▶ Sept. 28, 1999: Then-Mayor Oscar Goodman meets with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at league headquarters in NY to discuss Las Vegas one day joining the NHL.
Advertisement
New franchise owner Bill Foley, left, shakes hands with Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, during a NHL news conference announcing Las Vegas’ first professional sports franchise at the Encore Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
Prospective Las Vegas owner Bill Foley will have to pay a $500-million United States expansion fee to the league.
Vegas is in the middle of the Mojave Desert, but it has grown as a hockey town over the past 20 years since local youngsters like Jason Zucker, now with the Minnesota Wild, had to practise on one of the three rinks in town. We’re going to get your kids in the right school, we’re going to make sure that they have activities.
“Of course we have (disappointment) just like the fans in Quebec and Quebec City, but at the same time we understand the process”.
We think the franchise will be in great shape with Bill Foley as the owner. That guarantees Las Vegas a top-six pick in the first round, and the team will select third in all subsequent rounds.
Sports leagues once rejected Las Vegas outright because of concerns about corruption from Vegas’ massive sports betting economy, but the NHL and the NFL no longer share those worries, with Bettman calling his sport “less susceptible” to gambling interests because of the small volume of bets placed on hockey. Although Bettman said there are no plans for existing teams to relocate, it’s likely the National Hockey League quietly told Quebecor, the group behind the Quebec bid, to wait until ownership and arena situations are settled in Carolina and Arizona, to use two obvious examples.
Las Vegas may not buy out any of the players selected in the Expansion Draft earlier than the summer following its first season. The Canadian dollar has been struggling as of late (78 cents to $1 USA dollar).
The NHL board of governors is meeting today to vote on whether to expand the league to 31 teams.
Incidentally, the team-run website changed its URL from VegasWantsHockey.com to VegasIsHockey.com after the official announcement was made. “It’s like 120 degrees here, I think”.
How will the expansion draft work for Las Vegas? I won’t spend time here talking hockey, but as SB Nation eventually figures out a Las Vegas hockey blog, I’ll likely find myself spending some time there!
Minimum players at each position: 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.
Foley uses Black Knights as one of his company names as a tribute to his love of West Point.
The struggling loonie is partly to blame, says National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman, for the decision to defer Quebec City’s application. The arena, which seats 17,500 for hockey, was built entirely with private money by MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owners of the Los Angeles Kings. “I’m an Army guy, but maybe that’s not the right name for the team at this time”.
Advertisement
Bettman called Quebecor, which officially submitted the bid to return the team to Quebec City, an “outstanding” league partner. On Wednesday, the league announced that it has deferred the expansion application of Quebecor and its ownership group in Quebec City.
