NHL approves Las Vegas expansion for 2017-18

The NHL will expand to Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season, becoming the first major league to place a franchise in the city.

The team is expected to be called the Black Knights, will be placed in the Pacific Division and will be the NHL’s 31st team. The expansion application was approved Wednesday by the league’s Board of Governors, following prior approval of the executive committee.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said the vote to approve the new franchise was unanimous. It had required a three-quarters approval vote.

Bill Foley, the businessman who spearheaded the drive to bring the NHL to Las Vegas and was behind the construction of the team’s home, the T Mobile Arena, will own the franchise at a cost of $500 million. That revenue will be split among the remaining owners and does not have to be shared with players, per the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Assn.

The NHL did not grant a franchise to Quebec City, which, along with Las Vegas, was a finalist in the expansion process. Prevailing thought is that the Quebec City group, backed by the finances of Quebecor, was told to wait until muddled ownership and arena situations become clear in North Carolina and Arizona, among other places. Quebec City could then get an existing team, rather than an expansion team.

Bettman said the Board of Governors decided to “defer” the application of the Quebec City group. He said there was no doubt about prospective ownership or the desire for a team to be placed there, but said the fluctuation and decline of the Canadian dollar were considerations in the decision. “Unfortunately the state and volatility of the Canadian dollar undermined that bid,” he said. He added that geography also came into play; the Las Vegas team will be the 15th in the Western Conference, while there are 16 in the East.

Bettman called the expansion process “intense and fairly complicated,” and called Las Vegas “vibrant and growing,” and a global destination.

“Future opportunities for the business are greater than ever,” he said during a news conference in Las Vegas.

He also said the new team will have a chance to be as competitive as any expansion team has been.

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The NHL also released information on the 2017 expansion draft. Clubs can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender OR eight skaters (forwards and defensemen) and one goalie. All players who have current and continuing no-movement clauses at the time of the expansion draft must be protected and will be counted toward the protection limits. First- and second-year pros and unsigned draft choices will be exempt and won’t count toward the protection limit.

The new franchise must select one player from each existing club for a total of 30 players and must select 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies. It must select a minimum of 20 players who are under contract for the 2017-18 season. The Las Vegas team must select players with an aggregate expansion draft value that is between 60 to 100% of the prior season’s salary cap ceiling.

The new team will get the same drafts in the 2017 draft lottery as the team that finishes with the third-least points in the 2016-17 season.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen

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