While Commissioner Gary Bettman attempted to throw water on expansion talk, that hasn't done anything to quell the buzz of more teams joining the NHL.
And considering the success of the last few expansions in Vegas, Seattle, and Utah (which is regarded as an expansion team even though they're the zombie-fied remains of the Arizona Coyotes), the league might want to strike while the iron is hot and when expansion fees are a cool $2 billion.
But while Atlanta has gotten a lot of attention lately, Austin, Texas, reportedly popped up on his radar at this week's Board of Governors meeting.
According to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, the Texas capital is now one of five cities — along with the aforementioned Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, and Indianapolis — that were mentioned as possible expansion cities.
All of those cities, except Atlanta, would be right at home in the Central Division, but this is the first time Austin has gotten some buzz, and it appears it will have a lot going for it.
For years, talk of adding another team in Texas focused on Houston, and for good reason. The NHL is the only one of the four major pro leagues without a presence there, and it is a huge TV market. However, regional sports networks are dying a slow death, and it can be hard to crack into an already sports-saturated city.
Austin, on the other hand, is one of the most up-and-coming cities in the country with a burgeoning sports scene. They've got an MLS club, a Formula 1 race and, of course, the Texas Longhorns, but no major pro teams.
This could be enticing if the NHL can find the right ownership group, because the last time the league entered a new market without other major pro teams was with the Vegas Golden Knights, and that was a resounding success.
Additionally, an Austin franchise would have a built-in rivalry with the Dallas Stars (ironically, Dallas' AHL team, the Texas Stars, plays in Austin), and that's always helpful for a new team to get some attention.
Again, Bettman said there are no pending applications and the league is not planning a formal expansion process at the moment, but Austin should certainly raise some eyebrows.
from The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick https://ift.tt/GnhTMEO