Why Atlanta over Quebec? Insider speculates reason behind next NHL expansion team being American over Canadian

The rumored NHL expansion has been all the buzz in the hockey world. Over the last few days various news outlets have been stating that the league could soon expand to 33 or 34 teams in the near future.

Numerous names have been floated around with regards to the NHL expansion. Quebec City has been named as one of the likely targets for the same. But according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, it's more likely that a team from the United States lands up with NHL's newest expansion team:

"The (expansion) is coming. And it's because the NHL feels that compared to the NBA, and Major League Baseball and the NFL, there's places in the United States where they can still add more teams. And I think the sport as a whole feels that way."

One name being floated around is Atlanta. With the city being the ninth-largest metropolitan city of the United States, the NHL is likely to think that it can serve as a bigger market compared to Quebec which has an approximate population of one million residents.

Atlanta eyeing third attempt at NHL expansion

Atlanta is no stranger to the NHL. The city based out of the East Coast, has had two NHL teams in the past, namely, the Atlanta Flames (1972-1980) and the Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2011).

The Thrashers later went on relocate and be rebranded as the modern-day Winnipeg Jets. Due to major financial losses and constant ownership tussles, the team was had to wrap up their latest chapter in Atlanta.

Times change though and it seems that the NHL might as well make its foray back to Atlanta. While Houston has been ramping up its efforts to make itself a contender and Quebec also eyeing a potential expansion spot, it'll be interesting to see which city the NHL decides to target going forward.