Elliotte Friedman just put Gary Bettman's expansion push under a much brighter spotlight, with Tuesday shaping up as a revealing day for the NHL.
The league's Board of Governors meets Tuesday in New York, and Friedman says the Houston-Austin expansion conversation could expose just how much resistance exists among NHL owners.
That matters because Texas is already far beyond the rumor stage. The NHL entered a six-month evaluation process with Dan Friedkin's family in June to explore putting a 33rd franchise in either Houston or Austin.
Gary Bettman said at the time that the Friedkin family's potential investment would be approximately $3.5 billion, including the expansion fee and the cost of a new arena. Both Houston and Austin would require a new building.
But the door was never fully open. Bettman acknowledged in June that there had been no formal vote or informal poll of the governors, leaving one massive question hanging over the process.
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Now Friedman is pointing directly at it: some owners may not be sold.
The NHL could get its first real expansion test
Speaking on 32 Thoughts, Friedman said reports of opposition surfaced when the Houston-Austin idea was first announced. His focus now is whether that resistance carries enough weight inside Tuesday's meeting to matter.
That turns what could have been another routine expansion update into something much more interesting. The NHL isn't simply choosing between Houston and Austin. It may first need to determine whether enough governors want another franchise at all.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly added another layer earlier this month, stressing that the Texas project is not a completed deal on either side and that the Board of Governors still needs to be convinced.
That makes Tuesday a pressure point.
No final expansion decision is expected at this meeting, with the league's original six-month evaluation window still running. But the internal temperature around the room could tell the NHL plenty about what comes next.
Houston and Austin have dominated the latest expansion discussion because the Friedkin process is further along than the league's conversations involving Atlanta and Arizona.
And if Friedman's warning proves meaningful, the biggest development Tuesday might not be which Texas city is ahead.
It could be whether Bettman actually has the room behind him.
Will NHL owners ultimately approve a 33rd franchise in Texas?
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