With the National Hockey League's official introduction of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the league now has an odd number of teams: 31. The Golden Knights are the only active major professional sports team in Nevada, although efforts are planned for the Oakland Raiders to begin play as the Las Vegas Raiders within the next three years. The last NHL season featuring new teams came in 2000-2001 when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets joined the league.

Since the League's last expansion in 2000, the Atlanta Thrashers left for Winnipeg and the Arizona Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks adopted their current names, but no other teams have joined the league. With an uneven number of franchises, National Hockey League executives are considering adding a 32nd team to the League, but no official additions have been announced. A bid to bring a team to Quebec City was deferred in 2016, and Quebec City and Seattle seem to have the most potential for future expansion.

The NHL's newest franchises have had more success as of late but did not have the most promising records when they were first formed. The Minnesota Wild have made the playoffs in 8 of their 16 seasons but have qualified for postseason play in each of the last 5 seasons. Although the Wild have only one division title and have reached the conference quarterfinals just three times, they are quickly becoming a perennial playoff contender. The Columbus Blue Jackets have only qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in three of their 16 seasons and have never won a playoff series; the franchise has also had seven different full-time head coaches in their history.

Many are wondering if the Vegas Golden Knights will have the support and talent to succeed. The Golden Knights selected Gerard Gallant to serve as the franchise's first head coach; Gallant comes to Nevada after serving two full seasons as the head coach of the Florida Panthers before being fired in November 2016. The Golden Knights have affiliated themselves with Chicago Wolves from the AHL and will serve as the Wolves' primary NHL affiliate — the Wolves will also be affiliated with the St. Louis Blues for the 2017-2018 season. The Golden Knight's affiliation with Chicago could bode very well for the franchise's future, as the Wolves have reached the AHL playoffs in all but five of their 22 seasons and are frequent playoff contenders. The Golden Knights will play their home games at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, which has a capacity of 17,500 fans; however, some are skeptical that the interest for a professional hockey team in the desert will regularly fill the arena. The NHL has long been interested in having a team based in Las Vegas, though, since the city hosted a minor league hockey team, the Las Vegas Thunder for six seasons in the 1990s. The NHL has hosted preseason game in Las Vegas, called the Frozen Fury, since 1997 with the Los Angeles Kings serving as the home team. This event has consistently drawn a sizable crowd, leading many to believe Las Vegas can support a full-time NHL franchise of its own; the Frozen Fury will not be cancelled moving forward, but the Golden Knights will serve as the home team in the future.

The most comparable franchise to the new Golden Knights is probably the Arizona Coyotes, and tracking Coyotes news and statistics raises skepticism from some NHL analysts and sports reporters. The Arizona Coyotes have played in Phoenix, under two different names, since 1996. They qualified for the playoffs in each of their first four seasons, but have only qualified for the playoffs four times in their more recent 16 seasons, including missing the playoffs for the last five consecutive seasons. Attendance figures are not yet available for the 2016-2017 season, but the Coyotes have finished in the bottom three in the league in attendance in each season from 2010-2016. During the 2015-2016 season, the Coyotes average home crowd included 13,433 fans, nearly 10,000 fewer fans than the league-leading Chicago Blackhawks. The NHL season also includes many more games than the NFL season, so while Las Vegas's tourism may bring enough fans to support an NFL franchise each Sunday in the fall, professional hockey may not have the same success. Whereas Green Bay Packer and New England Patriot fans would make the trip to Nevada to see their favorite NFL team in action, the following for hockey in the United States isn't quite as strong. The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings have two of the strongest fan bases for professional hockey teams in the U.S., but fans of both teams enjoy watching their team play at home, and likely wouldn't travel to Las Vegas frequently enough to support a visiting team fanbase in the desert. Arizona Coyotes owners have recently pondered relocating or selling the franchise. Hockey has struggled to stay relevant in the desert for many years, so it will be interesting to see if the Golden Knights can build a stronger fan base and franchise than their Grand Canyon State counterparts.

In any case, it will be exciting to see if the gamble will pay out for the Golden Knights and the NHL in Las Vegas.