Players like idea of NHL team in Las Vegas

On the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals, a commentator on the NHL Network regaled viewers about how playing hockey in Tampa, Fla., in June was everything a player could ask for.

Players can come to the rink in shorts and sandals and there’s no better feeling, he said.

If the players share his feeling, they should be ecstatic about the possibility of playing in Las Vegas come 2017. Snow? What snow?

The NHL’s Board of Governors is expected to approve a formal plan at today’s meeting at the MGM Grand to study expansion. That’s the most exciting news yet for William Foley, the billionaire who wants to bring the NHL to Southern Nevada and has led the drive to get major league sports to Las Vegas.

Foley will not attend today’s meeting, preferring to lay low in Montana while the league conducts its business at the MGM. But some of the players who are in Las Vegas for today’s NHL Awards Show at the Grand Garden seemed receptive to the idea of a Las Vegas franchise when they met the media on Tuesday.

“It would be a cool place to have a hockey team,” said Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, one of three finalists for the Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player), Vezina Trophy (top goalie), the Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed) and the Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player, awarded by the players association). “It would be fun. It’s a glamour city, and I could see a lot of hockey fans coming here to visit and watch their team.”

San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, a finalist for the NHL Foundation Award, said of expansion: “Why not? More jobs for guys. And Vegas is a great city to visit.”

Jonathan Toews, the captain of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, said he hopes owners will give careful thought to the issue before they decide to expand and go into yet another nontraditional hockey market.

“I guess there’s a lot of hype about Vegas,” said Toews, a finalist for the Mark Messier Award and the Frank Selke Trophy. “I’ve said all along I’m no businessman, so I hope as a league we see through our successes and our failures and make a smart decision and do whatever will make the game grow and give it long-term success.”

League general managers, who met Tuesday at the Bellagio, were a little more guarded in their comments.

“I’m going to leave that one to brighter minds — our owners,” Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving said. “I think Las Vegas is a great spot. But there’s a lot more that goes into it than a great place to come to. But I think in the dead of winter I wouldn’t mind coming here.”

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“Personally, until someone tells me we’re going to expand, I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on it,” he said. “But if this is a market that gets to be considered, it speaks volumes to the growth of the community here and the fans who want to see the NHL.”

Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland said of expansion: “It wasn’t even brought up. Frankly, it’s something that’s above me. I’m just thinking about the Red Wings.”

The players say an April 17 incident involving Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll, in which he was arrested for drug possession at the MGM’s pool, should not be held against the city as a possible place to put an NHL team. The Clark County district attorney’s office charged Stoll on Monday with felony cocaine possession.

“I think there are a lot of places where you can get in trouble,” said Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, a finalist for the Calder Trophy (top rookie). “We’re professionals. I think we can learn to adapt to working and living in a place like Las Vegas.”

That’s something the owners undoubtedly will talk about as they debate the merits of expanding.

Winnpieg’s Andrew Ladd, a Messier Award finalist, said he can see the NHL in Las Vegas happening.

“You talk to any person, and they’ll tell you they’d rather go to work in shorts and a T-shirt than a parka,” he said.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.