On June 22, the NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, announced that the NHL was headed to Las Vegas. Bill Foley, the brand new owner of the NHL’s 31st expansion team, was then left with the task of naming the new team. At first there were many different rumors of possible names, from the Aces all the way to the Jokers and  Dealers. Although most believed they would chose the Black Knights. It was a known fact that the owner Bill Foley has strong ties to the army and wanted to chose it, so most felt he would lean towards that name. Although they were not allowed to use that name by the Army, they got the second best option.

 The team waited 5 months after being told they had the franchise to announce their team name. After they delayed the announcement by pushing the release back for nearly a month, November 22 was the date. That night at the Vegas Plaza, Bill Foley finally released the name, the Vegas Golden Knights! Almost instantly there was some controversy over the choice, but most, if not all, loved the symbol. The symbol is a knight’s helmet that features a “V” on the front of it. Sophomore Sam Hess says, “I like the symbol a lot. The ‘V’ on the front of it being part of the symbol is really cool.” The name, however, had a little misunderstanding at first. Most believed they were to be the Las Vegas Golden Knights, but after discussions with Mr. Foley, it was made clear that it is actually just the Vegas Golden Knights. Yes, it is just one word, but it can make a huge difference. The other two things Mr. Foley revealed that night were the secondary symbol and the team’s colors. The secondary symbol is two swords that cross to form the star from the famous Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas sign! The official colors were announced as steel grey, gold, red, and black. The reasoning behind each color is based on something in or around Las Vegas, Mr. Foley said.

 Now that the easy part is done, it is time for the owners and management to do the heavy lifting to put this all together, the expansion draft itself. The owners and coaches have to put together a team of 14 forwards, 9 defensmen, and 3 goalies. This task may seem easy, but it definitely is not. These players must come from the existing 30 NHL teams, but each NHL team can protect a certain number of players depending on what structure they use. They can either protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goaltender, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender. All players with a no move clause must be protected, and all players still in their first 3 years in the league are automatically protected and do not count. With that being said, either way, the draft leaves Vegas in a tough situation of picking the players no one else wants. They may struggle in the beginning, but in years to come, the Vegas Golden Knights may become a force in the league.