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Potential National Hockey League expansion

The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its history to reach its current thirty-two active teams: twenty-five in the United States, and seven in Canada. The newest additions to the league are the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, Seattle Kraken in 2021, and the Utah Hockey Club in 2024. The league has also relocated several franchises, most recently in 2011 when the former Atlanta Thrashers became the second and current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.

To gauge interest and help determine whether the NHL should entertain further expansion, the NHL Board of Governors accepted applications for new franchises during the 2015 off-season. Two potential ownership groups submitted applications for prospective teams in Las Vegas and Quebec City. The geographic distribution of teams between the NHL's two conferences was not a primary consideration for expansion, and the earliest time when a new franchise could start play was the 2017–18 season.[1] On June 22, 2016, the NHL approved expansion to Las Vegas starting in the 2017–18 season with the Golden Knights,[2] but deferred Quebec City's bid for a team.[3]

With the Quebec City bid still shelved by the league's board of directors, the league opened up another expansion window in December 2017, specifically to allow an ownership group from Seattle to place a bid; no other cities were allowed to submit bids in that window. The Seattle bid was approved on December 4, 2018, and the team began play in the 2021–22 season as the Kraken; commissioner Gary Bettman then stated the league would not expand any further for the foreseeable future,[4] while deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated that the league may revisit expansion in the near future if it is deemed in the best interest of the league.[5]

In 2023, NHL insiders Kevin Weekes and John Buccigross hinted that the league was considering franchises in Houston and Atlanta.[6] In January 2024, the Smith Entertainment Group, chaired by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, issued a formal request for the NHL to open an expansion process to bring a team to Salt Lake City.[7][8] Two weeks later, during the 2024 All-Star Weekend, commissioner Bettman publicly listed six cities that had expressed interest in expansion.[9] In March, former player Anson Carter and the newly-formed Alpharetta Sports & Entertainment also issued a formal request to bring the NHL back to Atlanta.[10] In April 2024, the league established the new Utah Hockey Club under the ownership of the Smith Entertainment Group, with the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes franchise, which was simultaneously deactivated with the option to rejoin the league as an expansion team, contingent on constructing a new arena.[11]

  1. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 24, 2015). "Board of Governors OKs start of expansion process". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 22, 2016). "Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Cooper, Josh (June 22, 2016). "Quebec City ponders options after NHL defers expansion bid". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  4. ^ Ryan, Chris (December 4, 2018). "NHL approves Seattle expansion for 32-team league - When team will begin play". NJ.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved December 5, 2018. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHL would not look into expansion beyond 32 teams for the foreseeable future.
  5. ^ Whyno, Stephen (December 4, 2018). "NHL may not stop at No. 32". Associated Press. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Insiders hint at 2 new NHL expansion teams". HockeyFeed. March 5, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ^ Rosen, Dan (January 24, 2024). "Salt Lake City group formally requests NHL to initiate expansion process". NHL.com.
  8. ^ The Canadian Press (January 24, 2024). "Jazz's parent company initiates NHL expansion process". TSN.
  9. ^ Adams, Dillon (February 2, 2024). "NHL commissioner Gary Bettman names Omaha in list of potential expansion cities". The Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  10. ^ Montgomery, Madeline (March 12, 2024). "Alpharetta wants to bring NHL franchise back to metro Atlanta". Atlanta News First. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  11. ^ "NHL BOG approves establishment of new franchise in Utah". NHL.com. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.

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