Vegas Golden Knights Introduced to NHL
The Las Vegas NHL expansion team set to begin play in 2017 has a name and a logo. The team won't even be "Las Vegas", as the franchise will go simply by "Vegas" and play as the "Golden Knights".
The team will begin play the 2017-18 NHL season, the hundredth season of league play. The team will play at the new T-Mobile Arena that opened this year in Paradise, Nevada, the municipality that includes the Vegas Strip. The team will be the first major professional sports team to play in the Las Vegas area, although the NFL's Oakland Raiders could still potentially join them there.
Vegas is the first expansion team to join the National Hockey League since the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in the 2000-01 season. They are the first team to join one of the traditional four major leagues since the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) in 2004-05. 2016 saw no expansion in North America's six largest leagues after 2015 introduced New York City FC and Orlando City SC to Major League Soccer and 2014 saw the debut of the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks. 2017 will see three new teams begin play in the major leagues, as Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC will debut in MLS months before Vegas hits the ice. 2018 has Los Angeles FC and perhaps another MLS team lined up.
