Here are ten cities—three in Canada and seven in the United States—that could see an NHL team.
1 – Seattle, WA
Obviously, Atlanta is out. Hartford has been discussed as a potential NHL site, but it's less than 150 miles from four hockey teams. The only franchise that I could see moving to Hartford is the Islanders, and only then if the XL Center is replaced. Therefore, Seattle seems an obvious. It is the third-largest American market without an NHL team, after Houston and Atlanta, and the largest in a cold climate. While population and climate are important, there are two limiting factors for Seattle: the fact that Key Arena is not a good arena for anything, and the fact that Seattle is fairly close to Vancouver.
2 - Portland, OR
The Northwestern United States has two Major League Soccer franchises and a professional team in every major sport...except hockey. Between the antiquated Key Arena in Seattle and the Rose Garden in Portland, the Garden is better-suited for an NHL team. The Garden has hosted hockey and arena football events many times. Additionally, it is currently the home of a Western Hockey League team: the Portland Winterhawks. Portland, Oregon is one of the largest markets, but the city has only one big-four franchise. The Thrashers actually considered relocating to Portland before deciding on Winnipeg. If the Coyotes stay in the United States, Portland is their best option.
3 - Kansas City, MO
From 1974 to 1976, Kansas City had a hockey team called the Scouts. Now it has a new arena called the Sprint Center that's very lonely without a tenant. KC is also one of the largest midwestern cities without a hockey team. What's the problem with Kansas City, then? There may not be a big enough fanbase. The Scouts used to play in half-empty arenas. More recently, the Sprint Center has hosted NHL exhibition games to small crowds. Kansas City also has a warmer climate than many other NHL cities. It's not Palm Springs, but then again, it's not Duluth.
4 - Milwaukee, WI
Wisconsin has MLB, NBA, and NFL franchises. It is also a cold-climate state with a strong hockey following already. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers and the Milwaukee Admirals, an AHL team, are both popular. Why isn't there an NHL team in Wisconsin? First of all, Bradley Center is a terrible arena, despite being big enough to house an NHL franchise. Secondly, Milwaukee reportedly turned down the possibility of an expansion team in the 1990s. If a team, such as the Coyotes, is desperate for a new market, or if Milwaukee finally gets a new arena, it should jump higher on the list of potential sites.
5 – Las Vegas, NV
For the second city in a warm climate, it came down to Las Vegas or Atlanta. Popular sentiment has always leaned toward Vegas, the largest city without a professional sports team.
There are four main reasons why Vegas would not be suitable for an NHL team. First of all, the warm-weather factor. Secondly, Las Vegas is only a medium-sized market, and it's taken a hit with the foreclosure crisis. Thirdly, there are several territorial conflicts, as there are already two teams in Los Angeles and one in Phoenix. Lastly, there is the issue of sports betting. Every time it looks as if a team will move to Vegas, another betting controversy arises. Atlanta, a much bigger, stabler, and less-controversial market, seems like a more sensible choice. That said, Atlanta has lost two NHL teams, so Vegas it is.
There are four main reasons why Vegas would not be suitable for an NHL team. First of all, the warm-weather factor. Secondly, Las Vegas is only a medium-sized market, and it's taken a hit with the foreclosure crisis. Thirdly, there are several territorial conflicts, as there are already two teams in Los Angeles and one in Phoenix. Lastly, there is the issue of sports betting. Every time it looks as if a team will move to Vegas, another betting controversy arises. Atlanta, a much bigger, stabler, and less-controversial market, seems like a more sensible choice. That said, Atlanta has lost two NHL teams, so Vegas it is.
6 - Quebec City, QC
Even the Russians think it's weird that Quebec City doesn't have a hockey team.The Nordiques played in Quebec City before they moved to Denver. Now, Quebec City's Colisee Pepsi is outdated. However, in February 2011, Quebec City announced plans to build a new NHL-sized arena and hopefully bring an NHL team back to the city. There are only 700,000 people in the Quebec City metro area, but it is more than 50 miles from another NHL team. Especially considering the fact that Quebec City is building a new arena, it would be an ideal site for an NHL team.
7 - Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City is a small market, but it is very much a winter-sports city. Salt Lake City didhost the 2002 Winter Olympics and has many high school and club hockey teams. And with regard to market side, consider SLC's NBA team, the Utah Jazz, which has better attendance records than teams in much larger markets.There is some debate about whether EnergySolutions Arena is suitable for hockey. If it was good enough to host the largest crowd in minor league hockey history, it should be good enough for the Coyotes or the Predators.
8 - Halifax, NS
Some would say Regina or Saskatoon could also host an NHL team, but with the Jets in Winnipeg, the Prairie Provinces are covered in terms of hockey. Keep in mind that Saskatchewan isn't exactly a huge market. There are only 200,000 people in the Regina area and 250,000 in Saskatoon, which are separated by 150 miles of farmland. On the other hand, the Maritime Provinces have been aching for an NHL team. The Halifax Metro Centre is a bit undersized, but there have been proposals to expand it or build a new arena, which would likely lead to an NHL team in Atlantic Canada.
9 - Houston, TX
Houston is the largest city in the United States or Canada without a hockey team. The Toyota Center is fairly new and has hosted the Houston Aeros, an AHL team, since its opening. Despite the large market and a viable arena, I doubt Houston will be seriously considered as an NHL site; too many Sunbelt teams have failed in recent years.
10 - Hamilton, ON
It's no secret that Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie has been trying to bring another NHL franchise to southern Ontario. While there have been proposals to build a second arena in Toronto, there is already an NHL-ready arena in Hamilton: Copps Coliseum. This area also boasts a built-in, die-hard hockey fanbase. So, why doesn't Hamilton have a team? The Buffalo Sabres have vetoed potential NHL moves to the city because they feel that another team so close by would invade their territory. Hamilton is just under 50 miles from Buffalo as the crow flies; it's 72 miles by automobile. Additionally, Toronto and the Maple Leafs are only 45 miles away. Frankly, I don't see another NHL franchise in southern Ontario's future; a more likely outcome would be the Sabres playing home games at Copps from time to time.
Expansion in Canada
The potential of adding additional franchises in Canada had been an ongoing source of controversy for the NHL in recent years as numerous groups proposed expanding the league into a new Canadian city, or purchasing a struggling American franchise and relocating it north; to a certain extent, these issues continue even after the awarding of a seventh franchise to Winnipeg. Quebec City and the Golden Horseshoe area of Southern Ontario are most frequently proposed as locations for new Canadian teams, as was Winnipeg prior to the announced relocation of the Thrashers. Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie has made several significant attempts to bring a team to Hamilton, including a $242.5 million offer in 2009 to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes, immediately after the team filed for bankruptcy protection. Balsillie's efforts have been resisted by the NHL during commissioner Gary Bettman's tenure. Balsillie's latest efforts include a public relations campaign based around Canadian nationalist feelings and the perception that the NHL is "anti-Canadian". Throughout the history of the NHL, attempts to bring franchises to Canadian cities have caused points of contention. Vancouver's rejected bid for one of six new franchises added in 1967 outraged Canadians, who felt they had been "sold out". Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson stated that "the NHL decision to expand only in the U.S. impinges on the sacred principles of all Canadians." Three years later, the Vancouver Canucks joined as the league's third Canadian franchise. The 1979 defeat by a single vote of a merger agreement between the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association that would have resulted in three Canadian WHA franchises (the Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets) joining the NHL led to a mass boycott of Molson products across Canada. In a second vote, the Montreal Canadiens, owned by Molson, reversed their position, allowing the Oilers, Nordiques and Jets to join the NHL for the 1979–80 NHL season (along with the New England Whalers, who would be renamed the Hartford Whalers). The Calgary Flames became Canada's seventh franchise in 1980, relocating from Atlanta. The 1990s saw considerable upheaval amongst Canadian franchises. In 1992, the NHL returned to Ottawa, while a potential expansion into Hamilton failed. However, the declining value of the Canadian dollar at that time, coupled with rapidly escalating salaries, placed hardships on Canadian franchises. As a result, the Nordiques and Jets left Canada, becoming the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 respectively. Fears persisted up to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that the Flames, Oilers, and Senators could follow suit. The financial fortunes of Canada's teams rebounded following the lockout: Canada's six franchises represented one-third of NHL revenues in 2006–07, primarily on the back of the surging value of the Canadian dollar.In May 2011, True North Sports and Entertainment, an ownership group with the support of billionaire David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet, purchased the Atlanta Thrashers with the intention to move the team to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The relocation marks the first franchise relocation since 1997 and the first new Canadian franchise since the Ottawa Senators entered the league in 1992. At the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, it was announced that the team would be named the Jets. Former NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly has repeatedly argued in favour of bringing a new team to Canada. In early 2008, he described the Canadian market to The Palm Beach Post: "The six Canadian franchises do so well, they pack the buildings, get great TV, great revenue streams. If you put another team up there, be it in Nova Scotia or Hamilton, it would be more of the same." Prior to the relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke in favour of another team in Canada, stating he has spoken with NHL owners in the past about bringing a new team to southern Ontario. A study published in April 2011 by the University of Toronto's Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation concluded that Canada can support 12 NHL teams, double the amount it had at the time of the study, including second franchises for Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
Hamilton - Hamilton mayor Jack MacDonald attempted to lure the Colorado Rockies to Hamilton in 1980, an effort that ended when he lost his re-election bid. Hamilton was also a candidate for expansion in 1991, being one of the favorites, but it lost out to the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. Hamilton's bid group attempted to negotiate the $50 million expansion fee; a condition the NHL rejected. While it was speculated that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres did not want an NHL team in Hamilton due to territorial competition, former league president Gil Stein has denied that was the case.BlackBerry founder and co-CEO Jim Balsilliehas made numerous attempts to purchase an existing NHL team with the purpose of bringing it to Southern Ontario. He signed an agreement in principle to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins for US$175 million on October 5, 2006. Penguins' majority owner Mario Lemieux agreed to the sale after struggling to gain support from local governments to build a new arena. Balsillie's purchase agreement offered to help finance a new arena, but also contained a stated intention to relocate the team to Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo if no deal on a new arena could be reached. Balsillie later retracted his bid, claiming that the NHL had placed conditions on the sale that he was not comfortable with, including a commitment to keep the team in Pittsburgh under any circumstances. Balsillie then reached an agreement to purchase the Nashville Predators for $238 million on May 24, 2007, and began a season ticket campaign in Hamilton a week later intending to prove that the city was capable of hosting an NHL team. Thousands of fans purchased tickets, however the sale again fell through a month later when Predators owner Craig Leipold opted to terminate the agreement. The Predators were later sold to a group of ten investors, led by Nashville businessman David Freeman, who promised to keep the team in Nashville. Leipold accepted $40 million less from Freeman's group than Balsillie offered, and later ended up as the majority owner of the Minnesota Wild. During the 2008–2009 NHL season, the future of the Phoenix Coyotes was on shaky ground as the team expected to lose as much as $45 million, and the league had to step in to assist with paying the team's bills. Coyotes' managing partner Jerry Moyesfiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early May 2009, and immediately afterwards, an offer by Balsillie to purchase the team was made public. The NHL challenged the Coyotes' ability to file for bankruptcy, claiming that as a result of the financial support the league had been offering the franchise, the league itself is in control of the team, and that Moyes did not have authority to act as he did. Balsillie's launched public relations campaign aiming at igniting Canadian nationalistic feelings and the perception that Bettman has an anti-Canadian agenda, including a website. His bid to purchase the Coyotes failed as the bankruptcy judge ruled his offer did not meet the NHL's rules on relocation. The Hamilton Spectatorreported on May 9 that a Vancouver-based group led by Tom Gaglardi was planning to make a bid to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers and relocate the team to Hamilton in time for the 2010–11 NHL season. This never materialized, and the idea was eventually rendered moot by the Thrashers' sale and relocation to Winnipeg. Gaglardi later purchased the Dallas Stars and, to date, has kept the team in Dallas.Under NHL rules, an expansion or relocation of a team to Hamilton could potentially be blocked by the Buffalo Sabres or the Toronto Maple Leafs, because Copps Coliseum, the likely venue for a Hamilton NHL team, is located less than 50 miles from the Sabres' and the Leafs' home arenas. Roughly 15% of the Sabres' business comes from residents of the area of Ontario between Hamilton and Buffalo, and the Sabres or the Leafs could require "an enormous indemnification payment" to allow an additional team to be established within a 50-mile radius. A pre-season NHL game was played in Hamilton between the Sabres and the Ottawa Senators on September 28, 2010 as part of the Kraft Hockeyville promotion, as a result of the city winning a fan vote. The game was hosted at the much smaller J. L. Grightmire Arena in the Dundas region of the city and not at the Copps Coliseum. An unnamed bidder made a bid for the Sabres in February 2011, offering $259 million for the team to move it out of Buffalo, which would either mean the team itself would relocate to Hamilton or it would clear the way for another team to make such a move. The bid was rejected in favor of an offer from Terrence Pegula, who planned to keep the team in Buffalo. A popular choice for a new Hamilton team is the Tigers,the name of an NHL team in the 1920s (and ironically, a team whose successors eventually led to the modern Sabres franchise that opposes its establishment). However, that name is very similar to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football team, whose name is derived from a Hamilton Tigers football team. While two professional teams sharing names is not unheard of in professional sports, any Hamilton franchise would need to seek permission from the Tiger-Cats to use the Tigers name to avoid any trademark disputes. Copps Coliseum in Hamilton was built in 1985 with the hope it would help lure an NHL team to the city.
Greater Toronto Area - Despite the fact that Toronto already houses the Toronto Maple Leafs, its suburbs have been mentioned as potential sites for NHL franchises, under the logic that Toronto is the largest metropolitan area in Canada and can support two NHL teams. Unlike other potential expansion markets, a new arena would need to be constructed, and most of the proposals for a new Toronto area team include a new arena along with them.In April 2009, a group of businessmen met with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to discuss the possibility of bringing a second NHL franchise into the Toronto area, most likely in Vaughan, Ontario. Despite the talks, Daly reportedly stated the NHL is "not currently considering expansion nor do we have any intention or desire to relocate an existing franchise."In June 2009, a group headed by Andrew Lopez and Herbert Carnegie proposed a $1 billion plan for a second Toronto team, called the Legacy, to begin play no earlier than 2012. The group announced a plan for a 30,000 seat arena, with 15,000 for tickets of a price of $50 or less. The arena would be situated in Downsview Park in the north of the city. Twenty-five percent of net profits would be given to charity. In 2011, a proposal surfaced to build a multi-purpose 19,500 seat arena in Markham, Ontario, north-east of Toronto, that could potentially be used for an NHL team. The CAD$ 300-million arena is to be part of an entertainment complex and could be ready as soon as 2014. The company behind the proposal, GTA Sports and Entertainment is headed by W. Graeme Roustan, the company's chairman and CEO. Roustan is also the chairman of sports equipment maker Bauer. Roustan is a Montreal-raised private equity investor whose firm Kohlberg & Company, purchased Bauer from Nike. The land proposed for the arena, near the Unionville commuter train station, is owned by Rudy Bratty, chairman and CEO of the Remington Group. The Remington Group is at the heart of Markham's proposed downtown-style development. As to the likelihood of getting a team, the NHL's Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly met with the ownership group and advised them "for purposes of their analysis, they should assume it will never happen."
Quebec City - Alexander Medvedev, the president of the KHL, Russia's professional hockey league, has stated his intention to purchase an NHL team and move it to Quebec City,saying that it is "strange" there is no NHL team there. Medvedev said he shelved plans to buy a North American team after NHL representatives told him that the league would never allow a Russian to own one of its clubs. Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume, on October 10, 2009 talked with NHL officials, regarding the return of the Nordiques. Bettman said this in October 2009, that he would consider Quebec City as a possible home to an NHL team if it followed through on plans to build a top arena and if a team were for sale. In May, 2011, Labeaume stated that Pierre Karl Peladeau, the president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., is currently in talks with the NHL regarding a franchise in Quebec City. A new 18,000-seat arena is currently being built in Quebec City, the Quebecor Arena; ground was broken in September 2012 and it is expected to be ready for use by the 2015-16 season. During that time, the Colisée Pepsi(the previous home of the Nordiques) could function as a temporary arena until the Amphitheatre is completed.The active Quebec sovereignty movement was claimed by Jean Charest to be a possible problem in regard to bringing the NHL back to Quebec. An exhibition game was played prior to the 2011–12 NHL season at the Colisée Pepsi. The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in Quebec and won 5–1. The Canadiens were well received despite being from rival Montreal. Montreal was going to host the Carolina Hurricanes at Colisée Pepsi in 2012; however, that game was canceled due to the lockout.
Saskatoon - Bill Hunter, the founder of the Edmonton Oilers, had an agreement to purchase the St. Louis Blues and move the team to Saskatoon as the Saskatoon Blues in the 1982–83 NHL season; however, the NHL (who did not want to leave the St. Louis market) vetoed the sale. Faced with the prospects of either having to allow the sale or contract the franchise, the league found an owner (Harry Ornest) willing to keep the team in Missouri and, in an eleventh-hour deal, preserved the Blues in St. Louis, where they remain.A proposal from Ice Edge Holdings to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes would move a portion of the team's home games to Saskatoon in an effort to maintain the team's viability in its main home in Phoenix, similar to the current Bills Toronto Series arrangement in the National Football League;the group, had it bought the team, was ready to go forward and had leased Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre for five home games in the 2009–10 season. The group is believed to lack the funds to buy the team outright, but remained in contention as potential minority owner until May 2011, when it pulled out of negotiations. On Ice Management, an ownership group backed by auto racer, former Moncton Wildcats owner, and former professional hockey player John Graham, is backing a long-shot bid to bring the NHL to Saskatoon. An exhibition game was played prior to the 2011–12 NHL season at the Credit Union Centre, whose capacity is 15,195 (fewer than all NHL venues other than Winnipeg's MTS Centre). The Chicago Blackhawks faced a split squad of the Edmonton Oilers losing 4–2 to Edmonton. A second game in Saskatoon that would have seen the Winnipeg Jets take on the Boston Bruins in October, 2012 was cancelled due to the lockout.
Expansion sites within the United States
Several cities in the United States have been mentioned in the media as possible future sites for new or relocated NHL teams. In December 2007, organizations from Kansas City, Las Vegas, Houston, and Seattle presented their proposals for a franchise to the NHL's Executive Committee. Other possible locations include San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Portland, Hartford, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Norfolk, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Baltimore. The five largest metropolitan regions without NHL franchises are (in descending order of population) Houston, Atlanta, Seattle-Tacoma, San Diego, and Baltimore. Cleveland, Houston and Atlanta have previously hosted major professional hockey teams. During the 1970s, Cleveland was home to the Cleveland Barons (the former Oakland Seals), which failed to draw fans or revenue, and was merged with the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) after two seasons. The Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association (WHA) existed from 1972 until 1978, where they won two Avco Cups and enjoyed a large and loyal fanbase. The Atlanta Flames joined the NHL in 1972 and played in the city for eight years before being moved to Calgary in 1980 and becoming the Calgary Flames. The Atlanta Thrashers played in the NHL from 1999 to 2011, until its move to Winnipeg for the 2011–12 season.Houston (Toyota Center), Atlanta (Philips Arena), Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena), and Portland (Rose Garden) have arenas capable of hosting NHL games. Other arenas specifically designed for NBA franchises such as San Antonio's AT&T Center, Seattle Center Coliseum in Seattle, Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena, Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena, and Salt Lake City's EnergySolutions Arena have low seating capacities for a prospective NHL team, although San Antonio also has the Alamodome. The New York Islanders intend to move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2015, an arena specifially designed for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets.
Seattle -Seattle has a long hockey history. The 1917 Seattle Metropolitans were the first American winners of the Stanley Cup, but folded in 1924, while the Seattle Totems played in the borderline-major Western Hockey League from 1944 until the WHL's dissolution in 1975. As of 2012, the Puget Sound region's highest level of hockey is the Canadian major juniors: the Seattle Thunderbirds (based 20 miles south of Seattle in Kent) and Everett Silvertips (25 miles north of Seattle) both play in the Western Hockey League. The Seattle Center Coliseum (also known under an expired naming rights deal as KeyArena) is less than ideal for NHL in terms of capacity and sightlines, due to a 1994 renovation that made the arena basketball-specific for the arena's major tenant, the now-relocated Seattle SuperSonics; the league has stated that the Coliseum would be "a difficult arena for hockey." That played a major factor in the departure of the Seattle Thunderbirds, a major junior hockey team, from the same buildings, owing to problematic sightlines caused by a scoreboard that is off-center in a hockey configuration. The Tacoma Dome, a multi-purpose stadium that has hosted NHL exhibition games in the past, could function as a temporary facility, though issues with the facility include its distance from Seattle (30 miles), poor sightlines, awkward (and largely temporary) seating configuration, absence of icemaking facilities, and a general lack of modern amenities. The city of Tacoma is studying a possible renovation of the Dome to meet major league standards. In April 1974, both Seattle and Denver were conditionally granted NHL franchises. Seattle's never came to fruition because of the Western League's instability (according to season ticket promotions the team would have kept the WHL name of Totems). A Seattle group made a bid on an expansion franchise in 1990, but it failed over the financial terms the NHL demanded. The SuperSonics basketball team managed the arena and would not offer a share of suite revenues considered necessary for the NHL team's success. The businessmen who wanted to operate the potential NHL team were unwilling to pay the $50 million expansion fee imposed by the NHL, and their bid was rejected. An unnamed Seattle group expressed its interest to the NHL in 2007. In 2011, the NHL acknowledged that there was interest expressed by a group in Seattle for a team. Multiple reports suggested Chicago Wolves owner and businessman Don Levin had expressed interest in building a new arena in nearby Bellevue that could host an NHL team. On February 16, 2012, a plan was announced to build a new arena in Seattle's SoDo district just south of Safeco Field. An investment group, headed by hedge-fund manager Christopher Hansen, is proposing to seek a return of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to Seattle after the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and is interested in possibly having an NHL team as well. The configuration of the proposed arena would be able to accommodate hockey, unlike KeyArena. The arena would be built as a public-private partnership between the City of Seattle and Hansen's group. Hansen's group would invest $290 million and the public sector (city and county) $200 million. The project will not proceed without the confirmed purchase of a professional team as the arena's tenant. Hansen's group has purchased all the land that makes up the arena site.Commenting later that day, NHL Commissioner Bettman stressed that the NHL has no plans for expansion or relocation. Levin has spoken to Hansen and expressed his interest in being involved as the owner of the NHL franchise that would be the tenant in the arena. Levin has also expressed his interest to Bettman. On July 25, 2012, it was reported that Wayne Gretzky was meeting with Bellevue officials regarding an NHL team in the Seattle area. On September 11, 2012, it was announced that the Seattle City Council had reached an agreement with Chris Hansen to build an arena in Seattle's SoDo district. The agreement calls for a $40 million transportation fund, $7 million to upgrade KeyArena, an option for the city and county to sell the arena at the end of the 30-year lease period, and a personal financial guarantee from Hansen if the arena's finances fall short. Shortly afterward, on September 24, it was reported that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz and team president Patrick LaForge visited Seattle, sparking rumors of the Oilers relocating to Seattle. The proposed arena secured its first tenant when in January 2013, Hansen purchased the Sacramento Kings with the intent of relocating the team to Seattle.When Greg Jamison was unable to meet a deadline to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes on January 31, 2013, speculation began that the team would be relocated to Seattle.
Houston -Professional ice hockey dates back to 1946 in Houston with the establishment of the Houston Skippers. This was followed by the Houston Apollos, the Houston Aeros of the WHA and the current Houston Aeros. The WHA Houston Aeros were an original member of the World Hockey Association. From 1972 to 1978, the Aeros twice won the AVCO World Trophy and featured the first father/son combination to play together in professional hockey, Gordie Howe and his two sons Mark and Marty. The Aeros, despite being a successful franchise, were left out of the NHL-WHA merger and were forced to fold in 1978.The current Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL) were founded in 1994. The team plays in the Toyota Center, which seats 17,800 for hockey. As part of the lease agreement of the Toyota Center with the Houston Rockets, only an NHL team owned by Les Alexander, owner of the Rockets is allowed to play at the Center. The Rockets have twice explored the purchase of an NHL team for the building. According to comments made by Harris County officials, (Harris County owns the Center) there is no current interest in an NHL team. The other arenas in Houston with the capability of hosting an NHL team are The Summit, although that building has been sold to a megachurch and has been decommissioned as a sports venue, and the currently vacant Astrodome. Currently the Minnesota Wild affiliate will be moving the Aeros to Des Moines, Iowa since an agreement could not be met to lease the Toyota Center for another season.Greater Houston is currently the largest market in terms of both city proper and metro population, in North America without an NHL franchise. The area ranks second in the nation with 22 based Fortune 500 companies, only behind New York City,which has 45.
Kansas City - Kansas City, Missouri has hosted NHL hockey before. The NHL Kansas City Scouts played out of Kemper Arena from 1974 until 1976. The team averaged only 8,218 in attendance per game in the 17,000 seat arena, leading to the team's sale and relocation to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies. Professional hockey continued at the arena in the form of the minor league Kansas City Blues, followed by the Kansas City Blades and the Kansas City Outlaws.Kansas City opened an NHL-ready arena named the Sprint Center in 2007. The arena is managed by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns the Los Angeles Kings, among other sports interests. In 2007, when the Pittsburgh Penguins faced financial troubles and no prospect of a new arena, the president of AEG offered to relocate the team to Missouri to play in the new Sprint Center rent-free and to become managing partners in the facility. The Penguins, however, remained in Pittsburgh and ultimately got their new arena in 2010. In 2009, the New York Islanders played the Los Angeles Kings in a pre-season game at Sprint Center. The game was poorly attended, ending speculation that the Islanders would move to the arena. The Sprint Center hosted another pre-season game of the Los Angeles Kings; this time versus the Penguins, in September 2011. As AEG already owns the Los Angeles Kings, it would not be allowed to own another NHL team under NHL rules, although the rule has been circumvented in the past. The pre-season game between the Penguins and Kings was a sellout, drawing over 17,000 fans.
Las Vegas - Ice hockey interest in Las Vegas dates back to 1991, when the first ever outdoor game in the NHL's modern era was held in Las Vegas, with the Los Angeles Kings facing the New York Rangers outside Caesars Palace in the preseason. The minor league Las Vegas Thunder professional ice hockey team operated out of the Thomas and Mack Center from 1993 until 1999 when the team's lease of the facility expired. Several of the team's players eventually played in the NHL.Almost every year since 1997, Las Vegas has hosted Frozen Fury,a pre-season competition between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche at the 16,800 seat capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena. It has been sold out every year, with substantial attendance from Las Vegas locals as well as travelling Kings and Avalanche fans. Despite the fact that the NHL Awards ceremonies are held in Las Vegas, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said it "has nothing to do with" it being a potential relocation or expansion spot.The media has speculated openly about a plan involving the Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to Nevada.
Possible relocation candidates
The media has speculated on the Phoenix Coyotes relocating to a new city, as they filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and are currently owned by the NHL; the Coyotes relocated from Winnipeg in 1996, but have been unprofitable ever since. The team came close to being sold to the Winnipeg group that bought the Atlanta Thrashers and relocated them to Winnipeg, among numerous other groups. The club remains in Phoenix because of annual US$25 million payments by the owner of the Coyotes' arena, the City of Glendale, Arizona; however, the city revoked its support of the Coyotes in April 2012 and now seeking recovery of the US$400 million paid to the team.
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