NEW YORK — There aren’t any active efforts to bring an National Hockey League team to Houston.

That’s the word from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during a meeting Friday with members of the Associated Press Sports Editors.

“I don’t think there’s anything active right now with the Rockets’ ownership in terms of bringing an NHL team to Houston,” Bettman said. “Houston’s now the fourth-largest city in the United States. If there were ever to be a team there, unless there’s a new arena, Mr. (Tilman) Fertitta would control the entry point. But as of right now, there’s nothing for anybody to focus on.”

When he was introduced as the Rockets’ owner in October 2017, Fertitta said he’d consider bringing an NHL franchise to Houston either as owner or in his role as Toyota Center landlord if the numbers worked out.

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"I would put an NHL team here tomorrow," Fertitta said then. "This one has got to work. But I'd love to have the other dates in the building. Do I want to see Toyota Center filled up 300 nights a year? Definitely. We'll do whatever we can do, but whatever we do has to make sense.”

Fertitta met with Bettman a month later and tweeted, "As I've mentioned before, I'm very interested in the possibility of bringing the NHL to Houston, but it will have to be a deal that works for my organization, the City, fans of the NHL throughout the region and the NHL Board of Governors. We are in the very early stage of evaluating what opportunities may exist but look forward to a thorough process."

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Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, the chairman of the NHL’s board of governors, is bullish on Houston, telling Boston radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub in October 2018 that “Clearly the one area that is missing is Houston because that’s a great city.”

Houston has not had a pro hockey team since the American Hockey League's Aeros moved to Des Moines, Iowa, after the 2012-13 season.