REPORT: New Shocking Market Linked To NHL Expansion

A post on X has been gaining some traction regarding NHL expansion. The report coming from the Houston Chronicle claims that the owner of the Houston Rockets has been in talks about expansion with the NHL.

This report comes as a shock to fans who have followed expansion talks closely. To this point, the two cities most closely linked with expansion have been Salt Lake City and Atlanta. Now with Houston entering the conversation the entire landscape has changed.

With Houston reportedly being interested in an NHL team a serious discussion needs to be had. Before the NHL had two markets interested with similar levels of attractiveness.

In Salt Lake City you had an enthusiastic owner with a new market to tap into that already has an arena built. With Atlanta, you have one of the largest American cities without an NHL team who are committed to building an arena. However, in Atlanta's case, two attempts have already failed, and with Salt Lake, a question of fan interest exists.

With Houston, all of these questions are answered and the benefits still exist. Houston is one of the quickest-growing cities in the United States, they have an arena already built from their NBA team the Houston Rockets, an owner wanting to acquire the team, and a fan base that has a history of being incredibly dedicated to other teams.

If the NHL does decide to expand in the next couple of years Houston will likely become a finalist. It will be interesting to see if the safety of a large market with an established sports culture will be the deciding factor.