Hell yeah!
We got us a team!
I’m pulling for them to be the Las Vegas Knights and I hope they get a cool ECHL/AHL style logo!
How is this going to work with the league? Can you have an odd (and prime!) numbered amount of teams? Doesn’t that screw with the scheduling/divisions and stuff
It works fine. Hockey doesn’t have a daily schedule nor a once-a-week schedule. Teams play 2-3 times a week on almost any day. There is seldom a day when every team is playing a game. Scheduling will not be a problem.
There are currently 4 division in hockey with 8 8 7 7 teams. After Las Vegas there will be 8 8 8 7. Vegas will go either into the Central division with Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets, or the Pacific division with Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. I would think the latter except I don’t know where the potential 32 team is going to come from. If Seattle, for example, is a strong candidate, they may save the Pacific division for it. If Quebec is the likely 32 team, it would fit better into the Central or go into the Metropolitan Division making Detroit or Columbus a likely mover to the Central. This would make the Pacific the right choice for Vegas.
Looks like they’re fine with an odd number of teams for now.
You will regret having the Maloofs involved in the organization. Just talk to any Sacramento Kings fan. They’ll find some way to screw the city out of money and then sell the team to somebody in another city.
The Las Vegas Wise Guys.
The Las Vegas Snitches.
The Las Vegas Why the Fuck are we Playing Ice Hockey in the Middle of the Deserts.
The Las Vegas Pornslappers.
The Las Vegas Stayers …
because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
That may be, but…
The Maloofs own 15% of the team at the moment. I don’t see them making any big decisions or having much influence in the foreseeable future. Plus, even if they have influence, you have to remember that they live here in Las Vegas, own and manage the Palms casino here in Las Vegas, contribute to UNLV, etc. In other words, they have ties to Las Vegas that they did not and never will have with Sacramento. The Kings were never more than a cool business thing that they were able to do (because they had the money), they were never something the Maloofs ever gave a real crap about.
The Las Vegas Black Jacks.
The Las Vegas Line.
I’m reminded of a recent trip to Las Vegas, when I was speaking with somebody on a nearby barstool. I had mentioned that I was Canadian, but wasn’t happy with the idea of an NHL team in Las Vegas; to which he he said, “But as a Canadian, wouldn’t you like to go to a hockey game while you’re in Vegas?”
Actually, no. If I’m in Vegas; I’d rather see a show, play some games, and do things I can’t do at home; than go to a hockey game. I’ll continue to go to Las Vegas, but it won’t be to attend live hockey games.
They will be called the Las Vegas Black Knights, as per the owner’s explicitly stated desire.
The franchise will almost certainly be a miserable failure that will be largely supported by the Canadian and traditional U.S. franchises, just like Phoenix.
Having an odd number of teams is quite irrelevant. The NHL has had odd numbers of teams before - from 1978 to 1991 there was always an odd number - and it never mattered. Odd/even doesn’t matter in either the NHL or NBA (which has also had periods of time with an odd number.) It would be impossible in baseball, and difficult and silly in football.
In the tradition of using collective nouns for team names, like Miami Heat, LA Galaxy, and whatnot, I propose: The Vegas Mob.
1999-2000-2001 there was an odd number of teams in The NFL
And I’d rather see it shortened to just Knights, since Black Knights is a) stupid, b) avails itself to racists too easily and c) it doesn’t roll off the tongue at all.
The whole imagery is stupid as fuck with “black knights”, too. It should just be the Las Vegas Knights (that way it’s a pun as well!).
ETA: Yes, Las Vegas White Knights would be at least equally as stupid and problematic.
Mr. (ahem) Bettman’s not-quite-skirting-around on the questions about betting was pretty meh - offering some specious tidbit about hockey being a much smaller betting concern than the other Big Sports, which, while being so obviously true, still shows that he truly doesn’t have a clue to what extent it will definitely grow once the Las Vegas Well-Intentioned’s season gets under way.
Some wise ass suggested they should call themselves the Nordiques, since they’ll probably be heading to Quebec before long.
Another franchise will beat them to Quebec.
Looks like it’s whittled down to three choices now. I rank them:
- Nighthawks or Night Hawks
- Desert Hawks
- Red Hawks
But I’m wondering why they don’t just go with Las Vegas Nights and use a knight for the mascot?
ETA: He could be Sir Vegas!
Taking a play from the CFL? Why does the league need two teams named the Hawks? And there’s a team already nicknamed the Desert Dogs. Oh and what colour are the flappy bits on that bird? Why Red Wings of course!
Those choices are stupid!
I missed this one when it was posted, as I was on vacation at the time.
Nevada law allows Bettman to request (actually, demand is more appropriate, as the request has to be accepted) that no Nevada sports book be allowed to accept bets on the Vegas team, or on any game played in Vegas such as the All-Star Game. This is exactly what David Stern did when the NBA had its All-Star Game in Las Vegas.
Also note that the Silverton casino does not take any NHL bets, as owner Ed Roski is also a part owner of the LA Kings. Other casinos have similar rules, but I think those are limited only to the teams where the conflict exists; for example, when the Maloofs owned the Sacramento Kings, the Palms would not take bets on Kings’ games, but would accept other NBA bets. The Silverton is the only one I know of where the restriction applies to the entire league.
Wow, those are some pretty shitty hockey team names. You better hope he picks something better.