Does the Success of Vegas...

[Payton]

...Highlight a problem with the NHL Expansion system? Or is this something that is good for the league?

Maybe I'm being a bit of a curmudgeon, but I just don't believe that an expansion team should be a championship contender in year one!

 

[dash]

...Highlight a problem with the NHL Expansion system? Or is this something that is good for the league?

Maybe I'm being a bit of a curmudgeon, but I just don't believe that an expansion team should be a championship contender in year one!

Well, when you pay $500 million to join the league, I think the plan is that you shouldn't be godawful. I don't think anybody thought that Vegas was going to be this good after seeing who they acquired in the expansion draft (I certainly didn't think so), but they did get themselves a very good coach in Gerard Gallant and it's amazing when hard work and career seasons from a few players can do for a team.

 

[Payton]

Well, when you pay $500 million to join the league, I think the plan is that you shouldn't be godawful. I don't think anybody thought that Vegas was going to be this good after seeing who they acquired in the expansion draft (I certainly didn't think so), but they did get themselves a very good coach in Gerard Gallant and it's amazing when hard work and career seasons from a few players can do for a team.

I mean if this is the same route expansion has always taken, and Vegas just caught lightning in a bottle, then more power to them... Was under the impression that they did expansion a little differently this go round... Am I misinformed?

 

[dash]

I mean if this is the same route expansion has always taken, and Vegas just caught lightning in a bottle, then more power to them... Was under the impression that they did expansion a little differently this go round... Am I misinformed?

No, you are correct, the expansion draft and the rules that the other 30 teams had to follow when it came to protecting players was certainly created to give Vegas a good chance of being competitive this season. I think everyone is quite surprised at how well they have performed this season though.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

The problem wasn't the expansion system, the problem was GM's overreacting to the expansion system.

Once Seattle comes in, my guess is GM's are going to put out their list and let whatever will happen happen. There won't be the shit ton of trades to protect player A only to see traded player B become better than player A. GMGM just got lucky as hell that GM's hadn't done this in almost 20 years.

 

[Payton]

No, you are correct, the expansion draft and the rules that the other 30 teams had to follow when it came to protecting players was certainly created to give Vegas a good chance of being competitive this season. I think everyone is quite surprised at how well they have performed this season though.

Fair enough... I mean I get that they don't want the expansion club to be complete trash, but there are probably a few current clubs that would LOVE to be allowed to just throw all their chips into the middle and start over with the same opportunity Vegas got... But then they are where they are by their own accord, I suppose.

 

[forty_three]

I mean if this is the same route expansion has always taken, and Vegas just caught lightning in a bottle, then more power to them... Was under the impression that they did expansion a little differently this go round... Am I misinformed?

As dash said, the rules for this expansion draft were a bit different. There was a lot of quality available to them compared to expansion teams of the past. Plus some GMs handed over even more trying to protect certain players.

But there is no way the NHL was going to get another wheelbarrow full of cash if Vegas came out like the Caps or Senators when they came into the league.

 

[Payton]

Do you all think they might nerf the expansion process a bit for Seattle because of the instant success Vegas had? Or do you figure they'll keep it the same in the interest of "fairness" to the Seattle club?

(Pretty much a foregone conclusion that Seattle is the choice for club #32...)

 

[forty_three]

Do you all think they might nerf the expansion process a bit for Seattle because of the instant success Vegas had? Or do you figure they'll keep it the same in the interest of "fairness" to the Seattle club?

(Pretty much a foregone conclusion that Seattle is the choice for club #32...)

It will be interesting to watch for sure. The teams with a stockpile of young talent will be pushing to be able to protect more for sure, and Toronto fits that mold. They will argue heavy in favor of getting to protect more assets. That's part of why some teams made such stupid deals and gave so much talent to Vegas, because they were worried about protecting solid(er) assets.

I hope they make the rules exactly the same, but I doubt they will because the league doesn't want to be in Seattle as desperately as they wanted to be in Vegas.