“It’s going to be hard to keep players in Vegas focused on hockey with all the on ice distractions.”

Whether it’s word for word, or altered in a way, this is a statement that seems to find it’s way into just about every out-of-town article about a potential Vegas franchise.

Here’s some news, it’s complete crap.

Are there fun things to do in Las Vegas? Yes. Are there lots of attractive women in Las Vegas? Yes. Are there temptations that may not exist in a city like Montreal, Buffalo, or San Jose. Absolutely.

But this is the best professional hockey league in the world. They employ the greatest collection of hockey talent anywhere, and these are people that have dedicated their lives to being the best they can be at the sport, and have made it to the biggest stage.

Do we really think that the rolling billboards, stripper trading cards, or craps tables are actually going to derail the careers of these guys?

C’mon.

The NHL has been in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. for a long long time, and do they have problems there? We do know that there are casinos, strip clubs, and even drugs in those cities too, right?

Enough is enough. There are actual concerns about hockey in Vegas (none of which I’m even remotely worried about), but players staying out of trouble, is absolutely NOT one of them.