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Is Houston closer than ever to getting an NHL team?
New Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently met with National Hockey League officials as part of what he describes as the "very early stage of evaluating what opportunities may exist" to either relocate an NHL franchise here or establish an expansion team in Houston.
But Houston is not the only city the league might consider for expansion or relocation. Efforts have long been underway in Seattle, Quebec City, and Kansas City – among other communities – to try to establish an NHL franchise.
Houston Matters explores the reasons why Houston would seem to have an edge (market size, a hockey-ready arena, an interested owner, etc.) at this moment in bringing a team to town, whether more than one city might be in line for a franchise, and what remains to be determined in order for it to happen here.
Joining Houston Matters host (and hockey aficionado) Craig Cohen for this conversation are John Royal, a writer for the Houston Press (who covered Houston’s last hockey team — the Aeros), and Greg Rajan, online sports editor for the Houston Chronicle.
MORE: Hockey Is Coming to Houston. It’s Just a Matter of When