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Houston Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta Hoping To Add An NHL Team

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The owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Tilman Fertitta, is reportedly in talks with the NHL about bringing a team to Texas’ biggest city, Bloomberg reports (subscription required). The NHL is the last of the major male sports leagues to not have a team in Houston, with the NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS all existing in the city since 2005. Fertitta told Bloomberg, “We are talking to the NHL, but it’s got to be good for both of us… We just know that when there’s a concert downtown, how it activates downtown, we know what the Astros do for downtown, we know what even soccer does for downtown.”

Fertitta mentions that he’s been discussing an NHL team with the league ever since his acquisition of the Rockets in 2017, but that talks have recently ramped up – even sharing that he’s received interest from Houston suburbs willing to host a team, though Fertitta would prefer to keep the arena downtown. Fertitta’s Rockets currently play out of the Toyota Center, which recently underwent renovations to make it suitable for a hockey team.

Houston has been named as one of six cities interested in potential NHL expansion, with Salt Lake City, Utah, requesting official initiation of an NHL expansion process. The request was made by the Smith Entertainment Group, which also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz, as well as teams in both the MLS and NWSL. The NHL called Salt Lake a “promising market” and acknowledged the next steps they’re taking towards making Utah their newest host. Houston may soon enter a similar process, now expressing interest in a team a month after Salt Lake City’s request.

While both cities could make sense for an expansion team, the NHL could also eye them as potential landing spots for the Arizona Coyotes, if the team’s ownership can’t make progress on a new arena soon enough. The NHLPA recently shared that Arizona has missed two deadlines to find a new arena, adding significant pressure to the search. That pressure is no doubt added to now with two billionaire ownership groups with ties to the NBA and other professional sports leagues declaring their interest in an NHL club.

NHL, CHL Facing Class-Action Lawsuit Over Antitrust Law

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A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York argues that the NHL and CHL violate antitrust law. The suit – filed in part by the North American Division of the World Association of Icehockey Players Union (WAIPU) – argues that teenagers are, “involuntarily drafted, poorly compensated, and completely controlled” by CHL teams, crediting the exclusivity between the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL and full-time schedules for players as ways players are exploited. It further adds that the NHL supports these challenges through its annual payments to the leagues and specific parts of the NHL-CHL Transfer agreement.

The CHL told the Associated Press, “We have just been made aware of the complaint, filed by WAIPU, an organization that has not been certified to represent any CHL players… Until we can thoroughly review the document, we are unable to provide comment as to the legitimacy of its contents.” The NHL has so far declined to comment.

There is currently no collective bargaining agreement between CHL teams and players – something that the NHL, AHL, and ECHL all have. The nature of the suit draws comparison to recent movements from minor league baseball players and NCAA athletes, who have pushed for expanded supports and compensation. The NHL and CHL did not receive advanced notice of the suit before it was filed on Wednesday morning. University of Illinois labor law professor Michael LeRoy commented on the international status of the suit – which targets juniors teams in Canada and the U.S. – saying, “They’re doing business in the United States, and the end users of the most successful products are going to be, presumably, NHL hockey players both in the U.S. and Canada, I don’t think that’s a problem.”

Evgeny Kuznetsov Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Monday, the league announced.

Kuznetsov was absent from practice this morning for what the team labeled “personal reasons.” 31-year-old AHL veteran Michael Sgarbossa was recalled from AHL Hershey to replace Kuznetsov on the active roster.

The Russian center will now be out indefinitely while he receives care from the program, and he will not be cleared to return until PAP administrators clear him for on-ice competition. The 31-year-old is in his 11th season with the Capitals after the franchise selected him 26th overall in the 2010 draft.

This is Kuznetsov’s second time entering the program, which was previously known as the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program. He did so voluntarily in 2019 after a positive drug test for cocaine while playing for Russia at the 2019 IIHF World Championship.

Kuznetsov’s 0.40 points per game this season are the lowest of his career, including his limited rookie showing in the 2013-14 campaign. Through 43 games, he has six goals, 11 assists, 17 points, and a 43.2% Corsi share at even strength while averaging 18:47 per game.

He’s only two years removed from a 24-goal, 78-point season, both of which were the second-best numbers of his career. He has one season after this remaining on an eight-year, $62.4MM deal signed in July 2017 that carries a $7.8MM cap hit. The contract carries a modified no-trade clause which awards Kuznetsov a 10-team no-trade list.

With Kuznetsov out for the foreseeable future, Sgarbossa is expected to make his season debut for the Capitals on Tuesday against the Canadiens in a third-line role between Anthony Mantha and Max Pacioretty. Sgarbossa likely won’t be a longer-term fixture in Washington’s top-nine, however, and Kuznetsov’s absence could influence the Capitals to give 21-year-old Hendrix Lapierre another shot after playing 25 games earlier this season. Lapierre, the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 draft, is currently on assignment to Hershey, where he has 11 points in 16 games this season.

NHLPA: Coyotes Have Missed Two Deadlines In New Arena Search

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The Coyotes organization has missed two deadlines in their search for a new arena in the Phoenix area, NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh told reporters on Friday from All-Star weekend in Toronto (via Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN). In his press availability, Walsh said he’s “extremely concerned” and “disappointed” with the team’s ownership and claimed owner Alex Meruelo has “refused to engage with the [NHLPA] on numerous fronts,” per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.

Those statements from Walsh run in contrast to what NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier in the day, claiming he was “reasonably confident” that Meruelo would present a plan for an NHL-quality arena in the Phoenix metro area within a reasonable time frame (via Johnston). Previous anticipated dates for a concrete announcement regarding an arena plan included New Year’s Day and this weekend’s All-Star game, neither of which carried any significant updates.

Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports in December that the team anticipated an announcement of their chosen area site by the end of the 2023 calendar year “or shortly thereafter.” At the time, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the deal, expected to be for a parcel of land within Phoenix city limits close to the suburb of Scottsdale, was close to being finalized.

Arizona is in its second season using Mullett Arena as its full-time home, where it’s the secondary tenant to Arizona State University’s men’s hockey program. It has a capacity of just 4,600 seats for NHL games.

The current collective bargaining agreement does not award players any avenues for action against the Coyotes, Walsh said (via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman). Arizona’s first plan for a new arena and entertainment district, a parcel of land in Tempe near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, was struck down by voters in a May 2023 referendum.

Time is quickly running out for Meruelo to present a long-term plan for a Phoenix-area home. Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, expressed written intent for an expansion franchise last month. That market is a geographically logical place for relocation and could house the Coyotes franchise as soon as next season.

International Notes: Russia, Insurance, Rink Size, 4 Nations Face-Off, World Cup

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed today that NHL players will participate in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics. Along with NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh and IIHF President Luc Tardif, Bettman oversaw a press conference during All-Star weekend in Toronto and offered some clarifying notes about Olympic participation in 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Tardif confirmed to reporters that Russia’s standing in the tournament has not yet been decided. The IIHF council will meet next week to determine whether the country will be eligible to return for the 2025 Men’s World Championship, at which point they will issue additional updates. Russia has been barred from IIHF competition since its early 2022 invasion of Ukraine for geopolitical reasons. If deemed eligible for Olympic play in 2026, Russia will qualify automatically based on their current world ranking.

The security of players will be the driving force behind the IIHF’s decision to reinstate a Russian contingent, said Tardif. Both the 2025 World Championship and 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Western European countries.

Other updates regarding the Olympics and future international tournaments:

  • One of the driving forces behind the NHL’s barring of players from attending the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics dealt with uncertainty over insurance and travel costs for players. That’s been settled as part of today’s announcement, Bettman said. Those costs, plus other travel-associated costs, will not be fronted by the league – instead, individual Olympic committees and the IIHF will provide funding for players to travel and stay at the overseas events.
  • Tardif also added that for the first time, the Olympic tournament will be played on smaller NHL-sized ice in 2026. This downsizing from the standard international-sized rink was not contingent on the NHL’s participation in the event, per Tardif, and it did not play a factor in today’s announcement. Previous IIHF specifications dictated that rinks must be 197 by 98 feet, while NHL rinks are narrower at 200 by 85 feet.
  • The league also confirmed today’s reported news that a 2025 best-on-best tournament between Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States will occur next February in two unnamed North American cities, one in Canada and one in the United States. The tournament, called the 4 Nations Face-Off, will be comprised of 23 NHL-rostered players from each country selected by each nation’s governing association. Interestingly, despite the NHL hosting the tournament, the round-robin portion will adopt the more internationally-recognized 3-2-1-0 points system. There will be no multi-round playoff; instead, the best two teams in the round-robin schedule will play a one-game final match.
  • Bettman said the league’s plan is to return to a regular World Cup of Hockey schedule after Olympic participation resumes. Time constraints limited the size of the 2025 best-on-best tournament, but World Cups are expected to run in 2028 and 2032 and will feature expanded participation from countries not included in the 2025 tournament.

NHL To Allow Players To Attend 2026, 2030 Winter Olympics

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12:35 p.m.: Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed an agreement has been reached with the IIHF to send players to the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics to media today. Bettman added the league has been given “assurances” that the venue under construction for ice hockey in Milan will be completed on schedule.

9:56 a.m.: The NHL and IIHF have reached a deal to allow players to participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes said Friday. An official announcement is expected from the league later today after the IIHF quickly posted and deleted a post confirming the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, this morning.

Also expected Friday afternoon is an announcement confirming the NHL’s plans to hold a best-on-best international tournament in 2025 between Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The tournament will be hosted in Boston and Montreal and will result in no All-Star Game being held next year.

2026 will mark the first time NHL players participate in the Olympics since the 2014 edition held in Sochi, Russia. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, have already been tabbed as the 2026 hosts, although concerns about the construction timeline for the Olympic rink in Milan may force the ice hockey competitions to be moved to Turin, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2004.

The host for the 2023 Games has not been named, although Salt Lake City, Stockholm, Switzerland, and the French Alps region have submitted bids. The French Alps bid entered the “targeted dialogue phase” late last year and is the most likely host for the 2030 edition, while Salt Lake City will likely receive the 2034 Games.

Milan will mark the first Olympic appearance for all of the NHL’s next generation of stars, including Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrňák, Cale Makar, and many others. It’s unclear whether Russia will field a team at the event – they are currently barred from IIHF competition due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the 2025 four-nations-style tournament will be the first true exhibition of best-on-best international play involving the world’s highest-ranking men’s hockey countries since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Atlantic Notes: Perron, Sergachev, Lundell, Stephens

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While Red Wings winger David Perron’s six-game suspension was upheld yesterday by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the six games have already been served, the appeal process isn’t over just yet.  Perron’s agent Allan Walsh tweeted that his client (in conjunction with the NHLPA) will exercise the option to further appeal to a neutral arbitrator.  At this point, the value in doing so would be a potential return of forfeited salary – Perron lost over $148K due to the suspension – as well as simply lowering the number of games for comparative purposes should a similar incident happen again.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will miss tonight’s game against Washington, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 25-year-old missed Thursday’s victory over Vegas due to a lower-body injury and did not accompany the team on this trip.  Head coach Jon Cooper noted that the hope is that Sergachev will be ready to return after the holiday break.  His production is down a bit this season compared to his 64-point outing last season but Sergachev still has 19 points in 33 games so far.
  • The Panthers will welcome back center Anton Lundell today against Vegas, relays team reporter Jameson Olive (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has missed the last four games due to illness but was recently activated off injured reserve.  Lundell is off to a slow start to his third NHL season as he has just two goals and ten assists in his first 28 games.
  • Canadiens center Mitchell Stephens played in his tenth game of the year Friday against Chicago. This means that he will have to pass through waivers in order to return to the minors.  Stephens cleared waivers back in the preseason but was recalled at the beginning of the month.  He has a goal in those ten appearances while winning a little over 55% of his faceoffs.

NHLPA Files Appeal On Behalf Of David Perron

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Sportsnet is reporting that the NHLPA has filed an appeal on behalf of Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron after he was suspended six games for cross-checking Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub on Saturday night. Perron cross-checked Zub after a battle in front of the Senators net turned ugly resulting in Perron’s teammate Dylan Larkin being severely injured after taking multiple shots to the head and neck area from Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly. While Larkin lay motionless on the ice, Perron went after Zub and crosschecked him in the face which ultimately resulted in the suspension.

The incident was out of character as Perron doesn’t have a history of suspensions or supplemental discipline. It was certainly a heat of the moment reaction from the 35-year-old but one which will cost him to miss some games. The fact that Perron doesn’t have a history of disciplinary actions could play in his favor while he goes through the appeal process.

Perron’s appeal will go right to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman who will make a decision on the matter. If Bettman opts not to grant Perron the appeal, he can go to an independent arbitrator who will then decide. If the suspension remains in place at six games, the native of Sherbrooke, Quebec wouldn’t be able to return to the Red Wings lineup until their matchup on December 22nd against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The six-game suspension to Perron is the longest suspension handed down by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety in nearly two years and highlighted a busy weekend for George Parros and company.

Board Of Governors Updates Salary Cap Projections

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Largely expected for the last calendar year, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reported that at the Board of Governors meeting today, the league updated team owners on the revenue projections for this season, and projected next season’s salary cap to reach $87.7MM. It will be both the largest dollar value and the highest percentage raise the salary cap has seen in the last five years combined.

If the projection holds, and the salary cap indeed raises by $4.2MM for the start of next season, it will mark the highest possible percentage (5%) increase allowed under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA. If the league can sustain its current growth, it would not be unreasonable to see the league have a salary cap of more than $100MM by the end of the current decade.

As with any time the salary cap is increased by a substantial margin, it primarily benefits players in contract years and gives breathing room to a majority of the teams in the league. With players such as William Nylander, Jake Guentzel, and Brandon Montour, among others, set to hit unrestricted free agency next offseason, the first major cap increase in the last five years may put them in a position to garner record-breaking contracts.

Aside from players set to hit the free agent market this upcoming summer, players such as Leon Draisaitl, Mitch Marner, and Mikko Rantanen will be eligible for contract extensions, meaning this news bodes well for their earning power, as well. Still, although league salary standards are different for all three, the NHL has quite a ways to go in terms of revenue compared to the MLB, NFL, and NBA.

Nevertheless, it is a positive sign for the league as a whole, which saw a stagnant cap during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, and a mild $4MM increase overall in the cap since the 2018-19 season.

Samuel Girard Enters NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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After leaving the team for personal reasons on Wednesday, the NHL announced that Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Samuel Girard, has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Under the agreement between the two parties, Girard will be away from the team indefinitely and will continue to be paid for however long he is within the program.

The Player Assistance Program is available to all players in the NHL and is a resource to battle mental health, substance abuse, or any/all personal struggles a player may be going through. Given the serious nature of these issues, it would be entirely inappropriate to speculate the reasoning behind Girard’s entry into the program.

However, through his agency (CAA Hockey), Girard gave his own statement regarding his entry into the program:

“I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse. Taking care of your mental health is of the upmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support” (X Link).

In 15 games so far this season for Colorado, Girard has scored one goal and three assists, all while averaging over 20 and a half minutes of ice time per night. Over this last five seasons for the Avalanche, Girard has regularly averaged between 25 and 40 every year, including 22 points in 51 playoff games.

All of us at PHR extend our wishes to Girard that he receives the help he needs and a productive road to recovery.

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