Potential National Hockey League expansion
North American professional ice hockey topic
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its history to reach its current 32 active teams: 25 in the United States, and 7 in Canada. The newest additions to the league are the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, Seattle Kraken in 2021, and the Utah Mammoth in 2024. The league has also relocated several franchises, most recently in 2011 when the Atlanta Thrashers became the second and current incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.
In April 2024, the league established the new Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth) 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 within a five-year period; however, then-owner Alex Meruelo voluntarily relinquished his franchise rights only two months later.
During the 2024 All-Star Weekend, commissioner Gary Bettman publicly listed six cities that had expressed interest in expansion. At the June 2025 Board of Governors meeting, Bettman stated that the league is not formally pursuing expansion; however, the league informed interested parties that the likely future expansion fee will be $2 billion USD, with Bettman informing the board that Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Indianapolis, and New Orleans had expressed interest.
Expansion sites in Canada
The potential of adding additional franchises in Canada had been an ongoing source of controversy for the NHL in recent years as numerous groups proposed expanding the league into a new Canadian city, or purchasing a struggling American franchise and relocating it north; to a certain extent, these issues continue even after the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg to become the country's seventh active team. Quebec City and the Golden Horseshoe area of Southern Ontario are most frequently proposed as locations for new Canadian teams, as was Winnipeg prior to the announced relocation of the Thrashers.
Background
History of Canadian franchises (1967–present)
Throughout the history of the NHL, attempts to bring franchises to Canadian cities have caused points of contention. Among them, the league's existing Canadian teams, especially the Montreal Canadiens, historically have raised concerns about further dividing the NHL's Canadian television revenue.
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