Despite the NHL showing significant interest in expansion, including possibly adding a second team in Texas, the league is in no rush to make it happen, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
During Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading, Dreger mentioned expansion has been put on the “backburner” for the time being due to concern from owners regarding competitive balance.
“It’s going slower, it is not going faster, and it was pushed to the backburner,” Dreger explained. “There are some NHL owners who want to be heard because they do not feel like expansion is a good idea. They don’t believe that the talent pool is deep enough to sustain a competitive balance. Furthermore, another team in a non-taxed state like Texas - in Houston or Austin - further erodes competitive balance. So there’s a ton of work before they get close to saying they’re moving forward.”
Houston and Austin seem to be the frontrunners for the NHL’s 33rd team when expansion does occur.
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 the summer. “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,” Whitmore 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.”
In August, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston a city in Texas could have a team by the 2029-30, adding the NHL is in talks to add a 34th team as well.
“They’re projecting the ability to start play in 2029-30,” Daly said 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 Vegas Golden Knights became the NHL’s 31st team in 2017 while the Seattle Kraken joined as team No. 32 in 2021.