Pro sports are ubiquitous in Las Vegas, with NFL, NHL and WNBA teams already in town and MLB and NBA organizations likely to join them before the end of the decade. Vegas as a sports hot spot might seem obvious now, but it was far from a sure thing when Bill Foley became the first owner to take the plunge with hockey on the Strip.
In 2016, Foley secured the NHL’s 31st franchise—hockey’s first expansion in 16 years—for a franchise fee of $500 million. Expansion teams across sports leagues almost always struggle out of the gate, but Foley had other ideas.
“Playoffs in three; Cup in six,” Foley told Las Vegas television KSNV shortly after getting the team. “No excuses, that’s the standard. I consider that being very patient.”
Foley’s team backed his bold proclamation with a Stanley Cup Final appearance in Year 1, something no expansion team in the NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB had done in 50 years. The Golden Knights lost to the Washington Capitals but secured a Cup win in Year 6 against the Florida Panthers. Vegas can lay claim as the most successful expansion franchise ever in its first decade. It has only missed the playoffs once and is making a third Cup Final appearance—against the Carolina Hurricanes in a series that begins Tuesday.
