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Las Vegas Reveals Name And Logo

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At long last, the Las Vegas expansion team finally has an identity. Team ownership and management announced that taking the ice in 2017-18 as the 31st member of the NHL, will be the Vegas Golden Knights. Five months to the day since it became official that Las Vegas would get a hockey team, the announcement tonight comes as the culmination of months of speculation surrounding countless rumors of trademark filings and legal roadblocks.

After all the talk and guesswork as to what the expansion team could be called, it turns out that a report from NHL.com back in August all but spoiled it. It was reported that the team had filed for trademarks for “Desert Knights”, “Silver Knights”, and… “Golden Knights”. Team owner Bill Foley reportedly wanted the team to be named the “Black Knights”, after the Army Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy, which he attended. The shortened version of just “Knights” seemed like the next best option, but the team had trademark contention with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and would have faced legal issues in Canada with the moniker. After considering their options, the team has now settled on Golden Knights. While the double entendre of “Las Vegas Knights” won’t be as clean, that is likely what they will referred to as in the shorthand anyway, and the first team called the Knights in major North American pro sports will still be a nice addition to the National Hockey League.

In addition to revealing the team name, Las Vegas also gave fans their first look at the logo. A gold and black helmet, hearkening back to the days of King Arthur, appears to be the primary logo for the new NHL competitor. Although the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins have their claim on various shades of gold and yellow to go along with black, the Western Conference is lacking such a team and the logo looks promising for some good-looking jerseys down the road. Other team colors will reportedly be gray and red.

Although many hoped for a gambling reference with the Las Vegas team name, the NHL made it clear that they did not approve of that. The goal of any professional franchise is to have a nickname that simply makes sense, represents the team, and, above all else, sells merchandise. Any new team usually doesn’t have trouble with the latter, but with a cool logo that is a reference to both bravery and a killer instinct, as well as a classic color scheme, Las Vegas is well on their way to selling out lots of gear.

Pro Hockey Rumors is happy to officially welcome the Las Vegas Golden Knights to the National Hockey League. We look forward to continuing to follow along with the teams further announcements (jerseys, coaching staff, AHL affiliate) and keeping up with all of the rumors surrounding the team’s trades, free agent signings, and, of course, the NHL Expansion Draft in June.

Blackhawks Notes: Toews, Kane, Expansion Draft, Crawford

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The Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus answers fan questions and begins by looking at the Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane pairing. After a shaky start, the Blackhawks have been on fire since, rocketing to the top of the Western Conference thanks to Vezina-like goaltending from Corey Crawford and timely goal scoring.  Something fans wanted for a long time, a line featuring Toews and Kane together, was successful in boosting the Hawks to an 8-2-1 record since its construction. The downside? It hasn’t been as dominant as some fans want it to be. Lazerus points out that Toews has four goals and six assists in 11 games with Kane while the latter has four goals and seven assists. While it hasn’t been a “dumpster fire,” as Lazerus put it, it hasn’t been as successful as fans would have thought–or wished.

With that said, Lazerus believes it to be foolish separating the lines, especially since Marian Hossa has experienced a resurgence and is playing exceptionally well with Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin.

  • Lazerus also answers questions about the expansion draft and who the Hawks are likely to protect come this summer. Aside from Toews, Kane, Hossa, and Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Niklas Hjalmarsson who all have non-movement clauses, the younger players are also exempt. Lazerus predicts that Trevor van Riemsdyk, Marcus Kruger, or even Richard Panik (should his contract be extended) will be taken by Las Vegas.
  • Meanwhile, Scott Powers looks at a number of statistical measures for the Blackhawks that ranges from Corsi to the impressive dominance of the Blackhawks over the season.  From Powers:
  • 50.29: The Blackhawks are 12th in the NHL with a 50.29 Corsi percentage in 5-on-5 play. They’re 24th with an average of 52.82 Corsi for per 60 minutes and seventh at 52.22 Corsi against per 60. They’re 26th with 27.5 shots on goal for per 60 minutes and 21st at 30.58 shots on goal against per 60.
  • 96.00: Corey Crawford is fourth in the NHL with 96.00 save percentage in 5-on-5 play this season. He’s allowed 13 goals on 325 shots. Only two other goalies have faced more 5-on-5 shots than Crawford this season. He’s also fifth with 90.14 high-danger save percentage and leads the league with 13.55 goals saved above average.

The piece about Crawford is valuable because his play has paced Chicago through their torrid run since the end of October. Often believed to be the beneficiary of a great defense, Crawford has been a rock between the pipes and the advanced stats bear that out. Many are taking notice.

Though he was snubbed last season by not even being listed as a Vezina candidate, Crawford should find his name on the ballot this year if his dominant play continues.

Hurricanes Up For Sale; Relocation Possible?

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(7:50pm): Hurricanes team president Don Waddell called an in-game press conference tonight to deny the rumors of relocation, tweets Luke DeCock of The Raleigh News & Observer. In a second tweet, DeCock reports that Waddell also indicated that there had been nothing on the sales front in “four to five months.”

(6:45pm): Rumors of a potential sale of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise have been percolating for a while now. Attendance is one problem as the team has finished 30th and 29th respectively over each of the last two full campaigns and currently reside in last place again averaging just 11,189 fans per home game.

A second issue complicating the situation is a lawsuit filed against team owner Peter Karmanos by his three sons. Details of the suit can be found here. The suit has evidently been settled though it’s unknown whether that might mean a sale of the club is more or less likely.

Now, according to 98.5 Sports in Montreal (link in French), Karmanos is still actively pursuing a sale of the team and is willing to sell to a buyer looking to move the ’Canes out of North Carolina. Naturally, with an NHL-caliber arena and no tenant, Quebec City immediately comes to mind as a potential landing spot should relocation become an option.

Earlier this year when talking about a sale and potential relocation, Karmanos flat out said the team would not be moving from North Carolina.

“I promise, this team isn’t going to Quebec. I’m not saying that cause I have something against Quebec, but because we have ties to this market. We have an excellent lease, I love this arena and I’m really attached to this market.”

Perhaps Carolina’s current ownership has softened on its stance but even so the league would need to approve such a move and in the past they’ve been resistant to relocating franchises.

Of course relocating the Hurricanes to Quebec would not solve the league’s geographical imbalance but it also doesn’t hurt the situation either. However, a possible future expansion to Seattle, as has often been rumored as well, would bring that desired balance. That would allow the league to use Quebec as a fall back in the event relocation of an Eastern Conference franchise, like Carolina, becomes necessary.

 

Snapshots: Harding, Expansion Rules, Saad

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Josh Harding knows exactly what Bryan Bickell is going through.

The retired 32-year-old goaltender was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) back in 2012 during the last lockout. Harding told ESPN’s Scott Burnside that he considered keeping his diagnosis private, but didn’t because he have to take time away from the game for treatment, and he felt that going public would do some good. Harding says having MS is nothing to be ashamed of.

Harding returned to the NHL that season, playing five regular season games and five playoff games. He won the Masterton Trophy for dedication to hockey. He played 29 games the next season, posting a remarkable 0.933 SV% and a 1.65 GAA. Unfortunately, that was the end of his hockey career. As Harding told Burnside, “when the doctors say enough’s enough, you kind of have to listen to them.”

Now that Bickell has been diagnosed with MS, he and Harding have been in contact about their awful common illness. Harding has told Bickell what treatments worked for him and shared strategies for dealing with the incurable disease. However, Harding can’t tell him for sure that he’ll play in the NHL again. He told Burnside that “if there was a blueprint for what you have to do, I really think I’d still be in the league.”

While Harding was only able to play for 39 more games after his diagnosis, he says he’s rooting for Bickell and hopes that his experience with the disease will be different than Harding’s. Harding says he’s at peace with his career path, and enjoys spending time with his two children as well as helping coach a local high school team.

Another former goalie with MS, Jordan Sigalet plans to be in touch with Bickell to offer their support.

  • There has been much talk about expansion at the NHL GM meetings. The rules for which players need to be protected have been finalized, and the GMs are receiving guidelines about all possible ways of circumventing the rules and why they’re not allowed. Some GMs are concerned about the exclusive free agency window, where Las Vegas GM George McPhee will be able to meet with pending free agents. Could the something Knights make a handshake deal with a free agent to sign on July 1, but not sign them then in order to select another player from that team? No. Can other teams make “wink, nudge” deals with McPhee to not select a certain player? No. All trades will have to be done through a trade call to the NHL and documented. The penalties for trying to circumvent the rules are going to be stiff, possibly a first round pick. As Devils GM Ray Shero pointed out to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, all deals will have “pass the smell test with the league.”
  • In his weekly “30 Thoughts“, Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Blue Jackets would be interested in parting ways with Brandon Saad. Columbus acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2015 and promptly signed him to a six-year, $36MM contract. Saad has been a solid performer for the Blue Jackets, but the cap-strapped team may want to move his $6MM salary. There appears to be some disconnect between Saad and the club, as he’s fifth in both team scoring and ice-time, but was almost a healthy scratch last week. Friedman reported the Blackhawks looked into re-acquiring Saad last season, but couldn’t make it work. The Blackhawks could certainly use Saad back, with his chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the downswing. It’s not clear how they could make it work salary-wise, though. There’s always a market for a 30-goal scorer, especially one who is just 24.

LeBrun’s Latest: GMs To Discuss Rule 48, Expansion

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ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes that in a brief one-day meeting in Toronto, general managers will be discussing several issues affecting the league. Thought the meeting will only be tomorrow, LeBrun reports that one major topic for discussion will be blindside hits, such as the one delivered by Nazem Kadri on Daniel Sedin. The argument? It should be included in Rule 48 which focuses on illegal checks to the head. Rule 48 stipulates:

  • 48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent’s head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:
  • (i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not “picked” as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.
  • (ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.
  • (iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

LeBrun quotes Nashville general manager David Poile as one who believes the language in the rule needs to be tightened further. Additionally, Poile points out that along with many other league executives, there needs to be a determination between what is a “good legal hit versus what is a punishable, suspendible hit.” Poile adds that it’s not anyone’s fault, but it is something that needs a closer look.

Other issues on the docket:

  • LeBrun wonders what will be decided when it comes to free agency and the expansion draft. After talking to a Western Conference executive, LeBrun wrote this:

In particular, he had this question for me: what if Vegas agrees to terms with a pending UFA in that 48-hour window but doesn’t actually sign him until July 1 (wink, wink) in order to snag another player off that team’s roster in the expansion draft?  The rules state that if Vegas signs a free agent from a team in that 48-hour June window, that team no longer can lose a player in the expansion draft.

  • LeBrun also thinks that the five-day bye weeks will be discussed as it’s been a point of contention with some general managers. In addition to this, LeBrun said that Las Vegas general manager George McPhee could not attend meetings since the team does not have “franchise rights” until the spring.

PHR Originals

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Here’s a roundup of all of Pro Hockey Rumors original content for the week:

  • Zach Leach examined the precarious position the Pittsburgh Penguins may find themselves in ahead of the expansion draft with Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC requiring the team to protect him and therefore leaving open the possibility Matt Murray might be available for Las Vegas to choose should the team not find another alternative.
  • Brett Barrett looks at the rookie players currently in the NHL who could see their entry-level contracts slide should they be returned to their respective Junior teams.
  • Gavin Lee posts the latest in the Franchise Faceoff series, comparing the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Zach Leach ponders whether goalie Malcolm Subban, Boston’s first-round pick in 2012, is on the verge of being labeled a bust.
  • Brian La Rose continued with PHR’s 2005 Draft Take Two series, asking who the New York Islanders should select if they had a chance to do it all over again.

Fleury, Murray, And The Penguins Expansion Draft Situation

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When the league announced the parameters for next June’s NHL Expansion Draft, an event that will allow the new Las Vegas expansion team to put together their roster for the 20 17–18 season, the most notable factor in protecting players was that each team coulf only hold on to one goaltender. Whether the choice is between an established starter and a  young future stud or two equally good split-time keepers, it is clear that Las Vegas will have quality talent in net next season as a result of the ample possibilities to choose from in the draft. While many teams face this difficult decision, no team is in quite the same situation as the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins are fortunate enough to have two great goaltenders on their roster. Marc-Andre Fleury has been the starter for years and one of the best goalies in the NHL in the last decade. The first overall pick in 2003, Fleury took over the starter job after the 2004-05 lockout at the young age of 21. At just 24, he led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship in 2009 and has been cemented as the leader in net ever since. With a Goals Against Average under 2.40 in each of the last six seasons, “Flower” has established himself as one of the more consistent goalies in the league and a reliable member of a dynastic Penguins team. However, Fleury is not without fault. Although his regular season dominance has been constant, he has had his struggles in the postseason. Pittsburgh has made the playoffs ten years in a row, but in all of those years Fleury’s postseason GAA and save percentage were at or below his regular season average three times (’08, ’14, ’15). The 31-year-old also struggled with injuries, really for the first time in his career, in 2015-16. The Penguins current backup goaltender, Matt Murray, saw his chance to take over last season, earning the starting role as a rookie while Fleury was out and went on to make a dominant playoff run and lead the Penguins to yet another Stanley Cup title. His regular season and postseason numbers were spectacular, as he posted a .930 SV% and 2.00 GAA in 13 games before putting up a .923 SV% and 2.08 GAA in 21 playoff starts. The team rewarded the 22-year-old with a new three-year, $11.25MM contract extension last month, implying their commitment to the budding star. In an ideal world, the Penguins could keep both their established starter in Fleury and their starter-to-be in Murray. However the Expansion Draft has other plans.

The rules of the draft state that any player with a No-Movement Clause must be protected come June 21st. Fleury is such a player, and if he stays on the roster through the season, then the Penguins must protect him. That of course would leave Murray as the odd man out in net and an easy choice for Las Vegas. However, it seems extremely unlikely that Pittsburgh would let their young keeper go to Vegas for free. The choice the team faces is what to do about the situation, with an eye on keeping Murray at all costs.

The simplest choice for the Penguins is to trade Marc-Andre Fleury. A veteran goalkeeper with years of success would surely be coveted on the open market. However, such a trade for a starting goaltender is rare mid-season. Teams often lack the salary cap space (Fleury has a relatively affordable cap hit of $5.75 million, but many contenders are right up against the ceiling without that flexibility) or don’t feel comfortable bringing in a new starter late in the year. Interested contenders may also be wary of bringing in a player with a history of playoffs struggles who has two years left on his contract and is on the wrong side of 30. The veteran may simply be untradeable this year. And even if the Penguins could trade Fleury without any problems, would they? Murray has yet to make a start this season due to injury, which forced the Penguins to claim Mike Condon off of waivers for the time being to avoid throwing young Tristan Jarry into the fire. Condon is likely to be put back on waivers – and subsequently claimed – shortly, since Murray was activated from the injured reserve on Tuesday. Thus, if the Penguins traded Fleury in-season, they would be left with the 22-year-old Murray and 21-year-old Jarry as their goalie depth, unless someone could be brought in via trade or waivers or they feel former Boston University standout Sean Maguire is ready for the NHL by then. None of those options are optimal for Pittsburgh.

The other option, is to try to swing a deal with Las Vegas that stops them from selecting Matt Murray in the expansion draft. In the past teams have often negotiated deals prior to the selection process to protect players that otherwise would have been left unprotected. San Jose swung deals with both Columbus and Minnesota before the 2000 Expansion Draft in exchange for not taking Evgeni Nabokov, while Buffalo paid Columbus not to pick Dominik Hasek or Martin Biron. However, those trades requires somewhat reasonable returns. The problem with this plan for Pittsburgh is whether or not any package could truly convince Las Vegas not to select Murray. A young goalie who has proven that he is competent in the playoffs and has produced good numbers (at least so far) in the regular season is invaluable in the NHL. An expansion team looking to start from scratch would love to have a young franchise goalie, and Murray fits the bill. Pittsburgh would be hard-pressed to put together a package that would be enough for Las Vegas GM George McPhee to pass on Murray. Whether they want to keep Fleury and Murray or not, it may be difficult for the Penguins to protect both.

The final option for the Jim Rutherford and the Penguins, if they cannot move Fleury or make a deal with Las Vegas, would be to give up on Murray. While this seems unlikely, the Penguins would rather trade away the young star for a decent return than let the Knights take him away for free. Several teams will be looking for goal tending going into 2017-18, and almost anyone would have an interest in Murray. Should the young keeper struggle at all this season, Pittsburgh may decide to sell high and many organizations would be more than willing to give up players and picks for Murray, especially if they are only a goalie away from being a Stanley Cup contender. The Penguins would obviously prefer to keep Murray, but they may be forced into this situation if Fleury proves to truly be untradable.

Obviously, none of these options are ideal. Unfortunately for the reigning Stanley Cup champs, they will have to make one of them work. An Expansion Draft is difficult on all teams, but it’s in an effort (more so this time than ever before) to build an expansion franchise that is competitive from go. There are many rules meant to limit the exposure and potential loss to any one team, but they are not fool-proof. Pittsburgh will fall victim to the 2017 Expansion Draft, and one way or another fans should be ready for a loss in the not-too-distant future. This will continue to be one of the more fascinating story lines throughout the NHL season and right up until the Expansion Draft next June.

 

Snapshots: Trouba, Ducks, Goaltending

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In the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, the panel of Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun discussed a number of subjects. One of them was Jacob Trouba, and the potential of a trade in his future. While Trouba has insisted all along that it isn’t about money in his contract dispute, the Jets are rumored to be willing to go to six-years, $33MM to get the defenceman under contract.

Even though it seems like most teams would want Trouba, Dreger reports that it doesn’t look like there is a fit anywhere in Canada. The Maple Leafs, Oilers and Canadiens have all been rumored to be interested in the 22-year old in the past.

  • On Hampus Lindholm and a possible deal of Cam Fowler, LeBrun reports that it might not be as guaranteed as one would think.  While it still seems likely that one of the Ducks young defenceman will have to be shipped out, the fact that Simon Despres has hit the LTIR and has no timetable on his return the team has a little more wiggle room under the salary cap.
  • In Carolina, Dreger suggests that Ryan Murphy may be on the block, since he’ll likely be exposed at next year’s expansion draft. The 23-year old former first round pick split last season between the NHL and AHL levels.
  • On the goaltending front, Los Angeles sounds like they’re putting all their eggs in the Peter Budaj basket for now. They’re waiting for Mike Condon to hit waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that may not happen for a while as Pittsburgh wants to try and keep or get an asset for the young goaltender.

Snapshots: Backes, Condon, Ducks, Hall

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Boston Bruins forward David Backes has been listed as day-to-day for the last few days, and now we know why. Bruins GM Don Sweeney said Backes had a procedure to remove an olecranon bursa in his elbow on Monday (via Dan Rosen).

While Sweeney said there would be a further update after this weekend, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists recovery time as somewhere between 10 days and a month, depending on severity.

Backes has had a decent start to his Bruins career, with 2-2-4 in 5 games. The former St. Louis Blues captain has been a consistent performer, hitting 20-plus goals six times while being a solid possession player and being a bruising hitter.

  • In this week’s 30 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman suggested Matt Murray’s return to the lineup likely means Mike Condon could find himself on waivers soon. Friedman suggested the Bruins as a possible new home for the Massachusetts native, with both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin dealing with injuries.
  • Also in 30 Thoughts, Friedman quoted an unnamed GM as saying he’d “bet [him] anything” that Anaheim GM Bob Murray finds a way to protect Jakob Silfverberg in June’s expansion draft. Currently, the Ducks have four players that must be protected (no-move clauses) in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, and Kevin Bieksa. At the very least, the Ducks would want to protect newly-signed Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano, and Silfverberg on forward, and Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, and Sami Vatanen on defense. Even that leaves some really good defensemen exposed, like Josh Manson and Simon Depres, so expect some movement before the expansion draft. Bieksa could also be convinced to waive his no-move clause to allow the Ducks to protect someone else; his $4MM salary is likely enough to prevent Las Vegas from taking him.
  • New Jersey Devils reporter Chris Ryan tweeted out a rather hard-to-believe stat about Taylor Hall. This season, the Devils’ 3-2-1 start is the first time since Hall has been on a .500 team since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when the Oilers started 4-3-1. Edmonton, of course, has started this season 5-1-0.

Seattle Arena Deal Clears Important Hurdle

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The NHL has long been interested in the city of Seattle, either as home to a new expansion team or as a possible landing spot for a relocated franchise. However a group looking to build an arena in Seattle couldn’t agree with the city on a financing plan. The municipality was unwilling to use public funds, as previously proposed, and the project appeared dead until today.

Chris Hansen, who fronts the group of investors looking to build the arena, has revealed a new proposal that offers to forgo public funding in order to obtain approval to begin construction on a new venue in the city’s SoDo neighborhood, according to a report from King 5 News in Seattle. This development would seem to pave the way for eventual placement of an NHL franchise in the city but there’s at least one hurdle remaining.

The group’s primary objective is the acquisition of an NBA team and during the NHL’s recent expansion process, no one representing Seattle submitted an application to the league in pursuit of a franchise.

Below is an excerpt from the letter outlining the Hansen group’s new proposal to the mayor of Seattle, the King County Executive and Seattle City Councilmembers, which spells out their interest in the NBA:

Our goal has always been to return the NBA to Seattle and to build a new arena to make that possible.  Our partnership with the City and County started five years ago was based on a recognition that private financing of a new arena in the prevailing economic conditions was not economically feasible.  The goal of this partnership was to build the arena and bring an NBA team to Seattle.  Public financing was simply a mechanism that made that possible at the time.

Now it’s possible, if not even likely, that once an NBA team is placed in the city an NHL franchise will soon follow. According to the article the NBA may begin to focus on expansion once the league and the player’s union agree to a new CBA.

The NHL currently has 31 members, creating unbalanced conferences and scheduling difficulties. Adding a 32nd franchise would solve those issues. Quebec is of course another possible candidate but would seem to be a better fit in the Eastern Conference an therefore might be best suited as a fallback in case the league needs to relocate a team in the East. With the Seattle arena project appearing to be back on track, the Pacific Northwest is again an appealing expansion option for the NHL.

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