It’s official: Seattle has been approved to be the NHL’s 32nd team, and will begin playing in the 2021-22 season. They will join the most recent expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, in the Pacific Division, while the Arizona Coyotes will move to the Central.
What does this mean for Dallas Stars fans? First of all, one more team means one more team to beat them out for a playoff spot, or conversely one more team to potentially select above them in the NHL Entry Draft. But the most notable impact will be that the Stars will lose a player to Seattle in a 2021 Expansion Draft, much like the Stars lost Cody Eakin to Vegas in 2017.