Las Vegas gets no word from NHL after executive committee meeting

Bill Foley talks to Steve Eanes, left, a member of the Founding 75, at an event to promote season ticket sales for a potential NHL franchise on March 24, 2015 at Born and Raised bar. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Follow Sam Morris on Twitter @sammorrisRJ

The NHL’s nine-member executive committee met for just over four hours Tuesday in New York, but would not reveal its decisions on expansion and what recommendations it would make to the league’s Board of Governors when the 30 owners meet June 22 in Las Vegas.

Three options were being considered: expand by one or two teams for 2017-18, delay expansion until 2018 for one or two teams, or put expansion on hold indefinitely. Las Vegas and Quebec City have submitted applications for expansion teams and been involved in a long process since July.

Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman who is the major force behind Las Vegas’ expansion bid, said he did not know the outcome of the meeting.

“I wasn’t there,” he said. “I wasn’t invited to the meeting. Nobody has said anything to me.”

A spokesman for Joe and Gavin Maloof, who are minority investors and were in Las Vegas on Tuesday, said, “We haven’t heard anything.”

NHL officials did not comment on the meeting, nor did Quebecor, which is behind Quebec City’s expansion bid.

The executive committee is chaired by Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs. Other owners on the committee are from Anaheim, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Washington.

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow on Twitter: @stevecarprj