Expansion and relocation is one of the hottest topics in the hockey world right now and the city being talked about right now is hot all the time.
Houston is the newest city in the rumour mill after Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta expressed his interest in bringing an NHL team to Houston.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, it's time to take a step back in time because at one time, Houston had a professional hockey team and Gordie Howe played for it.
There have been multiple hockey leagues that have tried to challenge the NHL, but the most successful was the WHA (World Hockey Association) which ran from 1972 to 1979.
The WHA was successful because they were able to offer the best players more money than NHL owners would at the time, so big name players like Howe, Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich, and Gerry Cheevers all decided to take their talents to the WHA.
Howe played for the team we're focussing on, the Houston Aeros, for four seasons and the Aeros were around from 1972 to 1978. They won two Avco Cups while Howe was on the team, but he actually wasn't the franchise's all-time leading scorer, Larry Lund was.
Lund never played in the NHL, but he recorded 426 points during his career with Houston. Unfortunately for the city of Houston, the Aeros weren't one of the four teams that joined the NHL after the merger in 1979.
The Houston Aeros did return in 1994, but it was as part of the IHL (International Hockey League), but when the IHL folded, they joined the AHL as the affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
In 2013, the team relocated to Iowa and the Aeros haven't been back since, but with the latest news, fans now have a little hope of another Aeros return.
(H/T: Hockey Reference)
