SEA ISLAND www.starsshoponline.com , Ga. (AP) — Things are going well enough that the NHL is ready to expand to Seattle and the salary cap keeps going up.But the league is still dealing with a few uncertain situations on the eve of what should be a slam-dunk expansion vote to bring Seattle into the fold.The Ottawa Senators’ downtown arena project is in danger of falling apart, and Arizona Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway is looking for a partner as he tries to secure a long-term home in the desert. Meanwhile, the league would like to begin making plans for a 2020 World Cup of Hockey but has no guarantee of labor peace that would allow such a tournament to take place.“If we’re going to do a World Cup, and do it with the planning necessary, if we don’t know by the first of the year or All-Star, then there’s no sense in trying to pull off a World Cup for 2020,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday. “For the last year and a half, two years, we’ve been anxious to anchor plans for a World Cup, but for whatever reason the Players’ Association hasn’t been prepared to do that.”Bettman updated the Board of Governors on those topics and others before the vote that’s expected to award Seattle the league’s 32nd franchise. The team would begin play in the 2021-22 season, a year after original plans because arena renovations aren’t scheduled to be finished until the fall of 2020.Seattle expansion and the realignment that comes with it will be announced Tuesday.Those topics weren’t discussed on the first day of the board’s annual December meeting that was more about league business. Bettman says the salary cap is projected to go up to roughly $83 million next season, up from the current $79.5 million limit. That’s a sign revenues are continuing to rise after the success of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.“The fact that the salary cap continues to increase means revenue’s continued to increase, which means the state of the sport and the business is very healthy — as healthy as it’s ever been Dallas Stars T-Shirts Womens ,” Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. “And that’s good for us, that’s good for the players. I think it’s good for everybody.”There isn’t yet agreement between the league and the Players’ Association that would ensure neither side chooses to terminate the current collective bargaining agreement in September 2020.“There hasn’t been any substantive dialogue on any of the topics that I assume (players) may or may not want to conclude,” Bettman said. “They know the time frame. The puck’s in their end.”An NHLPA spokesman said the group did not have anything to add on the topic of potential CBA talks.Situations with the Senators and Coyotes are league concerns that bear watching with particular attention on Melnyk suing his partner for $700 million in the aftermath of the failing arena development plan. Bettman said he’s “disappointed” with how things have gone in Ottawa, which ranks 27th in attendance at its rink outside Canada’s capital.“I think for a whole host of reasons (a new downtown arena) would be nice, but Mr. Melnyk has said if he has to make Canadian Tire Centre work, he can do that,” Bettman said. “This is a complicated situation, although in its original form, for a lot of reasons, some of which you’ve read in the complaint that’s been filed, the project as originally envisioned unfortunately isn’t viable.”It’s unclear what’s viable long-term for the Coyotes, who have been fighting for years for a stable arena situation in the Phoenix area. Barroway, who became the Coyotes’ sole owner in June 2017 Dallas Stars Hoodies Womens , is now looking to sell a portion of the team in what would be another shakeup atop an organization all too used to changes and uncertainty in recent years.“I think Andy Barroway’s made clear that he’s looking for a partner,” Daly said. “There’s been a lot of discussion around that, and I think he’s hopeful that something can happen in the near term. … I think the efforts there will be on getting a new arena. So we have some patience.” GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Wins have been hard to come by for the Edmonton Oilers lately, but Connor McDavid keeps piling up points.McDavid scored two goals and assisted on another to help the Oilers end a six-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.“We’ve been a streaky team all year,” McDavid said. “We’ve been doing well offensively. That’s what I’ve been looking for. We just need to find a way to get on a run.”The 21-year-old center leads the Oilers with 23 goals and 61 points. He reached 60 points in 39 games — fastest for an Edmonton player since Mark Messier during the 1989-90 season.McDavid began the night fourth in the NHL in scoring. He has 12 points in the past five games.Leon Draisaitl scored his 22nd of the season for Edmonton, his sixth goal in five games. Draisaitl also had an assist and Mikko Koskinen stopped 29 shots for his 12th win.“Like we played the last two periods, we have to keep playing like that every game,” Koskinen said. “(McDavid and Draisaitl) are unbelievable players. We need them every game.”Brad Richardson scored for Arizona, which has lost three of four.McDavid went end-to-end and got free for a 1-on-1 against Coyotes goalie Adin Hill at 6:17 of the second period. McDavid scored with a backhand from in close, putting the Oilers ahead 2-1.Arizona pulled Hill, who made 21 saves, in the last two minutes of the third period for an extra attacker. McDavid scored into an empty net with 45 seconds left.Richardson Dallas Stars Hats Womens , playing for the first time since before Christmas due to illness, scored his team-leading 11th goal at 12:08 of the first. He creeped toward the front of the net and was waiting to knock in the rebound of Richard Panik’s shot.Edmonton tied it 2:49 into the second. Off a draw, Adam Larsson’s long wrister was knocked down by Draisaitl with his stick and redirected between Hill’s legs.“Another good step in the right direction,” Draisaitl said. “We got our legs under us and started playing the way we can.”Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet was pleased with his team’s effort, but said McDavid made the Coyotes pay for an error on his first goal.“We talked about being above McDavid and we did a good job all game until that,” Tocchet said. “We just had a little mental breakdown and it’s in our net. We get a couple chances and we miss the net or we don’t score and he gets the one breakaway and he scores. That’s what high-end players do.”NOTES: Arizona outshot the Oilers 16-7 in the first period. … Coyotes center Clayton Keller was selected an All-Star for the first time and will join McDavid, already chosen team captain, on the Pacific Division roster. … Coyotes D Alex Goligoski was scratched due to illness, the first game he’s missed since Nov. 17. C Nick Schmaltz was also scratched with a lower-body injury, his first missed game since being acquired from Chicago on Nov. 25. … Edmonton forward Alex Chiasson missed his third consecutive game due to injury, and forward Kailer Yamamoto missed his second straight with an upper-body injury.UP NEXTEdmonton plays at Los Angeles on Saturday.Arizona hosts New Jersey on Friday.