NHL BETS ON VEGAS

League has decided on its newest expansion team, report reveals,

The Las Vegas Black Knights — who are in inch closer to reality today — ought to be a pretty good expansion team right out of the gate. As NHL commissioner Gary Bettman predicted at the Stanley Cup, the decision of the NHL’s executive committee to expand has been leaked.

The Associated Press reported the league’s 31st team is a mere rubber stamp away from becoming reality. It’s expected the expansion will be made official at the June 22 board of governors meeting.

With an expected $500 million expansion fee (U.S.) to be divided among the league’s owners — none goes to the players — the Knights will join the league with favourable expansion rules designed to get the new team into the winning column as soon as possible.

The 2017-18 season is likely the earliest the league could expand.

“The team is going to pay $500 million and they don’t want to give them (Las Vegas) a doormat team,” said Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, now an adviser to his son, Stan, with the Chicago Blackhawks. “It’s a big change for a lot of teams. It will hurt some teams, the ones that have been rebuilding for two or three years. There will be some young players they will have to make their mind up on.”

The last time the league expanded — adding the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000 for a fee of $80 million each — existing teams could protect one goaltender, five defencemen and nine forwards (15 players) or two goaltenders, three defencemen and seven forwards (12 players.)

This time however, teams can either protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender (11 players) or eight skaters and one goaltender (nine players). So more players will be available and only one team is choosing.

“They should be better than Columbus and Minnesota,” said an Eastern Conference executive. “They’re going to have some players to pick from.”

The rules are not set in stone, but the jockeying for position has begun. Basically 18- and 19-year-olds will be protected, but the league is doing its best to free solid young players.

“As soon as we get the firm rules, everyone is going to try to find a way to not get hurt,” said an executive with an Eastern Conference team. “No one wants to lose a good player. That said, it is about one player.

“You just want to make sure it’s a player you want to lose.”

The expansion draft will take place in about a year, but it’s never too soon to fret over how it affects your team.

Here’s how the rules, as currently understood but subject to change, will affect the Maple Leafs: VEGAS: The expansion team will draft one player from every existing team, including at minimum at each position three goalies, nine defencemen and 14 forwards. The total contracts of the selected players must hit at least the salary cap floor and cannot exceed the ceiling. None of the selected players can be bought out for at least a year. EXEMPT: Players with two years of professional experience or less will be exempt from the process.

So the likes of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews will be exempt, but not William Nylander or Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown, Brendan Leipsic, Stuart Percy, Josh Leivo or Andreas Johnson. LOSS: Each NHL team can lose only one player. It might be a pipe dream for the Leafs to hope Vegas will take an older player with a big contract, like Joffrey Lupul. And it would not be against any rule for the Leafs to incentivize the Black Knights from doing just that by offering prospects and picks. 40/70: A minimum of two forwards and one defenceman must be exposed who have played 40 games the previous season or a total of 70 over the previous two. They must be under contract for the expansion team’s first season. Leafs who fit that criteria are Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner. Others who will soon fit that criteria also include Peter Holland, Matt Hunwick, Martin Marincin, Frank Corrado, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and James van Riemsdyk. TRADE BAN: To prevent a team from “hiding” a player on another, teams cannot reacquire players they trade after Jan. 1, 2017 prior to Jan. 1, 2018. So if the Maple Leafs are in a tank-and-sell mode, it will mean a permanent goodbye to players traded at the deadline. No more Daniel Winnik re-acquisitions. NATHAN HORTON: Players with no movement clauses for the season after the expansion draft must be on the protected list. Still to be determined is whether players with notrade clauses and limited no-movement clauses are required to be protected. This might be the most contentious issue with the NHLPA. Horton has a NMC for 2016-17, but a limited NMC in ’17-’18. The Leafs may be required to protect the injured winger. BOTTOM LINE? Much can change, and trades and free agency will have an impact, but based on the Leafs’ current roster Nylander, Kapanen, Kadri, van Riemsdyk, Komarov, Brown, Leipsic, Rielly, Gardiner, Carrick and Antoine Bibeau would probably be protected. Holland, Lupul and Marincin would be sacrificed for the 40/70 requirement.