NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL may be headed to Texas. According to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, Houston and Austin are among the cities being considered as the league looks into the possibility of expansion.
The league’s Board of Governors gathered Tuesday in New York for their yearly meeting following the Stanley Cup Final and ahead of the draft. Because no official announcement had been made, the source declined to be identified. ESPN and Sportsnet were the first outlets to break the story.
There is no certainty that the NHL will add a 33rd franchise, but the exploration marks an early step in what could eventually make the league larger than the NFL — a title that would make it the biggest professional sports organization in North America. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said in recent years that the league has been open to hearing from potential ownership groups in cities like Houston and Atlanta, but stopped short of describing any formal expansion process.
The most recent expansion brought the total to 32 teams when the Seattle Kraken hit the ice in 2021. Before that, the Vegas Golden Knights launched play in the 2017-18 season. Prior to those additions, the league had operated with 30 teams since 2000, when Columbus and Minnesota joined the fold.
The financial success of those newer franchises, along with skyrocketing team valuations across professional sports, has fueled growing expansion chatter — particularly since expansion fees could now surpass $1 billion. Seattle’s entry fee was $650 million, while Las Vegas paid $500 million.
Over the past four decades, the NHL has built a strong following across the Sun Belt and in markets not traditionally associated with hockey. The league added teams in South Florida, Tampa, San Jose, Anaheim, Nashville, and Las Vegas, while franchise relocations brought teams to Dallas, Raleigh, Denver, and other cities.
Those Sun Belt and non-traditional market teams have dominated the Stanley Cup, winning it seven consecutive times and 13 times overall going back to Colorado’s championship in the 1995-96 season.
