The Ontario Hockey League is mulling potential expansion and whether Chatham-Kent fits the bill for a new franchise.
Municipal officials met with OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford last week to discuss what the league is looking for in a new expansion team.
“They want more teams in the league. It’s a very successful league, and so we could be potentially part of it,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff. “We agreed that we would continue communications.”
Talks between the municipality and OHL representatives touched on several topics, including the next steps CK can take to improve its candidacy.
Canniff noted that there is one element holding Chatham-Kent back.
“Chatham-Kent has long been looked at for an OHL team. We check the boxes on virtually everything except for one thing — an arena,” she said. “The arenas we have are old, and we need to replace [them].”
Chatham-Kent Council formally adopted a Parks and Recreation Master Plan back in December 2025, which included plans for a multi-use recreation complex with a minimum of two ice pads. However, construction and funding of the project have yet to be approved.
The OHL currently consists of 20 teams, including 17 in Ontario and three in the United States. While there have been several team relocations over the years, the league hasn’t added an expansion franchise since 1998.
