NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly made a major statement confirming the League's interest in expanding in the coming years, according to Elliotte Friedman. Expansion teams are always a hot topic across the hockey community. The interest in adding new teams is shared by the League, team owners, and fans, as more teams can make the sport even more exciting. This has been proven in recent years. With the success of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in their early seasons, people are realizing that expansion teams can become competitive much faster than before. The Golden Knights have made the playoffs six times in seven seasons and even won a Stanley Cup. Additionally, they are consistently among the top teams in the Western Conference. In 537 games since joining the NHL, they've won 312 times, an impressive record for an expansion team. In Seattle, while the Kraken haven't had the same immediate impact as the Golden Knights, they've still achieved some success: during the 2023 playoffs, they eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, in seven games, causing a major upset. Looking ahead, things are promising for Seattle, as they've drafted intriguing prospects in recent drafts, such as Berkly Catton and Shane Wright. It's no secret that many cities are eager to acquire an NHL team, given the financial success of recent expansion teams. Historically, the League has been secretive about sharing expansion details, but in a recent statement, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged that more teams could join at the appropriate time. This is what Sportsnet's insider Elliotte Friedman wrote in a recent article: <q>Daly was most interesting talking about expansion. It's coming - and the union believes that as well - but was very careful not to be pinned down. �At the appropriate time' was the phrase he used. It's clear the league sees legitimate interest and is putting together a proper process, taking meetings and gathering information. He pointed out that, in the United States, the NHL is in fewer markets than its professional brethren, while Seattle and Vegas prove there is �a model that works, a model that allows you to be competitive out of the gate Doesn't mean that it's imminent, doesn't mean that it's going to happen in the next year or so.' [...] Is 34 teams the maximum, or could we see 36? Is there a maximum number you wouldn't exceed? �Yes. Do I know what that number is? No. I will also say it's not just (commissioner Gary Bettman) or I making that decision, it's also our ownership group that makes the decision. With the last two expansions in particular, the thought process was a lot different (than 1998-2000). Everybody was just interested in adding clubs; there was an $80M expansion fee, right? It's much more business-oriented now in terms of how clubs look at it. They don't want to add franchises just to add franchises; they want to add franchises that will grow the value of the league. «Does this market make sense for the National Hockey League? Does it make my franchise more valuable?' Understanding that I might get a nice cheque in the short term, but this is a longer-term look at asset value and whether they are making the league better.»</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1827771056247001131'> </a></blockquote></div> With Utah and Arizona out of the running for new teams, cities like Quebec City, Atlanta, or Houston could have their chance to convince Bettman and the other team owners to expand into their markets. Source: Sportsnet <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/32-thoughts-a-collection-of-late-off-season-notes/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>32 Thoughts: A collection of late off-season notes </a> Source for <a href='https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/VEG/history.html' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Vegas Golden Knights</a>'s statistics: Hockey-Reference Source for <a href='https://records.nhl.com/franchises/seattle-kraken/season-by-season-record' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Seattle Kraken</a>'s statistics: NHL Records