- Bill Daly says the NHL hopes to sign definitive agreements on a 33rd franchise as early as December
- Houston is still the priority market over Austin, with play targeted for 2029-30
- Read below for what Daly said about expansion back into Canada
The NHL finally put a date on its 33rd team.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Hockey News on Friday that the league and its prospective Texas ownership group have settled on the shape of the deal. Here is how he laid out the timeline:
“We have agreed on the framework of a transaction, and we’re all working to get toward that. We hope to have definitive agreements in place that would commit the franchise as early as December this year. And we expect that they’ll be able to begin play as early as the 2029-30 season, closing the transaction early 2029.”
David Alter spoke with Daly at the league’s European media tour stop in Munich:
Houston remains the front-runner. Talks with Dan Friedkin’s group started there years ago and only widened to Austin later, and Daly made it clear which city the owners still prefer:
“As we began those discussions, it was focused on Houston. As we progressed, the alternative to Austin was raised, and certainly I think our ownership group is willing to consider the benefits of expansion at Austin, although I still think the priority is probably Houston.”
Austin isn’t out of it, and people there are paying attention:
The league is not chasing a specific number of teams, Daly said, and one-at-a-time additions like Vegas and Seattle are the model it prefers. Our earlier look at the two markets found Houston pulling away from Austin in almost every measure that matters.
Canada is a different story, and Daly did not sugarcoat it when asked what it would take to add a team north of the border:
“I’d say the interest in terms of owning and operating a franchise in Canada is less vibrant than it is for some markets in the United States. With respect to other expansion interests in Canada, kind of bona fide interest from real cities, is fairly low. I think we’re in most of the big cities in Canada already.”
Quebec City keeps coming up, and the league still likes the building. What it doesn’t have is a buyer.
Daly called the Centre Videotron first rate and said the passion is there, then explained that no group has stepped forward wanting to own and operate a team in the city. That has been the sticking point for years, and it still hasn’t changed.
Gary Bettman pegged the total cost of the Texas project at roughly $3.5 billion back in June, covering both the expansion fee and a new arena. Friedkin has the money for it.
Sign the definitive expansion agreements in December and the NHL has its 33rd team locked in before the calendar turns.
