NHL expansion fees have come a long way since the humble beginnings of the Ottawa Senators. When the Sens entered the league in the early '90s, the cost for an entire franchise was reported at the time as $50 million. Today, Auston Matthews will make that over the next three and a half seasons. Analyst John Shannon said this week [https://x.com/NHLRumourReport/status/1952839355908673944] he believes the NHL will soon become a 34-team league, with two more franchises added within the next five years. Sportico reported [https://www.sportico.com/leagues/hockey/2025/nhl-expansion-team-fee-2-billion-1234858174/] in late June that the new NHL expansion fee is expected to be a staggering $2 billion. To put that in perspective, that’s 40 times more than the Senators paid in 1992. And it’s 1,000 times more than in 1967, when the modern NHL first expanded beyond the Original Six. THN Ottawa site editor Steve Warne and co-host Gregg Kennedy discusses Carter Yakemchuk's NHL hopes of making the team. That 1967 expansion doubled the league’s size, adding six new teams: the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues. The entry fee? Just $2 million per team. In 1970, the NHL welcomed the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks, with their expansion fee jumping to $6 million each. Two more teams joined in 1972–73: the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Flames. The fee stayed at $6 million, partly due to the NHL’s competition with the new rival league, the WHA. The Islanders, though, paid a little extra — $5 million — for stepping into Rangers territory. In 1974–75, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts joined the league, again paying $6 million. The WHA was still around, and the NHL didn’t want to push its luck. By 1979, the WHA stopped being a problem because, well, it stopped being a league. Four of its six remaining teams joined the NHL for $7.5 million each: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and the original Winnipeg Jets. The next true expansion wouldn’t happen until 1991–92, when the San Jose Sharks paid $45 million to join the league. Enter our conquering heroes. Five Ottawa Senators Who Wouldn't Look Out Of Place On The Ring of Honour [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bb170ca4-df3e-4642-82e6-91e419171a6f.webp] Five Ottawa Senators Who Wouldn't Look Out Of Place On The Ring of Honour The Ottawa Senators' Ring of Honour was established to recognize players and team personnel who served the organization with distinction but don’t quite fit into the categories of team jersey retirement or the Hockey Hall of Fame. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/five-ottawa-senators-who-wouldn-t-look-out-of-place-on-the-ring-of-honour] A year later, the Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning got going. Ottawa’s expansion fee was $50 million (or $45 million depending on your source), which was money they didn’t have. Owner Bruce Firestone and his team smartly told the NHL everything it wanted to hear, then scrambled to raise the funds and build a rink after the fact. The next season, the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim joined, each paying $50 million. The Nashville Predators joined in 1998–99, paying $80 million. The Atlanta Thrashers came next in 1999–2000, paying the same. Then came the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in 2000–01, also at $80 million apiece. The league growth then remained inactive for a long period, but they made up for lost time in 2016, suddenly charging Vegas $500 million. In 2018, Seattle was awarded the 32nd franchise, set to begin play in 2021–22. The expansion fee? $650 million. So there it is — your super brief, somewhat random history of NHL expansion in the modern era. As for the next expansion team, Shannon thinks Atlanta might get another shot, despite the previous failures of the Flames and Thrashers. Both teams eventually moved to Canada — the Flames to Calgary, and the Thrashers to Winnipeg. Shannon also suggests Houston or Phoenix as possible destinations. Unless you're a fan in one of those potential markets, most NHL fans aren’t clamouring for more teams. Expansion waters down the product, and tracking 32 teams is already exhausting for those who even try. That’s part of why no major pro sports league in North America has yet to go beyond that number. But it's coming. Now, as we look back to Ottawa’s entry into the league, it’s worth remembering that the franchise was awarded in 1990, just as John Ziegler’s time as commissioner was winding down. Ziegler left in 1992, and it’s more than fair to wonder: would Ottawa have ever made it onto Gary Bettman’s NHL expansion radar once he took over in 1993? There have been eight expansion teams during his tenure, with apparently two more on the way, and Canada hasn't been part of any of it. And now, with the reported franchise fee going from $650 million to $2 billion (USD), how many owners would now be lining up to put a team in Ottawa for $2.7 billion Canadian? We didn't realize it at the time, but if the league had rejected Ottawa in 1990, there probably wasn't going to be a "next time" to fall back on. The Sens got in just under the wire. By Steve Warne The Hockey News Ottawa [http://thn.com/ottawa] This article originally appeared on The Hockey News website: Next NHL Expansion Fee May Be 40 Times More Than The Ottawa Senators Paid [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/next-nhl-expansion-fee-may-be-40-times-more-than-the-ottawa-senators-paid] More Sens Articles: The Ottawa Senators' 2025-26 Lineup Is Probably Already Set [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/the-ottawa-senators-2025-26-roster-is-probably-already-set] Should Batherson Have Been Considered For Team Canada's Orientation Camp? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/should-ottawa-senators-winger-drake-batherson-have-been-considered-for-team-canada-s-orientation-camp] Mark Stone Jokes That It Wasn't Always Easy Playing On Brady Tkachuk's Line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/former-ottawa-senator-mark-stone-reveals-why-it-wasn-t-always-easy-playing-on-brady-tkachuk-s-line] 2018 World Junior Trial Ends: Former Senator Alex Formenton Found Not Guilty [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/2018-world-junior-trial-ends-former-ottawa-senator-alex-formenton-found-not-guilty-of-sexual-assault] Croatia's NHL Trailblazer: Meet Sens Prospect Bruno Idžan [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/croatia-s-nhl-trailblazer-the-story-of-ottawa-senators-prospect-bruno-idzan]
