Las Vegas rival

[Big Z Man 1990]

Who do you think will be Vegas' rival out of the gate? I think Arizona has the potential to be that rival due to both teams' location in the desert.

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[HanSolo]

Well I definitely think they'll try and force the Coyotes rivalry.

It really just depends on how the games go IMO

 

[The Feckless Puck]

I've mentioned this in other threads, but Arizona's the best natural rival for Vegas because, if nothing else, there are likely few to no Vegas hockey fans whose original loyalty lies with the Coyotes. I'll bet there are tons of Kings, Ducks, Sharks, Avs, and other fans who live in Vegas, so seeing the Knights play those teams will be a conflict of interest for many fans. Whereas with the Coyotes, I'll bet you dollars to donuts that there is no love either for Phoenix or for the Coyotes present in any of the residents of the Vegas metro area.

A secondary rivalry could be built if you Las Vegans have a subdemographic that you can't stand living in your city. Here in Phoenix we have pockets of Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Buffalo expats, and consequently those teams are heavy rivals for us. Any types of expat groups like that in LV?

 

[HanSolo]

I mean...I'm from LA originally...or not quite LA but the part of town I lived in was definitely Lakers/Kings/Dodgers country. Somehow I only ended up a Lakers fan and rooted for the Angels and Ducks

 

[jwhouk]

Betting it'll be between LA and Arizona.

 

[calvegas04]

I mean...I'm from LA originally...or not quite LA but the part of town I lived in was definitely Lakers/Kings/Dodgers country. Somehow I only ended up a Lakers fan and rooted for the Angels and Ducks

its easy rooting against the dodgers, they are the raiders of the MLB

 

[BattleBorn]

Betting it'll be between LA and Arizona.

I think LA might be our rival, but I doubt we're LA's rival until we meet in the playoffs.

I'm voting for Arizona, they'll never be in the playoffs. /TryingHard

 

[The Feckless Puck]

I think LA might be our rival, but I doubt we're LA's rival until we meet in the playoffs.

Well, I'll say this - it's not hard to create a rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings and their fans. If you're long-timers on HF then you know what I mean...

I think there are different kinds of rivalries - the Vegas/AZ rivalry shouldn't be too mean-spirited because, away from the ice, we're both in kind of the same boat. We'll probably want each other to lose when we play each other but otherwise we want each other to succeed. In other words, I think there's a mutual respect to be had between the two teams, and I think it'll be a good performance rivalry.

Now, the Kings, on the other hand... that's a rivalry that's ripe for some serious sports hate. I can't speak for everyone in the Pacific Division but for Coyotes and Ducks fans, by and large, it is soooooooo easy to despise the Kings. They give you so much reason to loathe them. I think they actually print a list of reasons why in their annual media guide.

 

[BattleBorn]

Well, I'll say this - it's not hard to create a rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings and their fans. If you're long-timers on HF then you know what I mean...

I think there are different kinds of rivalries - the Vegas/AZ rivalry shouldn't be too mean-spirited because, away from the ice, we're both in kind of the same boat. We'll probably want each other to lose when we play each other but otherwise we want each other to succeed. In other words, I think there's a mutual respect to be had between the two teams, and I think it'll be a good performance rivalry.

Now, the Kings, on the other hand... that's a rivalry that's ripe for some serious sports hate. I can't speak for everyone in the Pacific Division but for Coyotes and Ducks fans, by and large, it is soooooooo easy to despise the Kings. They give you so much reason to loathe them. I think they actually print a list of reasons why in their annual media guide.

Well, now I feel bad for trying so hard to make a mean rivalry.

I agree, we're definitely going to be fighting some of the same battles in the hockey world. That could certainly serve as a foundation for a more "friendly" rivalry until something happens that could develop a real rivalry situation.

 

[HanSolo]

Meh. Anaheim is LA's natural rival. I can see a rivalry forming with both SoCal teams but to say Vegas will be LA's main rival...not really. Some Kings fans would argue their main rival is the Sharks anyway.

 

[TaLoN]

Out of the gate? Likely nobody... it usually takes playoff appearances against other teams to form rivalries.

 

[sabresfan65]

The only problem with a Coyotes rivalry is that if the 32nd team ends up being on the west coast (Seattle, Portland) and not a central or mountain team (Houston, Milwaukee, KC) I think Arizona would be the team to move to the Central Division. The other option would be to move both us and Arizona to the Central and move Winnipeg to the Pacific so all 4 Western Canadian teams are in the same division.

 

[VanIslander]

The shortest distance from Vegas to another NHL city is the one to Los Angeles (Phoenix is definitely farther). The L.A.-Vegas route is also the most travelled!!

Vegas vs. L.A. is kindle ready to burn into an inferno!

 

[Super Cake]

Playoffs usually breed rivals. I doubt there will be much of a rivalry from the beginning with any team. Of the course the media is going to market a rivalry against another team when in fact there probably isn't a rivalry yet.

 

[BattleBorn]

Vegas-LA is a little closer when you're not riding a bike.

I've said it a couple times, but there's definitely going to be a one way rivalry with the Kings right off the hop. Vegas people deal with Californians all the time, clogging up the highways driving 10 below the speed limit, being loud, just generally being Californian. We don't like them much.

However, to the average Californian I doubt they think about Las Vegas much if at all. Plus, the Kings already have the Ducks and the Sharks. If they decide they don't like us, it's going to be based on what happens on the ice.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Vegas-LA is a little closer when you're not riding a bike.

I've said it a couple times, but there's definitely going to be a one way rivalry with the Kings right off the hop. Vegas people deal with Californians all the time, clogging up the highways driving 10 below the speed limit, being loud, just generally being Californian. We don't like them much.

However, to the average Californian I doubt they think about Las Vegas much if at all. Plus, the Kings already have the Ducks and the Sharks. If they decide they don't like us, it's going to be based on what happens on the ice.

The Kings don't like ANYONE. That's why everyone else hates them so much...

 

[BattleBorn]

The Kings don't like ANYONE. That's why everyone else hates them so much...

That probably goes both ways. Hockey fans tend to like a few teams, I don't know anyone that has the Kings as their 1A team. I don't know many Kings fans that like any other teams either.