<P> Centre Vidéotron hosted a neutral - site preseason game between the Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2015 . The following day in New York City, Quebecor and the Las Vegas ownership group presented their bids to the NHL's executive committee . However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated in a press conference after the NHL's Board of Governors meeting that though the league continued to explore the possibility of expansion, no deadline had been established for a decision . Commissioner Bettman also said that expansion requires a three - quarters affirmative vote from the Board of Governors, but the members of the executive committee would first have to make a recommendation to the group . </P> <P> Quebec City's 2015 bid on an expansion team, while not entirely ruled out, was significantly weakened after the Canadian dollar declined in value against its U.S. counterpart . As of June 2016, the Quebec City bid was said to be still being seriously considered, but not yet decided . The league ultimately decided to "defer" the Quebec bid until a later time . Centre Vidéotron was awarded some exhibition games leading into the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, an international tournament operated by the NHL, as well as a pair of NHL preseason games in successive years; on October 4, 2016 and September 18, 2017, between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens . </P> <P> Hamilton mayor Jack MacDonald attempted to lure the Colorado Rockies to Hamilton in 1980, an effort that ended when he lost his re-election bid . Hamilton was also a candidate for expansion in 1990, being one of the favorites, but it lost out to the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning . Hamilton's bid group attempted to negotiate the $50 million expansion fee; a condition the NHL rejected . While it was speculated that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres did not want an NHL team in Hamilton due to territorial competition, former league president Gil Stein has denied that was the case . </P> <P> BlackBerry founder and former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has made several attempts to purchase an existing NHL team with the purpose of bringing it to Southern Ontario . He signed an agreement in principle to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins for US $175 million on October 5, 2006 . Penguins' majority owner Mario Lemieux agreed to the sale after struggling to gain support from local governments to build a new arena . Balsillie's purchase agreement offered to help finance a new arena, but also contained a stated intention to relocate the team to Hamilton or Kitchener - Waterloo if no deal on a new arena could be reached . Balsillie later retracted his bid, claiming that the NHL had placed conditions on the sale that he was not comfortable with, including a commitment to keep the team in Pittsburgh under any circumstances . </P>

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