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Vegas Golden Knights Searching For AHL Affiliate, Radio And TV Deals

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: George McPhee (L) and majority owner of the Las Vegas NHL franchise Bill Foley take questions from members of the media after Foley announced McPhee as the team's general manager during a news conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 13, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: George McPhee (L) and majority owner of the Las Vegas NHL franchise Bill Foley take questions from members of the media after Foley announced McPhee as the team's general manager during a news conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 13, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Major pieces still need to fall in place for the Vegas Golden Knights.

There’s still a lot of time that needs to pass before the Vegas Golden Knights gets any players on their roster. The team needs to hire medical and training staff.  The same can be said about the jersey reveal. And we also know the expansion franchise is unable to make trades by the deadline due to Bill Foley’s paperwork. Don’t forget the NHL Entry Draft is around the corner as well.  So what can Vegas do in the meantime?

Well first of all, they’re going to need an AHL affiliate. Starting a franchise from scratch is tough and one of the first issues is finding a minor league team. Senior Vice President Murray Craven said that the deal with the new affiliate would be a done deal by January. But here we are at the end of February with no affiliate set in stone.

The Chicago Wolves could be an option as the partnership with the Blues is set to expire after this season. Another option is the San Antonio Rampage the top affiliate for the Colorado Avalanche. Vegas would need to buy their rights from the San Antonio Spurs which seems highly unlikely. I expect the news of the new affiliate to come down any day now since the team is already this late.

The second thing that needs to get done soon is the Radio and Television deals. Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz has already been in discussions with multiple radio and television outlets. Bubolz told the Las Vegas Review Journal that they’re hoping to have TV partner by March. There has been no signs of speculation of what television station the Vegas Golden Knights would be broadcasted on as of yet.

As for the radio deal, Bubolz went on to say that he would like to have the games broadcasted on FM, AM and in Spanish. “We’ve met with several radio stations in the market, and we’ll continue to talk in the coming weeks.” Bubolz also told the Review Journal that it’s important to have a signal that’s heard throughout the state of Nevada. “This is the NHL. We’re not going to accept being on tape delay or having portions of the broadcast not aired.”

Next: It's A Good Thing That The Vegas Golden Knights Cant Trade At The Deadline?

As a result, whatever the Golden Knights decide to do with all these matters at hand is up to them. All these issues should be resolved in the coming weeks I’m assuming. But then again who knows? Maybe this wont get solved til or around the expansion draft. In my opinion, the Vegas Golden Knights need to get in the news a bit more than they have been. For an expansion franchise that’s in the desert, they need to keep the casual fans on their toes. However, the die-hard hockey fans in Las Vegas are starting to get a bit anxious. And rightfully so.

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