NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to reporters in Florida on Chris Simon's death, the state of the Arizona Coyotes, where the game's at and LTIR.

The NHL GM meetings wrapped up in Manalapan, Fla., on Wednesday. In the morning, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to reporters on a handful of topics, including former NHLer Chris Simon's passing, what possible rule tweaks were discussed and an update on the Arizona Coyotes.

Here's what he said:

On Chris Simon's death and his family saying they believe he suffered from CTE

Bettman: "Chris' passing is tragic, it's sad. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. On all these matters, we wait to see what the medical experts tell us. Having said that, I think it's well documented all the progress that we've made over the last couple of decades to make the game as safe as possible."

On the state of the game

Bettman: "I think the overall consensus, overwhelmingly, is that the game's in good shape. We talked about a lot of little tweaks that we can focus on to maybe make things a little bit smoother but nothing that I would categorize as problems. I think we're in a good place, and we're looking forward to the stretch drive and the beginning of the playoffs."

On if there are any updates for the Arizona Coyotes and their arena situation

Bettman: "No.

"We're cognizant of (time being of the essence), and we're also focused on that fact that Alex Meruelo is working on acquiring what he believes is the best location for the new arena and his overall project."

On if the NHL is satisfied with the Coyotes' process

Bettman: "Well, we would've preferred to be in a new arena by now, but there are certain things that couldn't be controlled. We would've preferred that the referendum in Tempe went the other way, but it didn't, and so we deal with what we can deal with. Having said that, we believe Arizona and particularly the Greater Phoenix Area is a good NHL market. It's a place we want to be."

On whether the NHL should set an upper limit to the salary cap hit of a playoff roster amid discussions about the LTIR

"It wasn't a topic of conversation here because it hasn't been that big of an issue. The instances of LTI replacement leading into the playoffs is something that we monitor closely, and I think everybody's satisfied that, at least to this point, there hasn't been game-playing in that regard."