Seven months ago, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan didn't have an NHL job. Today, Sullivan was on the horn with the Leader of the Free World.
President Barack Obama contacted Sullivan to congratulate him and the Penguins on their Stanley Cup title, and not surprisingly, Sullivan was excited with the call.
In a perfect piece of symmetry, Obama noted Pittsburgh won the Cup in his first year of presidency (2009), and repeated the feat in his last.
Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday that the league's Board of Governors unanimously approved expansion to the city for the 2017-18 season, giving Las Vegas its first professional sports franchise.
Bill Foley will be principal owner of the team, which will play its home games at the recently opened T-Mobile Arena. Foley and his group will pay a $500-million expansion fee, which will be distributed equally among the 30 other clubs.
"Well, Las Vegas, we did it," Foley said at Wednesday's news conference. "It wasn't easy, was it?"
The new franchise will play in the Western Conference's Pacific Division, and there will be no other changes to the league's alignment.
"In the fall of 2017, when we celebrate the 100th birthday of the NHL, we will do so as a League of 31 teams,” Bettman said in a statement.
“We are pleased to welcome Bill Foley and the city of Las Vegas to the League and are truly excited that an NHL franchise will be the first major professional sports team in this vibrant, growing, global destination city.”
The league also announced Wednesday that expansion to Quebec City has been deferred.
Foley said his Las Vegas club doesn't yet have a name, and although he's partial to calling them the Black Knights, nothing's been decided.
The expansion draft will take place nearly one year to the day of Wednesday's announcement.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the Las Vegas franchise will be a lottery team in 2017 and its future NHL Draft positions will be determined by the standings, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Almost a year to the day after the NHL confirmed expansion into the Las Vegas market, the 31st franchise will have its roster.
Along with the expansion announcement Wednesday, the NHL revealed that it will announce the players chosen to Las Vegas' initial roster from the pool exposed to the draft on June 21, 2017.
Las Vegas' acting general manager and his team will choose one player from each of the NHL's 30 teams. Those teams can safeguard from between nine and 11 players, depending on position. These players will have to be named to the protected list on June 17.
The incoming franchise will have three days to formulate their roster before the NHL announces the team June 21.
Among further guidelines set forth for the draft:
Las Vegas must select 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies
Las Vegas must select a minimum of 20 players under contract for the 2017-18 season
Las Vegas must spend between 60-100 percent of the salary cap
Shortly after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced expansion to Las Vegas in 2017-18 on Wednesday, he confirmed the league deferred expanding to Quebec City.
Bettman didn't fully shut the door on expanding to La Belle Province in the future, but said geographic imbalance, among other factors, determined the decision.
"Although the League sees Quebec City as a prime opportunity for future expansion, the Board of Governors concluded that the NHL's lack of geographic balance, the belief that it would be best not to assimilate multiple teams into the League at this time, as well as the recent and significance devaluation of the Canadian dollar made it prudent to defer Quebecor's application."
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Jeremy Jacobs, said Quebec City is still a strong candidate for future expansion.
Pierre Dion, who spearheaded the move to Quebec as President and CEO of Quebecor, was adamant about working to bring a second team back to the Province.
"The strong relationship we've built with the NHL over the last few years is very important to us," Dion said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "Bringing the Nordiques back to Quebec City remains a priority for Quebecor. We will keep talking."
It's been 10 years since Tie Domi last dropped the gloves in an NHL game, but he still isn't someone you want to mess with.
A young Montreal Canadiens fan figured this out quickly after challenging the former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer to a brawl in a parking lot recently.
Drafted in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Lucic has recorded 159 goals and 397 points in 647 regular-season games, averaging 20 goals and 50 points for every 82 games played. He's also proven to be an intimidating foe and a positive possession player, bringing a coveted mix of skill and physicality to the table.
The 28-year-old left-winger is set to command a significant amount of attention, with these three teams ranking as top potential destinations.
Vancouver Canucks
Cap space: $9,287,085
Bring him home.
Lucic is a Vancouver native who had a successful run with the WHL's Giants as a junior player, and even lifted the Stanley Cup on home soil, albeit as a member of the Bruins, back in 2011.
The Canucks are quite thin at left wing, and will need to replace Radim Vrbata's production up front after his likely departure via free agency. Dumping Alex Burrows' contract would open up more cap space and a roster spot for Lucic.
Lucic has already said playing in Vancouver is a dream he's had since childhood, while general manager Jim Benning is quite familiar with him dating back to his days as assistant GM in Boston.
Edmonton Oilers
Cap space: $12,105,836
Speaking of the Boston days, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli certainly benefited from having Lucic on the roster during his tenure with the Bruins, although it's now-New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton who's to be credited for selecting the hulking young forward.
Lucic would bring a level of physicality and veteran savvy that's been missing in Edmonton's young core, and would be called upon to serve as a complementary point producer, which suits his skill set just fine.
Earlier in June, it was reported that Lucic would be "warm" to receiving a free-agent offer from the Oilers, although at the time he appeared somewhat certain to return to Los Angeles.
Warmth is something he'd certainly need should he make that move.
New York Islanders
Cap space: $15,421,025
The New York Islanders advanced to the second round of the playoffs and won't be looking to take a step back.
So while GM Garth Snow appears prepared to allow Kyle Okposo to walk as a UFA, his departure would open a prime spot for Lucic alongside John Tavares in Brooklyn.
Having Tavares locked into a team-friendly salary-cap hit of $5.5 million over the next couple years allows for a measure of big spending elsewhere, for the time being at least.
The Islanders' top-paid player at the moment is Johnny Boychuk, also a member of the 2011 Bruins.
That could change as early as July 1, should Snow announce "Lucic is coming."
The Chicago Blackhawks may welcome a familiar face back into the mix this offseason.
Unrestricted free agent Brian Campbell is believed to have serious interest in returning to the team with whom he spent three seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2010, a source told Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
Campbell is coming off an eight-year, $57-million contract that he signed with the Blackhawks in 2008, with the final five years of the deal being spent with the Florida Panthers after a salary dump following the 2011 season.
As Kuc points out, the 37-year-old would have to agree to a discounted contract in order to fit under Chicago's already tight cap situation.
Campbell is averaging 0.49 points per game over his career, and has proven to be a steady puck-moving, positive-possession defenseman.
Milan Lucic's prepared to make himself available on the open market.
In text messages to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, both Lucic and Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi confirmed the bruising power winger will test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
This comes after the latest round of negotiations, believed to have occurred over the past few days, failed to yield an agreement.
According to LeBrun, Lombardi has since authorized all 29 other clubs to speak with Lucic, likely in an effort to gain compensation.
Lucic has previously expressed a desire to return to the Kings, and a scheme that suited his style so incredibly well, but at this time he's unwilling to accept the pay cut required to squeeze inside the club's tight salary parameters.
Now, he'll be one of the biggest names on the open market July 1, and will have no shortage of suitors. The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks are two teams that fit Lucic's desire to be on the West Coast, and have previously been rumored to be interested in him.
Lucic earned $6 million last season, and will likely pursue something similar as a free agent.
If Lombardi's unable to recoup a draft pick or prospect as compensation, the Kings will have nothing to show for their draft-day deal with the Boston Bruins, which saw them part with Martin Jones, Colin Miller, and the 13th overall pick used to select defenseman Jakub Zboril.
NHL general managers appear to be looking to take advantage of a brief window of time in which P.K. Subban may be available on the trade market.
The versatile defenseman has a no-move clause that kicks in July 1, and the volume of calls being fielded by the front office in regard to his availability has "increased significantly" over the past 48 hours, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.
One Western Conference GM has reportedly been told flat out Subban won't be made available, which suggests the calls are coming in unsolicited.
Canadiens are not shopping Subban but other teams are indeed calling and more frequently as July 1 no-movement clause approaches...
Subban's no-move clause will remain in place through to the end of 2021-22, and his contract carries a salary cap hit of $9 million.
LeBrun adds some teams around the NHL are desperate for an elite-level defenseman, but GM Marc Bergevin would need to receive quite the offer to give up Subban.
With the NHL expected to announce plans to expand to Las Vegas, and existing franchises scrambling to determine exactly what it means for their puzzles, NHL draft weekend in Buffalo has taken on an added dynamic.
For this, and with the hustle and bustle in advance of the most anticipated weekend on the NHL calendar, pundits are calling for a flurry of activity on the draft floor, in hotel lobbies, and throughout one of the rare stretches of days when the NHL's decision-makers come together.
Here are nine bold predictions for draft weekend:
Red Wings find a home for Datsyuk's contract
Ken Holland may not be "overly optimistic" he can move Datsyuk's $7.5-million contract, but the opportunity for a non-contender to net assets for simply housing money is too good to pass up. The Red Wings are in a major jam, and thus without leverage. Because of this, a wise taker will swoop in, and benefit in the long run.
Blue Jackets balk at trade offers for No. 3
There's been speculation that Jarmo Kekalainen is drumming up interest in the No. 3 overall selection and the rights to Jesse Puljujarvi. His motivation, to an extent, may involve attaching an unwanted contract to the towering Finnish winger in a package deal. Does this sound nuts to anyone else? Kekalainen will ultimately realize there are other means to shed a body, and select Puljujarvi.
Someone steps in to save Chychrun
The consensus may be that Jakob Chychrun will fall from his preseason rank as the No. 2 overall rated prospect and out of the top 10. But all 30 teams aren't working off the same spreadsheet. There'll be an organization, one that hasn't deviated far from its initial evaluation, that will trade up to stop the Florida-born defenseman's slide so it can nab a player who'll contribute in a top four.
Blues make out well on Shattenkirk deal
As Alex Goligoski and Keith Yandle's traded negotiation rights proved, transition defenders are now at a premium. So, sitting pretty are the Blues who, in apparently being willing to move Kevin Shattenkirk, can sit back and let the offers flow in. Doug Armstrong apparently already has one on the table involving a first-round pick, which in itself would be a coup with Shattenkirk scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.
Flames don't solve goaltending woes
There are more teams at risk of losing a quality netminder in expansion than there are teams - or a team - without a single viable option. So in theory, the situation presents itself well for the Flames, right? Well, with teams still making decisions on working protection parameters, and information still to gain before making a call, it's on Brad Treliving - who needs a goaltender in camp - to act first. A trade this weekend would likely be an overpay.
Oilers can't resist Tkachuk
Desperate for a top-end blue-liner who can contribute right now - rather than aiding a penniless prospect system - Edmonton will pass on its pick of the 2016 defensive class and choose a winger who possesses the traits required to flank Connor McDavid for the better part of the next decade.
Islanders replace Okposo
Back to the scene of some of his greatest successes, Garth Snow will be a draft-night darling again. The Islanders architect will find a top-flight winger to replace Kyle Okposo on the draft floor and serve as a capable linemate for John Tavares without overspending on the open market.
Leafs load up on netminders
In trading for, and promptly agreeing to a lucrative long-term contract with Frederik Andersen, Toronto's need for goaltending was magnified. At their price points, Jonathan Bernier doesn't fit in tandem with Andersen, while the other prominent goalies in the system - Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau - haven't shown they're poised to make contributions at the next level. The Maple Leafs will inject multiple goaltending prospects into the system in an effort to push Andersen down the road.
Duchene is dealt
All signs indicate the Avalanche are looking to make a major amendment to their roster this summer. At the same time, however, Joe Sakic has secured the futures of Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie, only recently extended Erik Johnson, and doesn't appear to be wavering on Gabriel Landeskog. This leaves Duchene, who endures as the whipping boy, as the only trade piece who could fulfill such promise.
