There's going to be an NHL team in Las Vegas. That's been clear for some time. On Tuesday, though, we got our best-yet indication that it's a truly done deal.

The Associated Press is reporting that the league has settled on Vegas — as an expansion team, assuming prospective owner Bill Foley can pay the $500 million fee. This isn't the first credible report of the news, but it's a good rule of thumb: When the AP says something is true, it's true. So, yay, hockey on the Strip! The NHL beat the NFL at something!

MORE: What about Las Vegas and the NFL?

We're assuming Foley's plan is still to name the team the Black Knights, which, whatever, the NHL doesn't deserve the Las Vegas Craps anyway.

More from the AP:

The person spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because details have not been released by the league ahead of its Board of Governors meeting on June 22. Quebec City was also considered for expansion. A second person who had been briefed on the decision said Las Vegas was a "done deal" following the recommendation of the NHL's executive committee.

The fact that this, explicitly, will be an expansion team is relevant; there'd been speculation at the Stanley Cup Final that, while the league was sold on Vegas overall, they'd need to keep it open as a relocation option. Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos is being sued by his family, and the Arizona Coyotes' arena issues seem like they'll never end.

Before Game 1 of the Final, commissioner Gary Bettman wasn't saying much.

"I am not going to handicap what's going to happen, but when the Board meets in Las Vegas on June 22, I am fairly certain that we will know more than we do today," Bettman said.

So, the thinking went — and this was bulwarked by the league's glacial pace to officialize anything expansion-related — why give the only new market that's truly prepped for 2017-18 Team No. 31 when you might need to deal with one of the pre-existing 30?

For now, that's on the back burner, and Quebec City gets to assume the role of Relocation Bogeyman, starting in 2017-18.

Now, it's time to talk about the expansion draft; Each team will be allowed to protect seven forwards, three defenseman and a goalie. A minimum of two forwards and one defenseman must be exposed who have played 40 games the previous season, or a total of 70 over the previous two, according to Sportsnet.