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Calgary Flames At Las Vegas NHL Expansion Team, Maybe?

By Len Nunes |

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Bettman and the NHL are in some way, shape or form looking into a Las Vegas NHL expansion team.  Do I believe the NHL belongs in Las Vegas?  NOPE.  Why don’t I believe it belongs in Las Vegas?  Much like Celine Dion and Def Leppard, I feel the NHL will run its due course and be on the move sooner than later.

That said, I still figure the NHL will not be able to resist the lure of being the first North American Big 4 to enter Las Vegas.  You can bet your bottom dollar the NBA, NHL and MLB will be watching very closely (see what I did there?).

Thanks to the wonderful world of social media, in this case Twitter, I was able to ask a few questions to an account called Vegas Wants The NHL (@Vegas NHL).  Maybe give the account a follow, one way or the other it will help to keep you informed.

Here’s the shakedown of the Q&A session which featured publicly asked questions and privately asked questions.

  1. With so many to-do options in Las Vegas, sell me on how the NHL thrives in your market?  Vegas already has a long hockey history with other leagues.  There are no other major sporting leagues in Vegas, and not everyone is a gambler/alcoholic, we want entertainment as well.
  2. If I go to Vegas, I think of all my options of shows and concerts. I honestly don’t know if stopping for a game is on my list.  Thoughts?  Yes, but many fans of others teams(Such as in California) will make an excuse of coming to Vegas for games.
  3. A fear is that the NHL will lose it’s “novelity”, would your base endure a slow start?  I personally know many NHL fans in Vegas who would be understanding of a slow start, new fans would be accommodating.
  4.  Arizona & Florida get a lot of “snowbird” travellers who catch games, how important do you feel that is to Vegas?  What is most important is getting fans from VEGAS to go to the game on a nightly basis.
  5. last question – Do you hope for an expansion team or a moved team? A fresh start is best to make the most successful team in Vegas, the baggage of a moved team will only hurt the “process”.
  6. last thoughts – Learn from the Seals(and other failed teams) don’t become the Seals.

Here’s a question to you the reader, if you were to go to Vegas, would you stop and catch an NHL game?

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