Five years after Seattle was awarded an NHL franchise, the league could be growing once again.

On Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league will open a six-month process to investigate Houston or Austin, Texas, as the 33rd team. And don't be surprised if we get a 34th team soon after.

This is news that's been in the pipeline for years.

Houston is a dynamic sports market that is currently home to NBA, NFL and MLB franchises. The geographic proximity that will bubble up between a Houston (or Austin) team and the Dallas Stars will fit in perfectly with Bettman's regional-rivalry approach to drumming up business in NHL markets.

Of course, Texas is just the start.

This writer believes Bettman and NHL team owners aren't going to be satisfied with just one new team — and the giant pool of money that will come with any expansion squad's expansion fees. Nor will anyone like the competitive imbalance of having 33 teams.

So the real question isn't whether Houston or Austin is getting a team, but rather which other market will get the 34th team.

Will that team be in Phoenix? Atlanta? Kansas City?

It may take another year before we know the answer to that question. By then, imagine how much it will cost to bring in a new team.

On Tuesday, Bettman spoke of a total investment fee of $3.5 billion for an NHL franchise and a new arena in Houston or Austin.

While Bettman added the league would need half a year to decide whether to green-light an expansion team for Houston or Austin, Bettman isn't releasing this news with the intent of declining the bid.

There's too much money — all of which will be split by the 32 team owners, with no expansion fees going to the NHL Players Association – for Bettman to turn down billions in expansion fees.

Some Canadian fans will be disappointed that Quebec City isn't likely to be awarded an expansion team. But the writing has been on the wall for Quebec for a long time.

The league doesn't mind staging a few exhibition games every season in La Belle Province, but if the league had really wanted to house a team in Quebec City, it would've happened by now. Quebec company Quebecor made a bid at the same time the Vegas Golden Knights did but didn't succeed.

Regardless, adding a second team in Texas makes a ton of sense for the NHL. The demographics are great, and there is a history of hockey in Houston that the league could build off of as it cultivates another regional rivalry.

Thus, it feels like it's only a matter of time before Texas has two NHL teams. The league has three teams in the New York City area and three in California. So expanding to Texas is likely to be well worth the investment the NHL will be making in the state. 

It's clear hockey's top league will eventually have 33 or 34 teams. It almost feels too late to turn back now, and the NHL appears ready, willing and able to increase its footprint in North America by growing the game in two new markets.

So, whether or not you like the idea of expansion, you should prepare for it.

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