NHL expansion to Seattle hockey’s worst-kept secret

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to confirm the worst-kept secret in hockey on Tuesday — the league will be expanding to Seattle.

Approval of the city’s bid to become the NHL’s 32nd franchise needs support from three-quarters of the board of governors, who are set to meet this week in Sea Island, Ga.

Barring something completely unforeseen, Seattle appears to be a slap shot.

There’s a deep-pocketed ownership group fronted by majority stakeholder David Bonderman and Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the US$650-million expansion fee and an opportunity to balance the league with 16 teams in each conference.

Two big unknowns remain heading into the board meetings scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, however.

When will Seattle actually hit the ice and how will the NHL realign two of its four divisions?

KeyArena, which was home to the NBA’s SuperSonics before they moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, is primed to undergo a massive $700-million renovation, but it’s unclear if the project will be finished in time for the start of 2020-21 NHL season.

“The potential club ownership is very much interested in starting in 2020-21,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.

“But their arena timeline continues to be a little too tight for that, so we’ll see whether they can move that up or change that.”

The new franchise looks tabbed for the Pacific Division — the Vancouver Canucks are an obvious geographic rival, just a three-hour drive north — meaning one of the other seven teams currently in the Pacific would have to move to the Central.

At this point, the Arizona Coyotes seem the most likely candidates to make the switch.