Las Vegas is getting its first major North American sports franchise as today National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced the National Hockey League unanimously voted to expand to 31 teams, giving birth to a great experiment and opportunity.
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The 30 existing National Hockey League teams have until 5 p.m. ET on June 17, 2017, to submit their protected list and the Las Vegas franchise must submit its selections by 5 p.m. ET on June 20.
Principal owner Bill Foley, a Las Vegas businessman, and his partners will pay a $500 million expansion fee for the franchise. The NHL has not expanded since 2000.
The Las Vegas franchise will begin to populate its roster with an expansion draft prior to the 2017-18 season.
“We’re here because we think this is the right time, the right circumstances and we’re happy to be here”, said Bettman, who shrugged off the idea that Vegas presented a risk.
As for gambling, the issue that has made other pro leagues hesitant to dip a toe into what might be lucrative waters, Bettman said he’s not concerned about possible ill effects. As the city of Las Vegas constantly morphs and shifts, perhaps its first top-level professional sports team can help craft an identity for the permanent residents. The NHL’s postseason awards show, which will be held on Wednesday evening, have been hosted in Las Vegas since 2009.
The team will start play during the 2017-18 season and will be included in the Pacific Division.
As expected, the Las Vegas franchise will play in the Western Conference, with no other changes to the league’s alignment.
Unfortunately the state and volatility of the Canadian dollar undermined the achievement of that objective relative to the Quebec City.
The NHL board of governors is meeting today to vote on whether to expand the league to 31 teams. It looks as if the best bet for that happening would be a relocation, though Bettman said there are now no teams looking to do that.
“The first thing we’re going to do is to establish what the culture is going to be for this team”, Foley said. “Wasn’t easy was it?” said Foley. “We’ll leave no stone unturned in our dedication, in our pursuit of hockey for Las Vegas, not just for our team, but for the community”.
While the concern with the Canadian dollar is very real and the geographic imbalance is definitely a concern, it’s hard to say that adding two teams instead of one represents any more work for anyone at the league level. We’ve got labour peace, the salary cap’s working well. Minor league hockey was played there, and Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker played youth hockey in Las Vegas. It is guaranteed to have no lower than the sixth overall pick and will own the third selection in each subsequent round.
The committee also deferred an expansion proposal from Quebec, which has been without a hockey team since the Nordiques left in 1995.
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The board of governors also made a decision to defer Quebec City’s bid, despite the city having a brand new arena as part of its application to become the NHL’s 31st franchise.
