Seven months ago, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan didn't have an NHL job. Today, Sullivan was on the horn with the Leader of the Free World.
President Barack Obama contacted Sullivan to congratulate him and the Penguins on their Stanley Cup title, and not surprisingly, Sullivan was excited with the call.
In a perfect piece of symmetry, Obama noted Pittsburgh won the Cup in his first year of presidency (2009), and repeated the feat in his last.
(Video courtesy: NHL.com)
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NHL hockey is coming to Las Vegas.
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday that the league's Board of Governors unanimously approved expansion to the city for the 2017-18 season, giving Las Vegas its first professional sports franchise.
Bill Foley will be principal owner of the team, which will play its home games at the recently opened T-Mobile Arena. Foley and his group will pay a $500-million expansion fee, which will be distributed equally among the 30 other clubs.
"Well, Las Vegas, we did it," Foley said at Wednesday's news conference. "It wasn't easy, was it?"
The new franchise will play in the Western Conference's Pacific Division, and there will be no other changes to the league's alignment.
"In the fall of 2017, when we celebrate the 100th birthday of the NHL, we will do so as a League of 31 teams,” Bettman said in a statement.
“We are pleased to welcome Bill Foley and the city of Las Vegas to the League and are truly excited that an NHL franchise will be the first major professional sports team in this vibrant, growing, global destination city.”
The league also announced Wednesday that expansion to Quebec City has been deferred.
Foley said his Las Vegas club doesn't yet have a name, and although he's partial to calling them the Black Knights, nothing's been decided.
The expansion draft will take place nearly one year to the day of Wednesday's announcement.
Related: Las Vegas franchise will reveal roster June 21, 2017
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the Las Vegas franchise will be a lottery team in 2017 and its future NHL Draft positions will be determined by the standings, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
This is the first time the NHL has expanded since 1997, when the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Atlanta Thrashers were added for a fee of $80 million each.
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Almost a year to the day after the NHL confirmed expansion into the Las Vegas market, the 31st franchise will have its roster.
Along with the expansion announcement Wednesday, the NHL revealed that it will announce the players chosen to Las Vegas' initial roster from the pool exposed to the draft on June 21, 2017.
Las Vegas' acting general manager and his team will choose one player from each of the NHL's 30 teams. Those teams can safeguard from between nine and 11 players, depending on position. These players will have to be named to the protected list on June 17.
The incoming franchise will have three days to formulate their roster before the NHL announces the team June 21.
Among further guidelines set forth for the draft:
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Shortly after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced expansion to Las Vegas in 2017-18 on Wednesday, he confirmed the league deferred expanding to Quebec City.
Bettman didn't fully shut the door on expanding to La Belle Province in the future, but said geographic imbalance, among other factors, determined the decision.
"Although the League sees Quebec City as a prime opportunity for future expansion, the Board of Governors concluded that the NHL's lack of geographic balance, the belief that it would be best not to assimilate multiple teams into the League at this time, as well as the recent and significance devaluation of the Canadian dollar made it prudent to defer Quebecor's application."
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Jeremy Jacobs, said Quebec City is still a strong candidate for future expansion.
Pierre Dion, who spearheaded the move to Quebec as President and CEO of Quebecor, was adamant about working to bring a second team back to the Province.
"The strong relationship we've built with the NHL over the last few years is very important to us," Dion said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "Bringing the Nordiques back to Quebec City remains a priority for Quebecor. We will keep talking."
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It's been 10 years since Tie Domi last dropped the gloves in an NHL game, but he still isn't someone you want to mess with.
A young Montreal Canadiens fan figured this out quickly after challenging the former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer to a brawl in a parking lot recently.
- With h/t to BarDown
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Milan Lucic is heading to the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
The power forward let that be known by way of text message to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, after failing to come to an agreement on an extension with the Los Angeles Kings.
Drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Lucic has recorded 159 goals and 397 points in 647 regular-season games, averaging 20 goals and 50 points for every 82 games played. He's also proven to be an intimidating foe and a positive possession player, bringing a coveted mix of skill and physicality to the table.
The 28-year-old left-winger is set to command a significant amount of attention, with these three teams ranking as top potential destinations.
Cap space: $9,287,085
Bring him home.
Lucic is a Vancouver native who had a successful run with the WHL's Giants as a junior player, and even lifted the Stanley Cup on home soil, albeit as a member of the Bruins, back in 2011.
The Canucks are quite thin at left wing, and will need to replace Radim Vrbata's production up front after his likely departure via free agency. Dumping Alex Burrows' contract would open up more cap space and a roster spot for Lucic.
Lucic has already said playing in Vancouver is a dream he's had since childhood, while general manager Jim Benning is quite familiar with him dating back to his days as assistant GM in Boston.
Cap space: $12,105,836
Speaking of the Boston days, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli certainly benefited from having Lucic on the roster during his tenure with the Bruins, although it's now-New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton who's to be credited for selecting the hulking young forward.
Lucic would bring a level of physicality and veteran savvy that's been missing in Edmonton's young core, and would be called upon to serve as a complementary point producer, which suits his skill set just fine.
Earlier in June, it was reported that Lucic would be "warm" to receiving a free-agent offer from the Oilers, although at the time he appeared somewhat certain to return to Los Angeles.
Warmth is something he'd certainly need should he make that move.
Cap space: $15,421,025
The New York Islanders advanced to the second round of the playoffs and won't be looking to take a step back.
So while GM Garth Snow appears prepared to allow Kyle Okposo to walk as a UFA, his departure would open a prime spot for Lucic alongside John Tavares in Brooklyn.
Having Tavares locked into a team-friendly salary-cap hit of $5.5 million over the next couple years allows for a measure of big spending elsewhere, for the time being at least.
The Islanders' top-paid player at the moment is Johnny Boychuk, also a member of the 2011 Bruins.
That could change as early as July 1, should Snow announce "Lucic is coming."
- Salary information courtesy general fanager
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The Chicago Blackhawks may welcome a familiar face back into the mix this offseason.
Unrestricted free agent Brian Campbell is believed to have serious interest in returning to the team with whom he spent three seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2010, a source told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
Campbell is coming off an eight-year, $57-million contract that he signed with the Blackhawks in 2008, with the final five years of the deal being spent with the Florida Panthers after a salary dump following the 2011 season.
As Kuc points out, the 37-year-old would have to agree to a discounted contract in order to fit under Chicago's already tight cap situation.
Campbell is averaging 0.49 points per game over his career, and has proven to be a steady puck-moving, positive-possession defenseman.
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