The last time the NHL had an expansion team was in 2021 when the Seattle Kraken became a franchise. This summer there has been some discussion about another expansion team in the near future with a number of cities competing to win that bid, according to Daily Faceoff.
An expanding league is good for the NHL but it creates challenges for the individual teams as there is an expansion draft that is part of the process when the NHL adds a new team. The rules for the last expansion draft was that teams could protect seven forwards, three defenseman, and one goalie or eight skaters regardless of their position and one goalie.