Overview
- NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Friday that the league and Dan Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports have agreed on the framework of a transaction for a Texas-based 33rd team.
- The parties aim to have definitive agreements by December that would allow the new franchise to begin play as early as the 2029–30 season.
- Friedkin’s group has reportedly agreed to pay a roughly $2 billion expansion fee while commissioner Gary Bettman has suggested total costs including an arena could approach $3.5 billion.
- Houston is the priority market with Austin as an alternative, but final certification depends on building or securing an arena and on approval from the NHL Board of Governors.
- The league is also holding talks to add a 34th team, with Phoenix and Atlanta under consideration, and executives say weak current Canadian ownership interest helps explain the U.S.-focused push.