Gary Bettman was in Toronto on Wednesday, up to speed on the Maple Leafs-Canadiens rivalry, briefed on their home opener stats since 1917 and pleased to join the pre-game tribute to the late Habs star and Leafs president Ken Dryden, a fellow Cornell grad.

So, matters pertaining to the Great White North dominated the NHL commissioner’s pre-game press conference with Toronto and Montreal writers:

“We’re not focused on expansion anywhere. I’ve said this probably more than you want to hear. If there’s an applicant that can show us strong ownership and wherewithal, a suitable market, suitable arena and can make the league stronger, we’ll look into it.

“But we aren’t committed to the expansion process. People have expressed interest, but if somebody had (ticked all four boxes), I’d have taken

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