NHL expansion is now confirmed by Bill Daly and he opens up about a new Canadian team

Bill Daly put it plainly Friday in Munich. Houston is still the priority for the NHL's next franchise, with Austin sitting as the fallback plan.

The Deputy Commissioner sat down with The Hockey News during the league's European Media Tour stop and didn't dance around the Texas question.

"We have agreed on the framework of a transaction, and we're all working to get toward that," Daly said.

He's targeting definitive agreements as early as December this year. Puck drop for the new franchise could come as soon as the 2029-30 season, with the deal closing in early 2029.

Talks with the Houston group actually started years back and were originally Houston-only. Austin only entered the conversation later, as a secondary option.

Daly said the league isn't "hung up on the numbers" of adding one team or two, pointing back to how Vegas and Seattle each came in as standalone expansions.

Daly says Canadian ownership interest is running cold

Then came the part that stings north of the border. Asked directly about expansion interest in Canada, Daly didn't soften it.

"I'd say the interest in terms of owning and operating a franchise in Canada is less vibrant than it is for some markets in the United States," he said.

He went further, calling bona fide interest from Canadian cities "fairly low" and noting the league already sits in most of the country's major markets.

Quebec City remains the one name that keeps surfacing. Daly acknowledged the league still likes the building and the passion for hockey there, dating back to the same era Vegas got its bid approved.

But liking a city and having a buyer for it are two different problems. Daly said there's no ownership group currently stepping up to actually purchase and operate a Quebec City franchise.

"If and when that were to happen, that's something that obviously we would evaluate at the time," he said, before adding he's not convinced anyone else shares that vision right now.

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It's a strange split when you think about it. Toronto still has just one team while New York carries three, and Daly's comments suggest that gap isn't closing anytime soon.

The math right now clearly favors American ownership groups with real capital and real cities ready to move. Canada has the passion, sure, but passion doesn't sign a purchase agreement.

For a country that treats the NHL like a birthright, hearing "fairly low" interest from the league's own Deputy Commissioner is going to sting a lot of fans. Whether Quebec City ever finds its buyer remains completely open.