Next week's annual meeting of the National Hockey League's board of governors could turn out to be one of the biggest and most important in the 55-year history of the league.

That was the opinion expressed by league president Clarence Campbell late Friday as he prepared for the Monday-to-Thursday gathering.

This year, in addition to the normal flow of league business and annual drafts, the NHL president must conduct another expansion draft—this one handled with the spectre of the new World Hockey Association lurking in the wings.

The expansion draft will be conducted Tuesday to stock new teams in Long Island and Atlanta, with both clubs scheduled to begin play this year.

And the governors must deal with another expansion problem Thursday—choice of two more cities from 10 U.S. applicants to join the league for the 1974-75 season.

“I thought we'd have a lot of this business completed before this meeting,” Campbell said, referring to the latter item. “But the governors won't decide until the final day of the meeting who the two new franchises will be.”

There are three applications from Kansas City, and one each from San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C.

The two newest general managers—Cliff Fletcher of Atlanta and Bill Torrey of Long Island —face added pressure in the draft.

In previous expansion drafts most players picked by new clubs readily accepted roles with their new employers, but this year some could move to the WHA. This year is the first time such a diversion has existed.

“They get no guarantee the player (drafted) will report,” Campbell said. “It's ‘buyer beware' in the expansion draft with no warranty that the boy drafted will respond. It's the same in every draft this year.”

Each of the 14 existing franchises can protect 15 players and two goaltenders during the expansion draft. Montreal, California, Philadelphia and St. Louis, who lost goalies in the 1970 expansion draft, are exempt from losing a net-minder “at their option.”

The two new clubs will get, if all players drafted report, 19 players plus two goalies each.

Campbell said next week's meeting will review the whole situation of player defections to the new league.

Because of the expansion draft this year, Monday's intra-league draft will be modified. Each of the 14 NHL clubs, drafting from each Other, may protect 18 players, with NHL – owned goalies exempt from this year's proceedings. Also exempt are first-year professionals and amateur players under 22 years of age as of Dee. 31, 1972. The claiming price is $40,000 in U.S. funds.

The maximum loss by any club this year can not exceed one player.

The amateur draft is scheduled for Thursday. Long Island and Atlanta, in a predetermined order, will have the first and second choices In each round, followed by the existing clubs in reverse order of total points earned during the regular 1971-72 season.

Under a new agreement reached between the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the NHL, the first 32 amateurs chosen will each cost the drafting team $3,000, plus an additional $7,000 when the player signs a pro contract.

The next 32 amateurs picked also cost $3,000 each, with an additional $4,000 on signing. The remainder cost $2,000 each plus $2,000 when signed.

Last year 117 players were chosen in the amateur draft. The drafting team paid $3,000 for each pick, plus an additional $3,000 when the pro contract was signed, and then paid another $4,000 if the player played 25 or more games in the NHL in his first year. Twelve amateurs fell into the latter category, each bringing a total of $10,000 to the CAHA.