National Hockey League
Las Vegas Hockey: Expansion Draft and Lockout Politics
National Hockey League

Las Vegas Hockey: Expansion Draft and Lockout Politics

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 21: Jacob Gauthier poses for a photo before the NHL game between the Toronto Maple
Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres at the Air Canada Centre
on January 21. 2012. This is the the home opener for
the leafs during the shortened NHL season due to the
lockout.
Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

I’ve noted in prior articles that McPhee is operating under a tasking to start a team under conditions never before seen in the NHL. A lot of the rules for the Expansion Draft seem like raging opportunities for Las Vegas Hockey. Including:

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    There are also some important elements that will make McPhee’s job tougher during the Expansion Draft, including:

      And that third one could be cruel. A lot of people, myself included, think that the rules making up this expansion means that Las Vegas Hockey has a chance to compete for a playoff spot in their very first year. A second draft, a few trades and a wise free agency could mean the team could build some important momentum going forward. But more likely a lockout happens and crushes any positive momentum in its tracks.

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        So now reports are circulating that NFLPA reps, and in some cases player agents, are advising players to save their money in preparation for a potential lockout. Las Vegas may get their hockey franchise up and running, fans finally ending their wait for professional sports to take off, only to see owner-player squabbles spoil it all.

        For McPhee, it complicates an already over-complicated task to building his team. The Las Vegas Hockey GM needs to build a roster for the first season. Through trades and the 2017 Entry Draft he needs to stock the franchise’s minor league affiliates for building towards the future. On top of that, McPhee needs to keep enough roster flexibility to be able to adjust to the fresh realities of a lockout and a new CBA.

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