Expansion: A study on two new cities… that aren’t called Quebec City

Marc-Olivier Cook
Expansion: A study on two new cities… that aren’t called Quebec City
Credit: Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

It's looking more and more like the NHL might expand in the coming years. Following the arrival of the Golden Knights and the Kraken in recent years, people are wondering which city will be home to the league's next team.

And that's why the idea of expansion is back on the table—because it would generate a lot of money for the NHL. 

We have more details on this today.

Here's what we know: During the NHL Board of Governors meeting, Commissioner Gary Bettman informed those in attendance that a study would be launched to examine the possibility of establishing an expansion franchise in Houston or Austin.

Both of these cities are in Texas… and what's surprising is that Bettman stated about a month ago that the league had absolutely no interest in expansion at this time.

Things change quickly in the National Hockey League…

Obviously, you'll understand that we're not talking about Quebec City here.

And I get the feeling we're going to have to wait a very, very long time before that happens. The National Hockey League wants to prioritize markets in the United States (that's no secret), and with what's been going on between Canada and the U.S. for the past few years, that complicates matters.

In Quebec, the idea of having a team back in the capital is one that comes up every time expansion is discussed. We know that efforts have been made in the past, but they didn't work out… and there aren't necessarily any more encouraging signs for that project today.

All this to say, then, that we could very well see a new team join the National Hockey League within a few years… but not in Quebec City.

And you can't really say that's necessarily a big surprise…


In a Nutshell

– Not a bad idea.

– Spot on!

– Yeah.

– Makes sense.

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