The National Hockey League appears set to expand with a 33rd team in Texas, but the exact location remains to be determined.
Bill Daly told TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston last month the league could announce their expansion by the end of this year to either Houston or Austin.
Houston mayor John Whitmore is pushing to bring the team to his city, backing it over Austin, which sits roughly 265 kilometres away.
“We’re ready,” Whitmore told Jennifer Streeter of The Sporting News. “In fact, we’re talking to multiple parties that are interested ... So when we get a proposal, if the city can do something to a system, we’ll be there. We’ll definitely be a better location than Austin.”
Houston boasts the fourth-largest market in the United States, while Austin is viewed as an intriguing option in a unique, emerging city.
“I think [the NHL] would never regret it if they gave a franchise to Houston. They’d never regret it,” Whitmire added. “Austin is a great city, but it’s not Houston ... If you talk to the sports franchises in town, I think they’d tell you we’re great partners.”
Houston-based billionaire Dan Friedkin has already agreed to pay a $2 billion expansion fee, pending the ability to build an arena in one of Houston or Austin and secure final approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors.
Daly also told Johnston last month that the league is in communication with at least two groups on adding a 34th team, though those discussions are not as far down the line.
“They’re projecting the ability to start play in [Texas in] 2029-30,” Daly told Johnston in The Athletic. “So we will have one down and potentially one to go. We have ongoing discussions both with people in the Phoenix marketplace, but also Atlanta, and then we’ll see what comes of those discussions.”
The NHL expanded from 30 teams to 32 over the past 10 years - first by adding the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, then the Seattle Kraken in 2021.
