Why did National Hockey League pick Las Vegas over Quebec? Blame the weak loonie

The NHL on Wednesday became the first major professional sports league to succumb to the temptations of Las Vegas, with Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved granting a franchise to a group led by billionaire businessman Bill Foley.

In awarding the franchise, Bettman attributed Foley’s season-ticket drive, which took place a year before Wednesday’s announcement, in the league taking a chance on Las Vegas.

Las Vegas team owner Bill Foley has said he wants to build rinks all across the valley.

Las Vegas marks the first NHL expansion team since 1997, when the league agreed to add teams on a staggered basis in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota.

For the 2017 Draft Lottery, the NHL has announced that Las Vegas will be given the same odds as third from bottom in the league – which subsequently means that their first ever draft selection can be no lower than sixth overall.

Vegas had its own hurdles to clear, in particular, the belief that a pro sports team had no business playing in the only U.S. state in which sports betting is legal because, er, well, it’s not quite clear why, since betting goes on everywhere regardless of its legality.

Bettman said the weakness of the Canadian dollar, which would make it hard for a new Canadian franchise to succeed, was a major reason for deferring action on the Quebec application.

Quebec City’s bid for an expansion team was deferred, Bettman said.

When Foley started the process of applying for the franchise in December 2014, he told the Daily Record that while he had homes in several cities, he considered Jacksonville his primary residence.

The Las Vegas team will draft one player from each team in the league. This directly ties to the changes in the expansion draft that have been rumored around the league which seek to create conditions where the new Vegas team will have access to top level talent in order to have a faster transition to being a relevant contending team. “Were dedicated to it. Well leave no stone unturned in our dedication, in our pursuit of hockey for Las Vegas, not only for our team, but for the community.”.

Las Vegas has said it has received more than 14,000 deposits for season tickets.

Teams must expose at least one defenseman and two forwards who are under contract in 2017-18 and who played in 40 or more games in the National Hockey League the prior season or 70 or more National Hockey League games in the prior two seasons. “We like the atmosphere in our 30 buildings and we believe that at the T-Mobile Arena we can maintain that atmosphere consistent with what the realities are here”.

“We wanted to ensure that the new team had better access to players than any of its expansion predecessors”, said Bettman. “I don’t think it will affect us”. But despite speculation that his team will be called the Las Vegas Black Knights, he said he hasn’t made any decision. “They have a different fan base than we do.

Maybe the National Hockey League is holding Quebec City in reserve for the next relocation from Phoenix or Carolina, but it makes no sense to ignore an NHL-ready city.

“We knew that we were not going to get our team back”, said lifelong Nordiques fan Jean-Francois Côté, 51.