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SPORTS Friday 7 december 2018

Seattle moves into next phase after NHL expansion approval

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
SEA ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Se-
attle's NHL expansion team
has its roots in Dave Tip-
pett's computer.
That's where the longtime
coach-turned-senior ad-
viser keeps a running list of
players around the league
who might be available in
an expansion draft that is
still 2½ years off. It is just an
exercise for now but will be-
come a key building block
when Seattle picks its first
players in June 2021.
"Every year it'll change a
little bit," Tippett said. "By
the time it gets here, you'll
have a pretty good idea of
where you think teams are
going to fall."
Long months are ahead be-
fore the as-yet-unnamed
team plays its first game,
but work is already under-
way and the effort can be-
gin in earnest now that the
NHL Board of Governors has
officially awarded Seattle
a franchise. Groundbreak-
ing on a total overhaul of
KeyArena is Wednesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, center left, holds a jersey after the NHL Board of Governors announced Seattle as the
and Seattle's front office league's 32nd franchise, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018, in Sea Island Ga.. Joining Bettman, from left to right, is Jerry Bruckheimer, David
will spend the rest of this Bonderman, David Wright, Tod Leiweke and Washington Wild youth hockey player Jaina Goscinski.
season plotting the course Associated Press
for an organization that has
a tough act to follow after be senior vice president for a successful expansion rebuild or five-year start- working to settle Seattle's
the Vegas Golden Knights of hockey operations and draft after helping George ing point. You actually can American Hockey League
reached the Stanley Cup have a big say in choosing McPhee put the Golden get some good players be- affiliate.
Final in their inaugural sea- the first general manager Knights together. The same cause of the rules." And he and the ownership
son. of the league's 32nd team. rules will be in place that al- Leiweke is friends with group will, at some point,
"Part of the DNA of this own- Tippett will likely hire some low teams to protect only McPhee and Golden go on a hiring spree to try to
ership group is we're ex- scouts this summer and seven forwards, three de- Knights president Kerry replicate Vegas' success.
tremely competitive," said move forward on the GM fensemen and a goalten- Bubolz and said his new "We have momentum, and
Tod Leiweke, a minority search. der, or eight skaters at any team will build "brick by this is a business of recruit-
partner, president and CEO "When you're a year or two position and a goaltender. brick" like Vegas did. ment," Leiweke said. "We
of Seattle Hockey Partners. out, everything continues to That means that for $850 First, there are real bricks. now really feel confident
"We're here to win. And we evolve," Tippett said. "You million, Seattle will have Majority owner David Bond- that we'll be able to recruit
want to win. So we're going continue to monitor things. an opportunity to win right erman said the immediate a top-flight staff. And we
to look at these timelines It's an ever-changing world away. "It gives you an ex- focus is on getting arena need to, because this is the
and how it can be put to out there right now in the citement that you can renovations and three-rink most competitive league in
our advantage." hockey world between have a team that's not practice facility construc- the world, and parity is the
That means Tippett will coaches and GMs." your expansion teams of tion completed. Leiweke trademark of the National
watch the rest of this sea- Veteran Detroit Red Wings the past with the NHL rules," expects the 17,000-seat Hockey League today. So
son with an eye on the new GM Ken Holland is con- Tippett said. "You can have downtown arena to open we're going to have to be
team's future and he will sidered a potential can- a competitive team like in March or April 2021 and really, really good at re-
sketch out the beginnings didate, and Vegas as- Vegas. Nobody expected host the expansion draft. cruiting, but our owners are
of a hockey operations sistant Kelly McCrimmon that from them. But it's not Tippett has a hand in all going to give us everything
department. He will likely would know the recipe as if you're in a five-year those projects and is also we need."q