The NHL hasn’t shied away from acknowledging its potential interest in Las Vegas, as that’s been understood to be the case for well over a year now, the latest example being deputy commissioner Bill Daly’s comments in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Tuesday.

Asked by ESPN.com via email Tuesday exactly what the purpose of his trip to Las Vegas was this past weekend, Daly said: "It was to attend a Sports Lawyers Association Board of Directors meeting. The trip was not 'expansion related' at all. But since I was there, I took the opportunity to review progress on the arena. It was nothing more than that."

There’s indeed a rink being built and potential ownership interest, so that’s why this is a legit possibility. But the NHL still hasn’t fully committed to the idea.

I think what will be the ultimate factor in whether Daly and commissioner Gary Bettman recommend this as a course of action to the Board of Governors is whether the league is very confident that the actual backbone of the fan base -- especially season-ticket holders -- would be normal, working folks who actually live in Vegas, not a business plan based on tourists. That’s going to be really important in whether the league ever moves ahead on this.