The NHL's board of governors unanimously approved the expansion team for a fee of $500 million during its meeting in Las Vegas in late June. It's up to McPhee to build Las Vegas from scratch when it begins play in 2017-18, a task he knows won't be easy. George McPhee has been tabbed as the first general manager of the NHL's expansion Las Vegas franchise, and he hopes to build an entertaining team that can compete sooner rather than later. McPhee's duties with the Islanders included scouting, which will be one of his primary jobs next season in preparation for the launch of the still-unnamed Las Vegas franchise. As the Capitals' GM, McPhee oversaw a complete rebuild around star winger Alex Ovechkin that led to the team making six consecutive playoff appearances before he was fired in 2014.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 13, 2016 17:37 UTC