If the NHL is to expand, more players would like to see the league go to Houston than Quebec City.
The NHLPA Player Poll released Friday showed 34.3 per cent of players who voted would like to see the league expand to Houston. Quebec City received just under half of that number with 16.9 per cent voting that they would like to see a second team in the province.
Also receiving votes were Atlanta (9.8 per cent), Scottsdale, Ariz. (8.9 per cent), and Austin, Texas (5 per cent).
Things getting even bigger in Texas? 👀
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) April 17, 2026
Taking the category over by 34% of votes, Houston was voted as the next location where players would want to go if the NHL were to expand #NHLPAPlayerPoll pic.twitter.com/fLpFLcSIm9
The league has been at 32 teams since the arrival of the Seattle Kraken in the 2021-22 season.
There has been no shortage of speculation on expansion, though commissioner Gary Bettman said in the fall that the topic was not discussed at the most recent Board of Governors meeting.
“There is, and continues to be, interest from lots of places,” Bettman said in October. “But none of it has reached the level that we need to focus on at this point.”
A year ago, the NHL met with a group led by billionaire Dan Friedkin to discuss its interest in bringing an expansion team to Houston. Friedkin has a net worth of $6.4 billion, according to Forbes, and recently bought 98.8 per cent interest in English Premier League club Everton.
