LAS VEGAS — Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston said Wednesday that he would welcome a second NHL team in Texas, with the league weighing an expansion franchise in Houston or Austin. Johnston spoke at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas, in an availability reported by The Athletic.
The Stars have been the only NHL franchise in the state since relocating from Minnesota in 1993. More eyes on the game and more markets in the league are what a Houston or Austin team would bring for Johnston.
“Being in Dallas, our thing is ‘Texas Hockey,’ so it would be a little different having to share it,” Johnston said, smiling. “I think it’s great, though. Just getting more eyes and getting different markets into the game is great for the game. Selfishly, you want to keep all of Texas for yourself, meaning the Stars, but I think it would obviously create a pretty cool rivalry.”
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said at the same tour that the Texas franchise is not a done deal on the league’s side or on the side of the Friedkin family, which holds a nonbinding term sheet with the NHL. The league’s board of governors meets Sept. 22.
Gary Bettman On The Stars’ Territorial Rights In Texas
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league’s six-month evaluation of Houston and Austin on June 23, after a board of governors meeting in New York. The prospective owner is the family of Houston billionaire Dan Friedkin. Bettman put the family’s investment at roughly $3.5 billion, covering the expansion fee and a new arena, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The Stars do not hold territorial rights in Texas that would stop the league from placing a team in Houston or Austin, Bettman said that day.
“My guess is they’ll think it’s good for hockey in Texas,” Bettman said.
Then-Stars CEO Jim Lites told the Houston Chronicle in 2018 that the Minnesota North Stars looked at Houston first before landing in Dallas. The North Stars could not reach an agreement with the Houston Rockets to share The Summit, Lites said.
The Texas Stars, Dallas’ American Hockey League affiliate, have played in Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin, since 2009. Before them, the Austin Ice Bats played from 1996 to 2008, according to the Chronicle.
Wyatt Johnston’s 45-Goal Season And Contract Through 2029-30
Last season, Johnston had 45 goals, 41 assists, and 86 points in 82 games. The goal and point totals were both career highs. His 27 power-play goals led the NHL. The total also set a franchise record, breaking the mark of 22 set in 1986-87 when the team played in Minnesota.
The Stars drafted Johnston 23rd overall in 2021. Through four NHL seasons, he has not missed a game, playing all 82 each year. He has 134 goals, 129 assists, and 263 points in 328 career games.
He is entering the second season of a five-year, $42 million contract that carries an $8.4 million cap hit and runs through 2029-30. Daly had previously targeted 2029-30 for a Texas team’s first season. On Wednesday, he said 2030-31 would also work.
Stars training camp opens Sept. 17 at Comerica Center in Frisco, according to the team. Dallas opens its preseason Sept. 19 at the St. Louis Blues, with puck drop at 6 p.m. CT.
