It's official. The NHL is coming to Las Vegas. One of the four major sports was going to establish a franchise in Vegas eventually, and it's the NHL that got there first. The move was brilliant. And the gamble is well worth it (c'mon, you know there had to be a Vegas pun in there somewhere). Vegas finally has a team of its own, and it's a hockey team. Don't underestimate the importance of that down the road.
The NHL did its due diligence, and they wouldn't be going all in if they hadn't. There was a concern over whether there would be a market for a pro sports team in a market already saturated with nighttime entertainment options out the wazoo. Well, the 14,000 season ticket deposits emphatically answered that question. And the brand new T-Mobile Arena, which is located just off the world-famous Strip, is absolutely gorgeous. It was built with the NHL in mind, so unlike the Barclays Center, it's going to be a great place to watch a hockey game.
That enthusiasm doesn't surprise me. Las Vegas is the largest city in the country that doesn't have a team of its own. Yes, tourism is a huge industry in Las Vegas. But there are also 2.1 million locals. They've never had a team of their own (the Triple-A 51s don't count). Now they do. That's huge.
Those 41 hockey games aren't exactly going to hurt Las Vegas' biggest industry, either. You think fans of other teams aren't going to jump at the chance to go to their team's road game in Vegas? Where would you rather spend a couple days in the middle of January? Las Vegas or Winnipeg? Not a hard decision. And these visiting fans will need somewhere to stay. They'll obviously spend plenty of time in the casinos, too.
You can see why the NHL was eager to jump on the Las Vegas market. It's been so ripe for a pro team for so long, but the leagues have stayed away because of the gambling connections. While those fears are legitimate, they'll figure out a way around them. Maybe it'll mean you can't bet on NHL games. Whatever it is, it'll be a small concession. They wanted hockey as much as the NHL wanted them, so it's a small price to pay to get it done.
For its part, the NHL is going to do everything it can to make sure the Las Vegas team succeeds. Immediately. It's important that they do. Because the NHL's southern experiment has only drawn mixed results. Tampa Bay and Anaheim have worked out, but Arizona went bankrupt and Atlanta moved. Las Vegas is definitely a risk. And they need it to pay off. That's why they're giving Vegas one player from every team in the expansion draft. That's why they're only adding one team instead of two.
Of course, 31 teams isn't going to be sustainable for long and the NHL is eventually going to add a 32nd team. But they're being cautious with it. They want to get Vegas off the ground and running before bringing Quebec into the fold. Well, that and there are still some logistics with Quebec that need to be worked out.
All of the reasons for tabling Quebec's expansion application make sense. The Canadian dollar is weak in comparison right now. For Quebec's return to make financial sense, they have to do it in the right economic situation. That's one of the reasons why the original Nordiques moved to Denver in the first place.
They also don't think it's fair to take two players off of every other team's roster. From a competitive standpoint, that is the absolute right thing to do. There are a number of restrictions on who can and can't be protected, but with each team only allowed to protect eight players, the Las Vegas roster isn't going to look like your typical expansion roster. They're going to be at least competitive. But if Quebec was joining the league, too, each team would be losing two pretty good players. Depending on which two players those are, that could be a big difference.
Mostly, the NHL didn't want to add a 17th Eastern team. They slightly addressed their imbalance by putting Las Vegas in the Pacific Division, but with Quebec still the most likely place to get the other team, the 17-15 split will still be a problem. Of course, this is a problem of the NHL's own making, and it's one that has an easy solution. Tell the Red Wings to suck it up and go back to the Central Division. Frankly, they never should've been moved to the East in the first place.
Quebec's bid was tabled, not rejected. No one knows what kind of a time frame they'll be on now, but, unless Seattle comes out of the blue with an expansion bid (which they won't, since their priority is getting the Sonics back), Quebec City remains the most likely candidate for the NHL's 32nd franchise. The NHL all but said that when they praised the bid and arena. That's why they haven't closed the door on a return to Quebec City. Even the NHL acknowledges that this is the most likely scenario.
For Quebec to work, though, they'll need to be with the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division. And the only way to achieve that would be moving the Red Wings to the Central Division, which is now the only seven-team division.
But that's a discussion for another day. Today is about Las Vegas. Their owner went to West Point and evidently wants to name them the "Black Knights," but I bet Chicago will object to the "Black" part for obvious reasons, so my money's on the compromise name "Knights." Whatever they end up naming the team, this is a new day. Las Vegas is finally a Major League town.
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