there have also been rumours about bringing a second NHL franchise to the Greater Toronto Area. But Bettman appeared dubious about the validity of potential bids.
"Occasionally you hear from somebody, I don’t know if interest or the people setting forth the interest are real. We'll see what turns up in the next few weeks, said Bettman.
Daly also turned aside any concerns about the possible dilution of talent across the league.
"I don’t think there's any concern at all among our managers or our ownerships that there's a lack of talent, said Daly.
The last round of expansion during the 2000-01 season, saw Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild enter the league.
