How Tilman Fertitta could relocate an NHL team - possibly Ottawa - to Toyota Center

Is NHL hockey heading to Houston?

Is NHL hockey heading to Houston?
Courtesy photo

Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States and is home to some amazing professional sports teams. The Astros, Rockets, Texans and Dynamo have drawn fans in from all over the South Texas area for years. But there is something missing; an NHL team of course. Sure the city has had two iterations of the Houston Aero's in 70's and again in the 90's until 2013 when they relocated to Iowa. Houston has had success with minor league hockey throughout the years, but has never fielded an NHL team.

There was an attempt to bring the Edmonton Oilers to Houston in the 90's. Former Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander was in talks to purchase the Canadian hockey team and relocate them to Houston. The deal almost went through, but a grassroots bid by a local businessman in Edmonton prevented the sale, and insured the Oilers would remain in Canada. He also bid on an expansion team but came up short there, too.

After this failure, Alexander never pursued an NHL team again and the city of Houston had little to no hope that a National Hockey League team would ever come to Houston. That is until Tilman Fertitta stepped into the picture.

In 2017, Fertitta purchased the Rockets for an astounding 2.3 billion dollars, a record for a NBA team at the time. With this purchase also came the ownership of the Toyota Center and it wasn't long before he stated he was interested in having more than just the Rockets play in his newly acquired arena.

"I'm very interested in the possibility of bringing the NHL to Houston, but it will have to be a deal that works for my organization, the city, the fans of the NHL throughout the region, and the NHL Board of Governors," Fertitta said in November 2017.

Since this statement, Houston has become a hotbed for NHL expansion and relocation rumors. The easy solution would be to apply for an expansion team and just pay the $650 million expansion fee. But Vegas and Seattle were just awarded expansion franchises with the latter starting play in 2021.This brings the total number of teams in the NHL to 32. So, it may be a while before the league would like to expand beyond 32 teams.

Relocation would be the next best bet, but which teams could relocate? The Arizona Coyotes would be an obvious choice to move to Houston for they have struggled with low attendance and financial problems throughout their existence in the desert. They currently play on a year-to-year lease in the outdated Gila River Center. It seems like a perfect solution for the Coyotes to move to Houston, but NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is hell-bent on keeping a team in Arizona for whatever reason. In addition, the Coyotes were recently purchased by Alex Meruelo in July of 2019, putting their relocation plans on hold for the time being.

Another team that could relocate is the Florida Panthers. This team has struggled to draw fans in South Beach for decades, but they are locked into a lease until 2028 making relocation highly unlikely.

That leaves just one team left, the Ottawa Senators. It was only two years ago this proud Canadian team nearly reached the Stanley Cup Final, one goal shy of beating the eventual champions Pittsburgh Penguins. Since their conference finals appearance, this team has plummeted. They are now one of the worst teams in the league, and have one of if not the worst owners in professional hockey.

Eugene Melnyk purchased the team in 2003 and the Senators enjoyed some success early on including a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007. But as time progressed, fans in Ottawa became unhappy with his management style and his cheap nature. He has been criticized for not spending money to keep a competitive team in the nation's capital.

In 2018 fans started a GoFundMe page to put up billboards that state #MelnykOut in the city of Ottawa to voice their displeasure with the team's owner. The fans raised more than $10,000 to put up four billboards. It's clear to see that the relationship between the owner and the city has gotten sour. Something needs the change otherwise fans may stop showing up to their games. Speaking of which, this leads me to my next point.

The Senators currently play in Canadian Tire Centre which is located just west of downtown Ottawa in Katana. It is not easily accessible by public transit and is a nightmare to traverse during rush hour traffic according to Ottawa locals. This has led to a steady decline in attendance throughout the years. As it currently stands, the Senators draw the lowest number of fans in the NHL at just under 12,000 fans per game. A far cry from the 18,000 plus the stadium can hold.

Melnyk has tried to get a downtown venue for many years with little to no avail. The city is unwilling to pay a premium to build the Senators a new arena, and Melnyk has already threated to relocate this team a year ago during their NHL Winter Classic game against the Montreal Canadians. Not the best time to announce your team could be moving before the biggest game of their season.

So a team with a cheap owner, struggling fan base and a less than ideal arena situation should be all Fertitta needs to bring an NHL team to Houston. Currently the Senators are valued at $445 million according to Forbes. Melnyk rejected an offer to sell the team for $430 million not too long ago. This makes sense as Seattle paid $650 million for their NHL expansion fee, and I believe Melnyk will not sell his team for less than this amount.

Enter Fertitta. The billionaire could purchase the team outright from Melnyk and move the Senators to Houston. They would play their games in Toyota Center which is more than capable of hosting NHL games, and is up to standards per NHL stadium regulations.

Another reason this should happen is because the NHL would love to see their largest untapped market finally have a team. Houston would have plenty of corporate sponsorships, and it would be easy to sell season tickets to a market of more than 4 million people.

The state of Texas has shown it can support an NHL team with the Dallas Stars as a prime example. Just a week ago, The Stars hosted the first ever outdoor game at the Cotton Bowl in front of a sellout crowd of more than 85,000 people. This was the second-largest crowd for an NHL game in league history.

Bringing a second team to the Lone Star State could increase the number of Hockey fans in South Texas exponentially and it would set up yet another Houston – Dallas rivalry.

The one issue that would arise is the Senators play in the Eastern Conference and would have to play in the West if they moved to Houston. The answer is simple, move the Nashville Predators to the Atlantic Division and have the new Senators team replace them in the Central Division. Also, the name would have to change. The Houston Senators doesn't fit. I would suggest renaming them the Aero's or call them an entirely new original name.

I could see the city of Houston receiving an NHL team sooner rather than later. Bringing the Senators down to Houston would be an easy fix that would benefit both the league and the city. Fertitta was quoted just last September that he is working hard to achieve his dream.

"There's not a month that goes by that we don't have some talks about the NHL," Fertitta told Houston Public Media's Houston Matters radio program. "And it's definitely something that one day I look forward to bringing to Houston, Texas."

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Will Joe Mixon be the difference in the game? Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Miami (6-7) at Houston (8-5)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM Odds: Texans by 3.

Against the spread: Dolphins 5-8; Texans 5-6-2.

Series record: Texans lead 8-3.

Last meeting: Dolphins beat Texans 30-15, on Nov. 27, 2022, in Miami.

Last week: Dolphins beat Jets 32-26 in OT; Texans were off, beat Jaguars 23-20 on Dec. 1.

Dolphins offense: overall (19), rush (24), pass (14), scoring (23).

Dolphins defense: overall (9), rush (7), pass (11), scoring (T14).

Texans offense: overall (18), rush (16), pass (17), scoring (11).

Texans defense: overall (5), rush (10), pass (7), scoring (T12).

Turnover differential: Dolphins minus-2; Texans plus-10.

Dolphins player to watch

QB Tua Tagovailoa, who has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at throwing with anticipation and accuracy since he returned from a concussion in Week 8. Tagovailoa leads the NFL with a 73.8% completion rate and threw for 300 yards for the third straight game last week vs. the Jets. Tagovailoa is the first player in NFL history to have at least 40 pass attempts, multiple touchdown passes and no interceptions in three consecutive games within a single season.

Texans player to watch

QB C.J. Stroud has thrown for at least 225 yards in each of his six home games this season and is 11-4 in 15 starts in Houston, including the playoffs. He has thrown for 3,117 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.

Key matchup

Houston RB Joe Mixon vs. Miami’s run defense. Mixon ran for 101 yards in Houston’s previous game for his seventh 100-yard game this season. He ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game. This week he’ll face a run defense that ranks seventh in the NFL by holding teams to 105.6 yards a game.

Key injuries

Miami LT Terron Armstead is dealing with a knee injury that limited him to just five snaps last week. He did not practice Wednesday… LBs Bradley Chubb (knee) and Cameron Goode (knee) could make their season debut, depending on how this week of practice goes, coach Mike McDaniel said. … WRs Tyreek Hill (wrist) and Jaylen Waddle (hamstring), RB Raheem Mostert (hip), and LB Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) were among those limited in practice Wednesday. … Houston S Jalen Pitre is expected to miss a second straight game with a shoulder injury. … DE Denico Autry was limited in practice Wednesday because of a knee injury.

Series notes

Houston won the first seven meetings in this series. … Miami didn’t get its first win against the Texans until a 44-26 victory in 2015. … The Dolphins have won the past two meetings. … These teams first met in the season opener in 2003 when Houston got a 21-20 win on a late field goal.

Stats and stuff

Three of Miami’s final four games of the season are on the road. … K Jason Sanders needs 13 points Sunday to reach 800. He also needs one field goal to reach 177, which would give him the second-most field goals made in franchise history. … TE Jonnu Smith needs 100 yards receiving to reach 792 and set a franchise record for most yards receiving by a tight end in a single season. Smith had three catches for 44 yards, including the game-winning TD vs. the Jets last week after having no receptions during regulation. … Tagovailoa needs a completion rate of 70% or better on Sunday to reach eight consecutive games completing at least 70% of his passes. That would tie him with Joe Montana (1989) and Drew Brees (2017-18) for the longest streak in NFL history. … The Dolphins gave up a season-high 402 yards to the Jets last week. Aaron Rodgers burned Miami’s pass defense for 319 yards, and Miami’s secondary allowed a combined 223 yards by Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams. … Houston can clinch the AFC South title for the second straight year with a win and a loss by Indianapolis Sunday. … The Texans rank second in the NFL with 84 tackles for loss. … Their 42 sacks also rank second. … WR Nico Collins had eight receptions for 119 yards for his fourth 100-yard game this season in Houston’s previous game. He has had at least 75 yards receiving and a TD reception in each of his four home games this season. … TE Dalton Schultz had five receptions for 61 yards and a score in Week 13. He has had at least five catches in two of his past three games. … LB Azeez Al-Shaai will serve the first game of a three-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of QB Trevor Lawrence Sunday. … DE Danielle Hunter is one of two players in the NFL this season with at least 15 tackles for loss (15) and 10 sacks (10 1/2). It’s his sixth career season with at least 10 sacks. He has eight tackles for loss and five sacks combined in his past three games. … DE Will Anderson has had a sack in his past two home games. … LB Henry To’oTo’o has had at least five tackles in four straight games. … CB Derek Stingley had his third interception of the season in his previous game. … CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high eight tackles, including a tackle for loss in Week 13. … S Jimmie Ward has had an interception in his past two home games. He also had an interception in his previous game against Miami in 2022 while with San Francisco.

Fantasy tip

Collins has 456 yards receiving and four touchdown receptions in four home games this season.

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