Two weeks ago, Hockey Night In Canada’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Las Vegas asked the Capitals for permission to interview Ross Mahoney, opening up the possibility that the Caps’ current assistant GM could reunite with McPhee, Mahoney’s longtime friend and mentor. 11 days later, McPhee announced the hiring of the 55-year-old McCrimmon.
“Kelly is an outstanding hockey man and we are delighted to have him join us,” McPhee said in the team’s media release announcing the hire. “His extensive experience and consistently high level of performance in the game will help us build a strong and successful organization and team. His hockey acumen, character, and work ethic are perfect for us.”
According to NBC Sports, the McCrimmon pickup is a good one for a myriad of reasons.
McCrimmon makes an awful lot of sense for Vegas. He’s literally done everything in Brandon short of selling popcorn — though we can’t verify he hasn’t — and his ability to serve and thrive in a variety of hockey operation roles should be a boon to Vegas, which will need to build an organization entirely from scratch.
It’s also probably worth noting that, last year, McCrimmon coached Nolan Patrick, considered right now to be the No. 1 available talent at the 2017 draft. That draft, of course, will be Vegas’ first and the club will have relatively decent odds at winning the lottery.
McCrimmon reportedly turned down an opportunity to join the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.
The Las Vegas franchise continues to hit milestones. Over the weekend, T-Mobile Arena laid down a sheet of ice for the first time.
#tmobilearena looking pretty close to #NHL ready🙌🏻
A photo posted by Vegas Is Hockey (@vegashockeynhl) on
And there you have it. #tmobilearena officially has its first completed sheet of ice👍🏻
A photo posted by Vegas Is Hockey (@vegashockeynhl) on
The organization will make its NHL debut during the 2017-18 season.
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