Quebec City remains in the conversation, at least among players, but Houston is emerging as a clear favourite for future NHL expansion.
With rumblings afoot that the 32-team NHL is looking to grow, again, a recent survey by The Athletic reveals that the sprawling Texas oil town — already home to the NFL Texans, NBA Rockets and Major League Astros — is No. 1 among potential landing sites for a big-league shinny expansion franchise.
According to The Sporting News, a poll conducted by The Athletic earlier this month asked almost 120 current NHL players to pick their favourite spot for a possible NHL expansion club. Houston was the runaway winner with 48 votes while Quebec City, former home of the NHL Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche), earned a solid 25.
Next in line, inexplicably, were two former failed NHL cities — Phoenix (15) and Atlanta (9). Austin, TX was the only other city to receive more than two votes, with four.
Houston Rockets billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta appears eager to emulate the success of the Utah Mammoth (formerly the Arizona Coyotes) who sold out the Delta Centre last season after the miserable Desert Dogs relocated to Salt Lake City. The Mammoth drew the capacity for hockey in their building — 12,478 — while the Jazz averaged 18,175 for their NBA home games at the same venue.
The New York Times recently dubbed Salt Lake City “a sports boom town” and Utah is considered among the frontrunners for an MLB expansion franchise. And, at some point soon, the Jazz and Mammoth are expected to get a brand new building, perhaps tied to the city’s winning bid for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games.
Houston is the largest U.S. market without an NHL team and certainly meets several of the criteria that could attract a big-league shinny squad — starting with solid, deep-pocketed, committed ownership and heavy-duty corporate presence. It has also been home to previous professional hockey clubs, most notably the Houston Aeros of the old World Hockey Association with the legendary Gordie Howe and his sons — Mark and Marty — on the roster.
Quebec City already has an NHL-ready rink and a rich hockey history to boot. But it might be a cowboy boot that kicks down the door first for the next wave of NHL expansion.
NEED TO KNOW: Madoc native and former Belleville Bulls OHL defenceman Steve Bancroft spent part of the 1999-00 season in Houston when the city had a team in the now-defunct International Hockey League.
CANADA MISSED CROSBY
It’s been a week so let’s not belabour the point, but here are some final thoughts on Team Canada’s 2-1 overtime loss to the USA in the gold medal men’s hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan.
I always remember a conversation with former Belleville Bulls player and coach, James Boyd. It always bugged him when someone would say: ‘Oh, your goalie won the game for you. Without that goalie, you wouldn’t have won that game.’
Boyd’s reply: ‘Hmmm. Last time I looked, a goaltender was part of the team. Why should I apologize for him being the best player on our team that day?’
Team USA skaters might’ve appreciated Boyd’s observation. They are wearing gold medals today for that very reason.
Last weekend in Italy, American netminder Connor Hellebuyck was simply outstanding in goal for Team USA. The best player on the ice. Period.
He faced almost twice the number of shots his teammates directed at the Canada cage (42-28) and, as the old saying goes, you’ve got to be good to be lucky and sometimes you could almost see the horseshoes dangling from the back of Hellebuyck’s pants.
So, yes, as Boyd used to remind those who ‘blamed’ a win on a hot goaltender, Team USA’s best player last Sunday was their netminder. Part of the team. And that’s why they won.
That said, Jordan Binnington was no slouch in the Team Canada crease. Sure, he wasn’t nearly as busy as Hell Boy at the other end of the ice, but when he was called upon Binnington was sharp. Neither U.S. goal was what you would call a ‘bad’ one.
Meanwhile, you can’t help but wonder what might’ve been had Sidney Crosby been healthy enough to play? The 38-year-old Sid The Kid in the lineup might’ve provided the extra spark our guys needed to pull it off.
Just saying.
SENIOR A PLAYOFFS
The Tweed Oil Kings are on the brink of elimination in their best-of-five Norther Premier Sr. A Hockey League Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series.
Kings trail the regular-season champion Smiths Falls Rideaus 2-0 with Game 3 slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. In Smiths Falls. If Tweed can stay alive with a win Saturday, the Oil Kings would host Game 4 Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
On home ice, Smiths Falls doubled up on the Kings 6-3 in Game 1 last weekend, then put a stranglehold on the series with a 5-2 Game 2 victory in Tweed. So far in the playoffs, which includes Tweed’s 2-0 sweep of Westport in the best-of-three preliminary round, Oil Kings scoring leader is Colin Doyle with seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games.
Down the road in Deseronto, the Bulldogs knew their second-round set against the Durham Hawks would be a battle and it appears to be shaping up just that way with the clubs splitting the first two games. Deseronto opened on home ice with a 5-4 win last weekend, then dropped Game 2 on the road by a 6-2 count. Top playoff point producer so far for the Bulldogs, which includes their Round 1 sweep of The County Royals, is Alex Tonge with seven points (two goals, five assists) in four games.
Game 3 goes Saturday in Deseronto at 6:30 p.m. followed by Game 4 Sunday at Durham at 8:30 p.m.
NEED TO KNOW: A possible upset is brewing in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals where the Madawaska Valley Wolves have jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the regular-season champion Manotick Mariners with back-to-back overtime decisions last weekend.
