All signs are "pointing to the NHL expanding into Las Vegas in the near future, perhaps even in time" for the '16-17 season, according to James Mirtle of the GLOBE & MAIL. One of the "first hurdles" for the Vegas ownership group -- Hockey Vision Las Vegas -- was a "season ticket drive this spring, with the goal set to get 10,000 commitments" in the form of a 10% deposit. One month into the campaign, group leaders have "already passed the 9,000 mark -- and are gaining steadily." It is "expected that a Vegas expansion team would be a one-off, meaning the NHL would be a 31-team league for at least a few seasons." Seattle remains a location the league is "deeply interested in, but without a building or firm ownership group, progress on that front has been slow." Fidelity National Financial Chair William Foley, the Las Vegas group's lead investor, had "initially suggested his team name would include 'Nevada,' but after some backlash in the city, he has stated it will be named Las Vegas." One "popular suggestion out there is they will be called the Black Aces." Whether or not the franchise would be financially viable is "difficult to say at this point" (GLOBE & MAIL, 3/17). In Las Vegas, Alan Snel noted the group, which also includes former NBA Kings co-Owners Gavin and Joe Maloof, wants 10,000 deposits to show the NHL that the market is a "viable one for big-league hockey" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/16).
HEDGING THEIR BETS: The REVIEW-JOURNAL's Snel examined the Maloof's involvement with the potential NHL team and noted Joe Maloof has "dived into" the project. Maloof said, "We did decompress the minute the Kings were sold." Gavin Maloof added, "It took 24 hours to decompress and we were in [NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's] office." Snel noted Foley "would serve as the prospective team's managing partner," and the four Maloof brothers would be the "minority partners." Joe and Gavin Maloof "are doing what they do best -- schmoozing with Las Vegas Valley sports fans and pitching them on paying $150 to $900 for a season ticket deposit." They "wear Las Vegas hockey sweater jerseys and quick smiles on the meet-and-greet circuit." In the past few weeks, they have "hit everything from a youth hockey league in Spring Valley and a Chicago-themed sports bar in the southern valley to the Italian-American club on Las Vegas’ east side" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/15).
