Who is that good, so soon?

It must be some kind of inside job to make sure hockey succeeds in Vegas.

(01-28-2018 09:28 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Who is that good, so soon?

It must be some kind of inside job to make sure hockey succeeds in Vegas.

As much as I don't want to buy into that conspiracy theory...

...I can't argue how shocking their success has been considering they are an expansion team of cast offs.

That said, if they do too well, this could really hurt how the next team might be allowed to come into the league.

The NFL was harsh on the Browns after the initial, unprecedented success of the Jaguars and Panthers.

The talent in the NHL has never been better and the 17-year gap between expansion drafts means the player pool isn't depleted like it was around the turn of the century. That opened the door for them to succeed, but a good expansion draft, great coaching, and strong goalie play have pushed them to instant relevancy.

That being said, it is rather coincidental that they're not only the best expansion team in hockey history, but American sports history by a pretty wide margin if I'm not mistaken. Given that the Raiders are coming into town in a few years, the league had an incentive to give them favorable terms entering play.

The real test of course will be how the team's record and attendance are five and ten years from now, Vegas is a city full of transplants so it may be difficult to cultivate a fan base without consistent winning. This is a start though.

Vegas is not a pro sports market. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off.

(01-30-2018 02:07 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Vegas is not a pro sports market. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off.

That I can agree with but success breeds fans.

The fact that Las Vegas is also a tourist attraction in and of itself can lead to someone taking in a NHL game on a trip out there too--could be tied to your team playing the Knights.

(01-30-2018 02:23 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  

(01-30-2018 02:07 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Vegas is not a pro sports market. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off.

That I can agree with but success breeds fans.

The fact that Las Vegas is also a tourist attraction in and of itself can lead to someone taking in a NHL game on a trip out there too--could be tied to your team playing the Knights.

The true test will be to see if the fans stay when the team sucks...

The expansion Saint Louis Blues went to the Stanley Cup finals in their first three years. Of course, an expansion team was guaranteed to make the finals in the first year of the six team expansion.

Interestingly, Saint Louis did not bid for one of the six expansion teams. The owners of the Chicago Blackhawks owned the dilapidated arena in Saint Louis and wanted to get rid of it. So, they pushed for Saint Louis to get the sixth team over Baltimore who did make a bid. The NHL awarded a team to Saint Louis and then had to go out and find ownership for it.

At a cost of $500 million, the Golden Knights are more costly than a number of existing franchises are. That meant concessions in the expansion draft. Originally it was going to be two teams, but no acceptable arena was in Seattle. Seattle had multiple bids that were withdrawn.

To start the season, the Golden Knights had the worst odds in the league at 200:1. The next worst were Vancouver and New Jersey at 100:1.

Today, the 3/4 mark of the season, Las Vegas leads their conference and is just a single point (with a game in hand) out of 1st in the NHL.

(01-30-2018 02:23 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  

(01-30-2018 02:07 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Vegas is not a pro sports market. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off.

That I can agree with but success breeds fans.

The fact that Las Vegas is also a tourist attraction in and of itself can lead to someone taking in a NHL game on a trip out there too--could be tied to your team playing the Knights.

Don't really understand why some are down on Vegas. It's now a city that is home to more than 2,000,000 people. Let that sink in a minute. More than 2,000,000 LIVE there. It's as much of a tourist town as Orlando, FL, but many people rarely visit casinos,especially on the Strip now that they've instituted paid parking at most of the resort hotel/casinos there.

A large number of people are growing up and living in Las Vegas. In addition, with the recent construction on I-11 that began a few years ago, which will eventually connect Vegas and Phoenix (the two largest American cities not currently connected by an Interstate Hwy) and then eventually be a more key logistics and warehousing point between Mexico and Canada, the economy in Las Vegas is diversifying more than many think. While Nevada public education currently leaves a lot to be desired, they have led the US in AP score improvement the past few years. Zappos shoes is a non-gaming corporate HQ. There's a desire among many in the Valley for entertainment that goes beyond the tourist/casino fare,and the NHL is filling it, and soon the NFL and probably the NBA will eventually as well. Vegas beats the crap out of places like, say Jacksonville, FL.` What the heck are they doing with an NFL team, anyway?

Jacksonville has an NFL team because two potential ownership groups in Saint Louis couldn't resolve their differences. If their dispute had been resolved the Jaguars would be the Saint Louis Stallions.

(02-23-2018 11:52 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(01-30-2018 02:23 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  

(01-30-2018 02:07 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  Vegas is not a pro sports market. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off.

That I can agree with but success breeds fans.

The fact that Las Vegas is also a tourist attraction in and of itself can lead to someone taking in a NHL game on a trip out there too--could be tied to your team playing the Knights.

Don't really understand why some are down on Vegas. It's now a city that is home to more than 2,000,000 people. Let that sink in a minute. More than 2,000,000 LIVE there. It's as much of a tourist town as Orlando, FL, but many people rarely visit casinos,especially on the Strip now that they've instituted paid parking at most of the resort hotel/casinos there.

A large number of people are growing up and living in Las Vegas. In addition, with the recent construction on I-11 that began a few years ago, which will eventually connect Vegas and Phoenix (the two largest American cities not currently connected by an Interstate Hwy) and then eventually be a more key logistics and warehousing point between Mexico and Canada, the economy in Las Vegas is diversifying more than many think. While Nevada public education currently leaves a lot to be desired, they have led the US in AP score improvement the past few years. Zappos shoes is a non-gaming corporate HQ. There's a desire among many in the Valley for entertainment that goes beyond the tourist/casino fare,and the NHL is filling it, and soon the NFL and probably the NBA will eventually as well. Vegas beats the crap out of places like, say Jacksonville, FL.` What the heck are they doing with an NFL team, anyway?

But Vegas is a new city and transient. It didn't even exist 115 years ago. It's a colony of SoCal, so most are gonna be oriented to LA sports teams. Short of this continuing as so, hockey has no future in Vegas. The NBA and NFL are the only sports I could see doing well.

(02-24-2018 02:07 AM)lew240z Wrote:  Jacksonville has an NFL team because two potential ownership groups in Saint Louis couldn't resolve their differences. If their dispute had been resolved the Jaguars would be the Saint Louis Stallions.

It was never a good idea to go to Jacksonville, it's too small and caged in. It's a miracle they've lasted this long.

(02-24-2018 03:40 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(02-24-2018 02:07 AM)lew240z Wrote:  Jacksonville has an NFL team because two potential ownership groups in Saint Louis couldn't resolve their differences. If their dispute had been resolved the Jaguars would be the Saint Louis Stallions.

It was never a good idea to go to Jacksonville, it's too small and caged in. It's a miracle they've lasted this long.

Nearly 30 years ago, then Falcons owner Rankin Smith used Jacksonville as leverage to get a new stadium.

The Oilers owner did the same and after he got his upgrade, then threatened to leave for Nashville short of a new stadium. The rest is history.

(02-24-2018 05:07 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  The Oilers owner did the same and after he got his upgrade, then threatened to leave for Nashville short of a new stadium. The rest is history.

They should have left the Oilers name in Houston so the present team could have revived it, IMHO.

The name was tied to the now late owner, who was a Texas oil tycoon.

The Oilers name was retired by the NFL. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue refused to let the Texans use the Oilers name.

Maybe they really are that good!!!