 Absorbing the Canadian markets would therefore preclude the possibility of the NHL having to fight off another rival league.In June 1977, Ziegler announced that the NHL had created a committee to investigate the possibility of a merger, while Bill DeWitt, Jr., owner of the WHA's Cincinnati Stingers, stated that Ziegler had invited six teams to join the league for the 1977–78 season if various conditions could be met.The proposal would have seen the six teams become full members of the NHL, but play in their own division with a separate schedule for the first year.