As expected, the NHL's Board of Governors has authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to formally open the expansion process and the league will now examine bids from interested markets, including Las Vegas.

NHL owners met in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning in advance of the annual NHL awards ceremony when the matter was discussed. Bettman cited Las Vegas, Seattle, Quebec and a second team in Toronto as the markets that have expressed the most serious interest, but said that the NHL has also received interest from Milwaukee, Kansas City and Portland over time.

"We will, probably starting in early July, accept formal applications from entities, people that are interested in pursuing an expansion team," Bettman said following the completion of the meeting. "We will then go through a formal vetting process."