NHL Players Sound Off on Best Location for Potential Expansion Team in Player Poll

If the NHL continues its recent expansion trend, players are behind the idea of Houston getting a team.

In a poll of 118 anonymous NHL players conducted by The Athletic, the participating players were asked where the next NHL expansion team should land. Houston led the way with 48 votes, followed by Quebec City with 25, Arizona with 15, Atlanta with nine and Austin with four.

No other city received more than two votes, making it clear that most players support a small handful of options should the league expand again.

Houston has never had an NHL team despite being the fourth-largest city in the United States, making it a natural fit for expansion.

Houston had a team in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1978 known as the Houston Aeros, and then an AHL team also called the Houston Aeros from 2001 to 2013.

One NHL player that chose Houston told The Athletic, "I think Houston is a great market. Right in the middle, and there's a lot of corporate money there. It's a great city so I think that would be a top one."

Quebec is a city that many fans have longed to see back in the NHL ever since the Quebec Nordiques relocated and became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995.

The Nordiques are an iconic franchise, existing in the WHA from 1972 to 1979, and the NHL from 1979 to 1995.

One player told The Athletic that Quebec "deserves a team" again, while another expressed doubt that it would ever happen, saying, "I'd love for it to be Quebec City, but that's probably not happening."

Third on the list with 15 votes is an area that isn't far removed from having an NHL team in Arizona.

First known as the Phoenix Coyotes and then the Arizona Coyotes, the franchise entered the NHL in 1996 when the Winnipeg Jets relocated, and remained in the league until 2024 when they moved to Utah.

When the move to Utah occurred, the NHL announced that the Coyotes franchise could be reactivated within five years, given that legitimate progress is made on a new arena.

Multiple players told The Athletic that they enjoyed playing in Arizona and would like to see a team back in the Grand Canyon State.

Perhaps the most controversial choice for NHL expansion is Atlanta, as the capital of Georgia has already had two NHL teams.

It started with the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1980, who relocated and became the Calgary Flames. Then, Atlanta got an expansion franchise known as the Thrashers in 1999, but they relocated to Winnipeg and became the Jets in 2011.

In September, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski reported that the NHL was waiting on a concrete proposal before considering the possibility of bringing Atlanta back into the NHL for a third time.

Wyshynski noted at the time that Atlanta and Houston had "received the most attention" as potential expansion franchises.

With the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021, the NHL is already up to 32 teams. Adding more would make it the major North American professional sports leagues with the most teams.

It is fair to debate whether that would be a good move in terms of the quality of the product, but if the NHL does decide to go in that direction, there are plenty of cities that appear to be viable options.