Will Las Vegas Golden Knights be taken seriously by NHL?

The Las Vegas Golden Knights will begin their first season in the fall, but will the NHL take them seriously or will fizzle like the Atlanta Thrashers?

As the new franchise readies itself for the expansion draft, many questions surround its future. Who will Las Vegas take at the expansion draft? Can the Golden Knights continue the quest to keep hockey in the desert? Will the team be taken seriously?

The Pros

Looking at franchises with similar experiences, it can be difficult to tell how successful this new team will be. For instance, two teams that we could discuss are the Minnesota North Stars and the Atlanta Thrashers.

The North Stars had been in Minnesota since 1967 but suffered a decline in attendance and ticket sales. Even Norm Green, who purchased the franchise, claimed that despite the team’s 1991 Cup run, as well as renovations to their arena, they were still suffering from poor turnout.

"“The North Stars had been in Minnesota since 1967 but ultimately lost the support of the community due to several years of poor performance,” Green said."

In turn, Green decided to relocate the team to Dallas, which seemed like a questionable move. Hockey was Minnesota’s sport, and now, their lone franchise was being moved to one of the least hockey-centric states in the country. In Texas it was guns, God, and football — hockey wasn’t even in the conversation.

Green claimed that the Dallas move was “an instant success,” mainly because “Dallas loves winners, and we were bringing a top team that had been in the Stanley Cup Finals just two years previous.”

The team went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1999 and since then, the Stars have been a staple of the community.

Looking at Dallas’ success, Vegas can have a similar storyline. Though hockey is being brought to one of the hottest places in the States, they can still possess a huge fanbase and create a winning franchise. With plenty of popular names on the market, the Golden Knights can build a team that can win, which will make them even more popular.

The Cons

Though Green ended up being right that Dallas would be an excellent hockey market, the same cannot be said for Atlanta. The city was the first place to lose two NHL franchises, and coincidentally, both franchises relocated to Canada (the 1980 Atlanta Flames went to Calgary, and in 2011 the Thrashers to Winnipeg).

Atlanta was rewarded with an expansion team in 1997, and the Time-Warner company, which also owned the Atlanta Hawks, decided to buy the franchise. With Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley leading the team in its early years, they did not necessarily impress and suffered lengthy losing streaks and poor performance. The team was sold to Atlanta Spirit, LLC, in 2003.

Things got worse for the team shortly after when Heatley, along with center Dan Snyder, were involved in a one-car accident. Heatley crashed his Ferrari, which in turn broke his jaw and arm, sprained his wrist and tore his ACL and MCL. Snyder, who was also seriously injured, passed away days later after suffering septic shock.

Through the rest of their time in the NHL, attendance and fan support rapidly declined. The team also continued to suffer from lackluster performance, making the playoffs just once during their 13-year run. Despite the chagrin of fans in 2011, Atlanta found itself losing the franchise to Winnipeg.

From this scenario, it appears that sometimes, a new location doesn’t work for a team, especially if they don’t meet expectations. The Thrashers were expected to be something along the lines of a sequel to the Atlanta Flames saga from the 1980s. However, they did not have the skill-set or cohesion to become that kind of team.

If Vegas cannot reach expectations, and if they fail to impress, they will likely have trouble being taken seriously by the rest of the NHL, and the team could flop. When it comes to Atlanta, there were at least three other expansion teams fans could put faith in — the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets being the others. However, as was the case with the Thrashers in 1999, the Golden Knights will be the only new team, so there is more pressure on their shoulders.

Hope for Hockey in the Desert

Hockey in the desert appears to be in jeopardy of late. The Arizona Coyotes are struggling to find a permanent venue, which could be detrimental to their future. Not only that, but Arizona fails to be one of the stand-out performers in the Pacific Division. With those thoughts in mind, the Coyotes have been involved in many rumors regarding relocation.

Thankfully for Vegas, the Golden Knights have the perfect venue in T-Mobile Arena. In addition to that, they have an ever-growing following. This team appears to be the one that is able to keep the dream of desert hockey alive.

Las Vegas’ Twitter page already has about 75,000 followers and is gaining publicity and support from fans all over. By the same token, and appear excited to finally have an NHL team after years of apparent planning, rumors, and speculation.

As the infant team continues to increase in popularity and brand themselves, they will gain a larger following. Soon enough, they could take the spotlight from Arizona and become the most popular team in the desert.

A similar example can be seen in the NBA and the Oklahoma City Thunder. With no team for the midwest to cling to, the Thunder filled a void that in turn made the team into something fans in the middle of the country could root for.

Perhaps the Knights can fill a similar void.

Why They Should Be Taken Seriously

The Golden Knights have potential to become a top franchise in the NHL and will reach that goal over time. History seems to indicate that they should have no problem collecting a fanbase out west; Los Angeles, San Jose, and Anaheim have huge followings and shows that Vegas has that potential, too.

Not to mention, the Golden Knights are on the path to building a great team at the expansion draft. The future roster lies in the hands of general manager George McPhee. Though the former Capitals GM made some questionable decisions in Washington’s front office, he knows what it takes to build a contending team.

There are too many quality players from each team for McPhee not to build a decent team in the expansion draft. A couple of standouts include Washington goaltender Philipp Grubauer and Anaheim forward Jakob Silfverberg. With so many pieces, the team has a lot to build on, and their roster will surely be stacked.

In addition to the players, a flurry of head coaches are available, including Ken Hitchcock, who completely turned the St. Louis Blues around into a new franchise. Other names include Gerrard Gallant and Jack Capuano.

Overall, the Golden Knights are going to make a big impact. They are joining one of, if not the most, competitive divisions in the league. At the draft, they will turn into a team that combines speed, experience, and ability.

So long as they don’t royally screw up, fans should take this new franchise seriously along with the greater NHL community.