NHL Board of Governors rules on expansion in 2025-26

Last month NHL insider Kevin Weekes is reported that the NHL could expand by as many as four teams in the coming years, bringing the total up to 36 teams

Fellow insider Andy Strickland also reported at that time that NHL owners were to formally approve the opening of an expansion period.

Stickland further reported that Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia are both frontrunners for expansion.

From Stickland:

Well... today the NHL's Board of Governors convened for their annual meeting and... they elected NOT to vote on expansion.

That means that we will NOT see an NHL expansion for the 2025-26 season and the earliest that the league could approve expansion would be in the 2026-27 season, if at all.

From NHL insider Elliotte Friedman:

Thanks Jesus, Thank Buddah, Thank Allah...

The NHL isn't stable enough to support further franchises in new markets, in my opinion.

Really? The NHL is considering viing Atlanta a third kick at the can? Why not just speed up the whole process and move them to Quebec City straight off the hop? After all, the last two Atlanta NHL franchises ended up north of the border eventually. 

The Atlanta Flames fizzled out after just eight seasons and relocated to Calgary to great success. Ditto for the Atlanta Thrashers who moved to Winnipeg after 11 failed seasons in Georgia. Now the NHL is going to give it another shot?

Houston is what it is...

I don't know a ton about the Houston hockey scene, but the city itself has both the population base and the sports culture to support another pro franchise. Houston already hosts the Astros (MLB), Texans (NFL), Rockets (NBA) and Dynamo FC (MLS). It's expected that a potential Houston NHL team would be owned by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who also owns the Toyota Center in downtown Houston.

Again, I can't speak much for Houston but I can't see how or why the NHL would bring hockey back to Atlanta. Again, this is a market that has failed the NHL twice now. Meanwhile, Quebec City has been pushing for an NHL team since the 18,000+ seat Videotron Centre opened back in 2015. In fact, the arena is the third largest arena in North America that does not host an NHL team. Sadly, it appears that the NHL is more concerned with corporate support in their markets and, as such, Quebec City doesn't really register on their radar. Until la Vieille Capitale lands a corporate headquarters for a major international brand the NHL won't be interested. Under Gary Bettman, underserved Canadian markets are just small potatoes to the NHL. 

Frankly, the league's most recent expansion cities of Las Vegas and Seattle have been outstanding successes. Still, I hope the league's brass doesn't let that cloud their judgement. Arizona, Florida and Columbus have all struggled mightily at certain points in their existence. Expansion is not a sure bet and I hope the NHL recognizes that fact.