NHL approves Las Vegas expansion team [View all]
Source: CBC (Canada)
Posted: Jun 22, 2016 3:08 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 22, 2016 7:06 PM ET
The NHL is officially rolling the dice on Las Vegas.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league's board of governors has accepted an expansion bid from Las Vegas with the new team to begin play in the 2017-18 season.
He said Wednesday's vote was unanimous.
"We think this is a tremendously exciting opportunity, not just for Las Vegas, but for the league," Bettman said. "This expansion comes at a time when our game is more competitive than ever, ownership is stronger than ever, the player base is more talented than ever and the business, and the future opportunities for the business, are greater than ever."
The board also decided to defer Quebec City's bid, despite the city having a brand new arena as part of its application to become the 31st NHL franchise. Bettman said the fluctuation of the Canadian dollar and the league's geographical imbalance — there are currently 16 teams in the Eastern Conference compared to 14 in the West — were factors that worked against Quebec City's bid.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-expansion-las-vegas-1.3647754
What a crock of shit! Arizona, The Sequel. And the reason Quebec City (which actually gets snow and ice in winter!) got the shaft has nothing to do with the reasons given in this article. If there are follow longtime hockey fans here, they know exactly what I mean when I say Eric Lindros!
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