$2 BILLION Expansion Franchise for the NHL's 33rd Team Could be Awarded by the End of 2026

[GHT120]

 

The NHL is on track to award its 33rd franchise to Texas as soon as the end of the year, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic.
 

Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports has already agreed to pay a $2 billion expansion fee to bring a team to either Houston or Austin, pending the ability to build an arena in one of those markets and secure final approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors.
 

“They’re projecting the ability to start play in 2029-30,” Daly said. “So we will have one down and potentially one to go. We have ongoing discussions both with people in the Phoenix marketplace, but also Atlanta, and then we’ll see what comes of those discussions.”

 

 

It seems that the owner of the 33rd team is established (Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports) and they are pursuing whether to build an arena in Houston or Austin ... Houston is the biggest TV market without an NHL team, and where the ownership group is based, so I'll guess Austin is a "false flag" to help get approvals for something in Houston ... starting in 2029-30 would give the Habs a couple of seasons to sort out tDobeš versus Fowler for the expansion draft in summer 2029.

I can't say I am surprised Phoenix is back in discussions, Atlanta is the second largest TV market missing from the NHL (barely behind Houston), but Phoenix is third ... both markets failed previously but both ownership and arenas were major issues.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Good update, thanks.

 

I suppose I don’t really care, although I guess you could reach a point where the league becomes SO big as to be almost unwieldly  and the Cup a distant dream over the lifetimes of fans of most franchises. I don’t know that 33, 34, or 35 is that point, though. At some point you might have to think MLB-style, two separate ‘leagues’ (Conferences) that meet in the Final and largely play within themselves over the regular season.

 

You do have to hate the idea of more low-tax jurisdictions attracting talent to cities that don’t give a f**k about hockey. 

 

It seems preposterous that they’d keep going back to Atlanta - remember that classic definition of insanity? - but like all soulless greedbags, they’re going where the money is.

[tomh009]

8 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

It seems preposterous that they’d keep going back to Atlanta - remember that classic definition of insanity? - but like all soulless greedbags, they’re going where the money is.

 

Same would apply to Phoenix, too. And that was only a few years ago.

[Commandant]

10 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Good update, thanks.

 

I suppose I don’t really care, although I guess you could reach a point where the league becomes SO big as to be almost unwieldly  and the Cup a distant dream over the lifetimes of fans of most franchises. I don’t know that 33, 34, or 35 is that point, though. At some point you might have to think MLB-style, two separate ‘leagues’ (Conferences) that meet in the Final and largely play within themselves over the regular season.

 

You do have to hate the idea of more low-tax jurisdictions attracting talent to cities that don’t give a f**k about hockey. 

 

It seems preposterous that they’d keep going back to Atlanta - remember that classic definition of insanity? - but like all soulless greedbags, they’re going where the money is.

TNT is the one of the league's partners for broadcasting now, and from what I hear they are really pushing for a home town team.

 

The other issue is the new arena is planned for the suburbs and not down town.  Which in Atlanta means a much different demographic in terms of the race of people living in the area.  The downtown and the city is heavily black, where the suburbs are more white.  They believe this will help fan support.

 

Will it work? I have no clue.  But those are the two big ideas in the Atlanta plan.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Expansion draft is going to hit us at a time where we will likely lose a player that we don’t want to. 
 

If we can only protect one goalie…

 

 

[GHT120]

As I said above, both Atlanta and Phoenix failed in large part because of bad ownership and bad arenas/arena placement ... with the cost of a modern NHL expansion franchise the ownership will be far more financially solid and far more invested in ensuring the franchise's success.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

3 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Expansion draft is going to hit us at a time where we will likely lose a player that we don’t want to. 
 

If we can only protect one goalie…

 

 

 

UGGGH

[GHT120]

4 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Expansion draft is going to hit us at a time where we will likely lose a player that we don’t want to. 

If we can only protect one goalie…

 

24 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

UGGGH

 

Vegas expansion taught teams how to manage expansion drafts ... identify your "protectees" and move out the best of what's left for picks, prospects or players not yet eligible for the draft ... the expansion draft would be in the summer of 2029 ... by then I expect HuGo would already be faced with making the choice between Fowler and Dobeš anyway (assuming, however unlikely, Croteau, Miller, Volokhin, Vecvanags,  or Cournoyer haven't forced their way into the discussion).

[Prime Minister Koivu]

8 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

 

Vegas expansion taught teams how to manage expansion drafts ... identify your "protectees" and move out the best of what's left for picks, prospects or players not yet eligible for the draft ... the expansion draft would be in the summer of 2029 ... by then I expect HuGo would already be faced with making the choice between Fowler and Dobeš anyway (assuming, however unlikely, Croteau, Miller, Volokhin, Vecvanags,  or Cournoyer haven't forced their way into the discussion).

It’s definitely reasonable to expect Hughes to manage the roster in preparation for the draft.

 

Beyond goalies the Habs will also have a bunch of young players to save

 

7 forwards and three Dmen OR 8 skaters 

 

YIKES

[Fanpuck33]

32 teams is already two too many.  Stop watering down the talent of your league, NHL!  The bubble is going to burst if you keep poking at it!

[DON]

Not sure we should expect both Dobes & Fowler to become #1 goalies, so not huge worry at moment.

Wait till we see how they develop, or dont.

[Commandant]

10 hours ago, Fanpuck33 said:

32 teams is already two too many.  Stop watering down the talent of your league, NHL!  The bubble is going to burst if you keep poking at it!

 

There is more talent than ever.

 

Is this more watered down than the 70s with the NHL and WHA competing for talent, plus very few players out of europe and none from the pther iron curtain and very few from the US? Or the 80s with 21 teams filled 75% by Canada?

 

Population growth in all countries.  The explosion of good american hockey players, and the fact that we have more Swedes, Finns, czech, slovaks, germans, swiss, and russians than ever has lowered the percentage of the league thats Canadian.  This just shows us that there is more talent than ever.

 

I dont think this is as big a concern as people think.

 

There are reasons against expansion of course.  Watering down the talent isnt one im concerned with.

[Commandant]

19 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

 

Vegas expansion taught teams how to manage expansion drafts ... identify your "protectees" and move out the best of what's left for picks, prospects or players not yet eligible for the draft ... the expansion draft would be in the summer of 2029 ... by then I expect HuGo would already be faced with making the choice between Fowler and Dobeš anyway (assuming, however unlikely, Croteau, Miller, Volokhin, Vecvanags,  or Cournoyer haven't forced their way into the discussion).

 

Vegas and Seattle drafts did teach us something.  Lose your one player and deal with it.  The teams that made the most trades to avoid losing a specific player just helped Vegas and their opponents.  Those who accepted their fate ended up better off.  

[BCHabnut]

On 8/23/2026 at 5:20 AM, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Expansion draft is going to hit us at a time where we will likely lose a player that we don’t want to. 
 

If we can only protect one goalie…

 

 

My first thought as well.

[GHT120]

On the other hand ... losing a player you don't care if you lose means your team is pretty lousy

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

On 8/24/2026 at 3:04 AM, DON said:

Not sure we should expect both Dobes & Fowler to become #1 goalies, so not huge worry at moment.

Wait till we see how they develop, or dont.

 

On the one hand, you’re right; neither is a proven #1. On the other hand, few teams these days run a #1 in the classic sense of Carey Price or Henrik Lundqvist - it’s more about tandems. And if you look at it that way, Dobes has surely established himself as a guy who can give you 40 games per season, and if Fowler fails to so establish himself, that will be disappointing given his pedigree. Losing either of them probably will be a big blow, and having only one year to assess whether Fowler is better than Dobes is really unfortunate.

[GHT120]

19 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

having only one year to assess whether Fowler is better than Dobes is really unfortunate.

 

One year ?

The franchise is excepted to be awarded by year-end but “They’re projecting the ability to start play in 2029-30,” Daly said, presumably to allow time for acquisition of land/approvals/construction of the new arena ... and "projecting" carries a fair bit of weight in that statement ... so far too early to be speculating about protected lists.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

37 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

One year ?

The franchise is excepted to be awarded by year-end but “They’re projecting the ability to start play in 2029-30,” Daly said, presumably to allow time for acquisition of land/approvals/construction of the new arena ... and "projecting" carries a fair bit of weight in that statement ... so far too early to be speculating about protected lists.

 

Whoops! My bad. Well, in that case DON is right. Plenty of time to make the assessment, and quite possibly to add new G talent to the system

[GHT120]

45 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Whoops! My bad. Well, in that case DON is right. Plenty of time to make the assessment, and quite possibly to add new G talent to the system

 

That KEY point was only available in "Show more" ... annoying sometimes

[hab29RETIRED]

On 8/23/2026 at 7:08 PM, Prime Minister Koivu said:

It’s definitely reasonable to expect Hughes to manage the roster in preparation for the draft.

 

Beyond goalies the Habs will also have a bunch of young players to save

 

7 forwards and three Dmen OR 8 skaters 

 

YIKES

I really wish that Matheson’s NTC/NMC didn’t include expansion protection - I think McCarron’s NTC or NMc excludes expansion protection .

[GHT120]

10 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

I really wish that Matheson’s NTC/NMC didn’t include expansion protection - I think McCarron’s NTC or NMc excludes expansion protection .

 

As I understand it, if the expansion draft is in June 2029 Matheson's NMC will still be in effect and the Habs will be obligated to protect him (expansion drafts are normally held prior to free agency beginning) ... but the language in McCaron's contract (his NMC does not require he be protected in an expansion draft) indicating that, as with trades, a NMC can be waived ... three seasons can result in circumstances changing and Matheson might well be ready to waive to move to a "no-tax" state ... only time will tell

[Commandant]

22 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

On the one hand, you’re right; neither is a proven #1. On the other hand, few teams these days run a #1 in the classic sense of Carey Price or Henrik Lundqvist - it’s more about tandems. And if you look at it that way, Dobes has surely established himself as a guy who can give you 40 games per season, and if Fowler fails to so establish himself, that will be disappointing given his pedigree. Losing either of them probably will be a big blow, and having only one year to assess whether Fowler is better than Dobes is really unfortunate.

 

Also remember that since the expansion team can only take one player per team, the Habs can only protect 7/3 or 8 skaters, and we have no idea what other goalies are available, there is no guarantee the expansion team will target one of our goalies.  They may prefer a goalie from another team and one of our forwards or defencemen.  Its a long way away until those decisions start being made so assuming this is a Fowler/Dobes decision is premature. 

[GHT120]

2 minutes ago, Commandant said:

They may prefer a goalie from another team and one of our forwards or defencemen.  Its a long way away until those decisions start being made so assuming this is a Fowler/Dobes decision is premature. 

 

Beyond simple preference, by summer 2029 if one of the long-term high-priced goalies has the bottom fall out of their game, their team might be willing to make it worth the new team's while to take them off their hands ... soooooo much can/will happen between now and the expansion draft