Houston May Edge Austin For An NHL Expansion Team Now, But In A 36-Team NHL, There's Room For Both

Houston is the likely choice over Austin for the NHL's next franchise, but the Austin market at some point should be considered for the NHL. Pending new arena developments, both Houston and Atlanta should be next in line for NHL franchises, should the league expand to teams 33 and 34. It's been stated in the past that the NHL could max out at 36 teams, so with that in mind (and also pending new arena developments), Phoenix and Austin appear to be the leading markets to land NHL teams 35 and 36 after Houston and Atlanta have been established. There's more here.