It’s official: Las Vegas is getting an NHL expansion team for the 2017-18 season
By Nick Tylwalk
Get ready for hockey in the desert … again.
Las Vegas is about to become a major league sports city.
Though an NFL franchise or two has sniffed around about relocating to SIn City, the NHL is beating them to the punch. An expansion team will set up shop in Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season thanks to a vote held today by the league’s Board of Governors.
As reported by ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, there was apparently no dissent:
Bettman announces Board approval of expansion team to Las Vegas for 2017-18 season; says vote was unanimous
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2016
The as yet unnamed new Las Vegas franchise will call the gorgeous T-Mobile Arena home. The NHL currently has 30 teams with 16 in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the West, but it appears the expansion franchise will simply slot in place in the most logical division.
The Las Vegas club will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. There will be no other changes to the NHL’s alignment.
— NHL (@NHL) June 22, 2016
Whether the NHL really needs to add a new team is sure to be the subject of much debate over the months to come. The league last expanded in 2000, when it added a pair of franchises, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild.
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Obviously, in terms of climate, Las Vegas is an unusual site for a top level hockey team, but the NHL has made a commitment in recent years to making the sport work in nontraditional markets, including bending over backwards to keep the Coyotes in Arizona. It remains to be seen if Las Vegas residents will flock to hockey, but the prospect of the NHL team as the only major league franchise in that city will likely help.
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