Is the NHL close to making a decision on expansion?

It feels as though the discussion over the NHL potentially expanding to 32 teams has been going on for forever. However, rumors are swirling that there might be a final decision in sight.

NBC Sports reported over the weekend via Las Vegas Review-Journal that Bill Foley, the prospective owner of the potential Las Vegas franchise said he expects the league to make a final decision by the end of the calendar year.

“We’re done with the vetting process, and we’re just waiting to hear from the NHL what’s next,” Foley reportedly said. “I would expect we’ll hear something to happen in December and whether we can move forward.”

It has been a long road to deciding on homes for potential NHL expansion teams, and commissioner Gary Bettman and the league have continued to insist that there is still "no timetable" on making a decision. After a meeting took place in September where the prospective owners presented their team bids, Bettman said the committee still had "work to do." Even Quebecor—the organization responsible for the bid to bring a team to Quebec City—as been relatively mum as the deciding process as dragged on.

Now, it’s possible that Foley is just extra optimistic and felt the need to deliver some kind of news development. He has reportedly sold over 13,500 tickets for a prospective opening season and is also reportedly receiving resumes from people who want to work for the team. Plus, with a hope that new teams would be ready to enter the league as soon as 2017, he is probably anxious to start putting a franchise together.

But it also has to be kept in mind that there is more to this process than just adding two teams to the league. The fait of faltering teams that could potentially be relocated is also a deciding factor. As David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period pointed out , pushes by the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes to get off “the endangered species list” is on-going. This is something that could affect the birth of a new team in Nevada.

So perhaps a final decision isn’t quite so close.

The NHL’s Board of Governors will be meeting December 7-8 in Pebble Beach, California. The league has reportedly still not set a timetable for an “expansion-related announcement.”