The National Hockey League is on track to add a 33rd franchise as soon as the end of the year, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
“We’re moving forward in Texas,” Daly said in an interview at the NHL’s European Media Tour to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston in a piece published on The Athletic. “I expect ultimately we’ll be in a position to bring something to the board to get their view on it. So, that’s proceeding at a pace. We’ll probably get together with the group again in September and kind of see where they are in the process and what they want us to do to help, to the extent they need anything.
“If we finalize that and the board approves it, then (at the) end of this calendar year we’ll have an announcement that we’re expanding to either Houston or Austin.”
The two cities in play, according to Johnston, are Houston and Austin. Houston boasts the fourth-largest market in the United States, while Austin is viewed as an intriguing option in a unique, emerging city.
As Daly says, a billionaire in Houston by the name of 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.
As Johnston reports, the league is also in communication with at least two groups regarding the possibility of adding a 34th team - though none of those talks are as far along as those with Friedkin in Texas.
“They’re projecting the ability to start play in [Texas in] 2029-30,” Daly said. “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.
Daly says that the league doesn’t feel compelled to lineup the timing of these two potential expansions, given the seamless addition of Vegas and Seattle four years apart.
“I think the commissioner’s always asked about, ‘Well, that’s only one (expansion) team, what about the second team?”‘ Daly noted. “Certainly if it happened that two could come in the same year that might be more convenient, but I don’t think it’s a barrier if they don’t.”
While Houston boasts the larger market and the presence of already-established franchises in the other three major North American sports leagues (the Houston Rockets of the NBA, Houston Astros of MLB and Houston Texans of the NFL), Daly says that that factor may actually work in Austin’s favour - the same way it did Vegas back in 2017.
“I view Austin to be similar to our decision to move into Las Vegas at a time where the other leagues weren’t considering it in part because of the size of the market and mid-size nature of it,” said Daly. “We needed to satisfy ourselves that there was kind of a sufficient fanbase there that would embrace the club locally. We probably got lucky along the way, but as it’s turned out, the city is in love with that franchise. I would even distinguish it from at least football, with respect to whether the (Raiders) fanbase really exists in Las Vegas or whether it’s a tourist fanbase.
“I think (the Golden Knights) have clearly proven that the locals, the people who live in and around Vegas, are supporting that franchise.”
