Las Vegas Officially Awarded NHL Team
Just hours before the NHL Awards held in Las Vegas, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that Las Vegas would indeed be the recipient of an NHL team for the start of the 2017-2018 season. Bettman indicated that the Board of Governors unanimously approved the league’s expansion. Bill Foley was named the principal owner of the new franchise. Foley indicated that the team has not settled on a nickname but speculation is that the Black Knights will be the chosen name.
Bettman confirmed many details as well. Namely, all teams will lose one player in the NHL Expansion Draft. Las Vegas will be a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and this will give the conference 15 teams while the Eastern Conference boasts 16 teams. Yahoo Sports linked the official press release from the NHL while James Mirtle linked the NHL’s official rules regarding expansion teams.
The other interesting tidbit of information was the board deferring a decision on Quebec City and their chances at acquiring an NHL franchise. Pierre Dion, Quebecor President and CEO, spoke as well regarding the opportunity for future expansion. Dion, during the press conference, indicated that the priority is to bring the Nordiques back to Quebec City, and that the passion remains for hockey.
NHL Award Predictions: Calder Trophy
The 2016 NHL Awards will take place on Wednesday, June 22nd in Las Vegas. Between now and then, we will be making our predictions on who will take home the hardware.
First up for a closer look is the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top rookie. The finalists are:
D Shayne Gostisbehere , Philadelphia Flyers – It’s rare that a player who starts the season in the American Hockey League becomes a finalist for a major award but Gostisbehere’s impact upon being recalled was just too much to ignore. Despite missing 18 games while playing for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Adirondack, the 23 year old led all NHL defensemen in goals (17), assists (29), points (46), and power play points (22). He also set NHL records for most overtime goals by a rookie (4) and for the longest point streak by a rookie blueliner (15 games).
C Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers – The top pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft lived up to his draft status in 2015-16 as he quickly took over as Edmonton’s top centre. Unfortunately for him and the Oilers, he missed 37 games due to a fractured left clavicle. Despite that, the 19 year old still posted 16 goals and 32 assists in 45 games, good for third in team scoring. McDavid also led all rookies with a points-per-game average of 1.07; he was the only first year player to average higher than one point per contest.
LW Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks – Signed as an undrafted free agent last offseason, Panarin made an immediate and significant impact for the Hawks. The 24 year old led all rookies offensively with goals (30), assists (47), points (77), power play points (24), and game winning goals (7). His point total was good enough for a tie for ninth overall amongst all NHL players and second best on Chicago, only behind the NHL’s top point getter, Patrick Kane. Kane, coincidentally, is the last Blackhawk to win the Calder Trophy.
Prediction: This is one the best rookie classes in a long time. All three finalists made more than a typical rookie impact and were among the NHL’s best in certain categories. Had McDavid been healthy all year, he would have had a strong chance but it would be hard to give him the nod since he missed 45% of the season due to injury. Gostisbehere was huge for the Flyers but he also missed considerable time early on so at the end of the day my pick to win the award is Panarin. I think the writers who vote on this award will have too hard of a time looking past a rookie finishing in the top ten in scoring league wide on one of the NHL’s top teams in the regular season.