As part of an excellent article by Michael Russo, the National Hockey League has just given us an answer regarding the return of the Quebec Nordiques.

In any case, it’s a huge hint.

Gary Bettman’s right-hand man, Bill Daly, has once again broken the hearts of those still hoping for the return of the Quebec Nordiques.

When questioned about the next NHL expansions, Daly didn’t even bother to hide his hand.

Gary Bettman’s next NHL expansions will be in the United States: it’s clear that we can forget about the return of the Quebec Nordiques for now

According to what the renowned Elliotte Friedman recently reported, Bill Daly was quite interesting when discussing expansions.

“It’s coming!”

However, in Michael Russo’s article (from The Athletic), while mentioning that the NHL is not yet in an expansion process, Daly outright said this:

“We have seven teams in Canada, and we’re actually only in 22 markets in the United States because we have three teams in the New York market and two teams in the Los Angeles market. So, that means we’re only in 22 U.S. markets, whereas other professional leagues are in 30 or 31 markets.

There is therefore availability in U.S. markets, which helps.”

– Bill Daly, who added that the expansions in Las Vegas and Seattle have been immense successes.

Wow! With this statement, it’s very clear that Canada is not at all a priority for Gary Bettman, nor for Bill Daly, nor for the National Hockey League.

They want expansions, but they mostly want to establish themselves in other U.S. markets. They’re aiming for 30 or 31.

It’s such a shame, but at the same time, who is really surprised to hear this from Bill Daly?