Players high on Las Vegas’ attempts to land NHL franchise

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L.E. Baskow

Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL, addresses the crowd as Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Black Knight and FIS, listens during the “Let’s Bring Hockey to Las Vegas!” press conference Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, at MGM Grand Ballroom.

Wed, Jun 24, 2015 (2 a.m.)

Bill Foley Talks to Hockey Fans at Sunset Station

Bill Foley, the businessman trying to bring an NHL team to Las Vegas, answers questions for fans Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at Sunset Station. Launch slideshow »

Before a reporter was finished asking the question to Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the rookie quickly answered with a response that seems common among his hockey-playing peers.

Most seem on board with Las Vegas getting a National Hockey League expansion franchise.

“Of course, this is Las Vegas. It’s a really cool place,” Ekblad said Tuesday at the MGM Grand. “I don’t think any player would say no to coming to Las Vegas.”

Hockey is setting up shop this week at the MGM, including today’s Board of Governors meeting and NHL Awards. The Board of Governors, the league’s 30 owners who will ultimately decide whether Las Vegas gets a franchise, isn’t expected to decide our fate today. That reportedly won’t happen until September, at the earliest.

But with a season-ticket drive netting deposit money for more than 13,000 tickets and the MGM-AEG arena project behind New York-New York nearing completion, businessman Bill Foley’s dream of bringing hockey to Southern Nevada seems realistic.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was in Las Vegas in February to support Foley’s group when it launched the season-ticket drive, won’t speak until today. And there’s no guarantee he’ll mention Las Vegas or expansion — Seattle or another city could be paired with us to join the league for the 2017-18 season, with each paying a $500 million expansion fee.

NHL players, though, love the idea of having hockey on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Why wouldn’t it work?” said Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. “It is one of the biggest entertainment places in the word, for one. It would be exciting. A lot of people would come down from Canada and other cold-weather cities" for games.

Not only is Foley eyeing a franchise for Las Vegas, he has visions of winning a Stanley Cup within seven years. That could seem too optimistic with an expansion roster, but players at the MGM for the NHL Awards say there are plenty of talented players who could thrive in a roster spot on a startup team.

“As a player, the more jobs the better,” said Andrew Ladd of the Winnipeg Jets. “You don’t want to dilute the product, but there are a lot of guys out there that can step in and fill the void.”

The Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have combined to win five of the past six Stanley Cups. During that span, 28 of the league's 30 teams have made the playoffs. Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers have missed out on the postseason.

With most struggling teams not struggling for long, a Las Vegas team, just like Foley envisions, could be competitive immediately.

“Look at our league now: The disparity is so small because everyone is good,” Burns said. “It is so tight.”

Of course, this all hinges on rumors and hopes of a franchise being awarded to Las Vegas finally happening.

“Guys would enjoy coming here,” Ladd said. “If they can make it work, it would be new territory" for the league.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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