NHL reporter reveals the league is looking into more expansion teams, including in Houston
NHL reporter Renaud Lavoie revealed that Gary Bettman is seriously considering more expansion teams, but one famous city is not being considered.
Lavoie broke down the NHL's top priorities as we enter the new year, naming expansion, the CBA, and broadcasting rights as the league's most important issues, not necessarily in that order.
Of course, expansion is an ever-popular topic of discussion ever since the league introduced the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken.
NHL insider Chris Johnston recently touched on expansion, stating that there are a growing number of markets just waiting for a chance at a new professional sports team.
He specifically mentioned Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Cincinnati, and Nebraska as markets that have 'shown interest.'
"The NHL hasn't signaled when, or even if, it will look at expanding beyond 32 teams, but it seems to have a growing list of suitors looking to gain entrance to the club. Beyond Atlanta, you have major markets in Houston and Phoenix currently without a team, and Bettman has said previously that smaller places like Cincinnati and Nebraska have shown interest."
Phoenix stands out among these cities as they are the most recent to actually have a team.
Now that Alex Meruelo is out as owner of the Coyotes, perhaps the league is already looking into the market again with new ownership.
One notable omission from the list is Quebec City. Fans and players alike have been longing for the return of the Nordiques for 30 years now to no avail.
Unfortunately, with a metro area population of just under 750 thousand residents, that idea just isn't that feasible in today's NHL, no matter how much Don Cherry wants to see it.
Currently, Winnipeg is the smallest market in the league with about 100k more residents than Quebec City, and they still struggle to fill the building at times.
It is very understandable why the NHL would prefer to go to Houston with a population of 2.3 million people just within city limits or Atlanta with over 6 million residents in the metro area.
Does this mean the Nordiques will never return, even in the current expansion era?
Unfortunately, that may very well be the case.
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