Don Levin, owner of the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves, has expressed interest in bringing an NHL franchise to Seattle, according to a report in the Globe and Mail on Thursday.
Chris Hansen, who is a prominent hedge-fund manager in the San Francisco Bay Area, is reportedly working on a deal to build a new sports arena in the city of Seattle.
If Hansen is successful in the arena project, Levin would love to get involved with the ownership of an NHL franchise.
“If he’s successful, I’d be very happy to be involved,” Levin told the Globe and Mail. “I told [Hansen] if he has something put together I would be interested.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to Dave Shoalts of the Globe and Mail and Chris Daniels on KING TV in Seattle that the NHL will be closely watching what transpires in the arena announcement on Thursday.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, as usual, took the high road regarding speculation of the NHL’s interest in relocating a franchise to Seattle.
“There’s probably good potential for Seattle as a hockey market, but we are not looking to relocate and we’re not looking to expand,” Bettman told local reporters in Chicago on Thursday.
The Phoenix Coyotes have been associated with relocation rumours for the last several years. Levin would provide a significantly more stable situation than what currently exists in the city of Glendale, Arizona.
