Bettman says Seattle group plans to file expansion application soon

The prospective ownership group interested in bringing an NHL expansion franchise to Seattle will apparently be submitting a formal bid in short order.

Oak View Group is working on the application and should have it filed "in the not too distant future," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters Saturday at the All-Star festivities in Tampa Bay, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Bettman said any future franchises would insist on having the same expansion draft rules that the Vegas Golden Knights had, and added that the league hasn't gotten any "negative pushback" from teams about the way the most recent expansion team was allowed to construct its roster, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus.

The NHL's Board of Governors agreed to accept an expansion application from the Seattle group back in early December, three days after the city's lawmakers approved OVG's plan to redevelop KeyArena.