Gary Bettman's Shocking Financial Demands for the NHL's Next Expansion Franchise Release Publicly

With even more noise surrounding the potential of further expansion into the NHL, the stunning financial demands by Commissioner Gary Bettman are being made public.

Some hockey fans believe that there are already far too many National Hockey League teams, the kind of refrain that was all too familiar in the early 1990s when teams like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning emerged.

Additionally, the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes, the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars, and the NHL expanded into Atlanta for the second time for the Thrashers, which eventually moved to Winnipeg after over a decade of mostly forgettable play.

And now, the NHL is reportedly interested in bringing a franchise back to Atlanta for the third time, but it wouldn't come cheap.

Per Sportico, the expansion fee for a new NHL franchise would run for at least $2 billion, and there are a whopping 6 new groups that were discussed for expansion at recent meetings in Los Angeles ahead of the NHL Draft.

Expansion fees for a new NHL franchise would be at least $2 billion, and the new owners would need to additionally commit at least $1 billion toward an arena if the potential city requires one, according to two sources familiar with the process who were granted anonymity because the details are private. Six potential groups for expansion were discussed at the meeting.

Per Gary Bettman, the League doesn't have any formal applications for expansion - yet.

We have no pending applications, and we're not seeking to initiate a formal process at this point.

Does the NHL already have too many teams with 32, or should it expand even further?