When all is said and done with the Las Vegas front office staff there’s a good chance it’s littered with guys with ties to the Washington Capitals. After spending 17 years as a GM in the nation’s capital George McPhee would probably like to set up a staff at least somewhat similar to what he had there.

That’s why the news of Las Vegas asking for permission to speak to Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney is not terribly surprising. The question is whether or not Washington will actually allow Las Vegas the chance to ever speak to McPhee’s former director of amateur scouting.

The standard rule in the NHL is when offering a position to a person current employed by another team, the position must be a step up, otherwise the current club can deny permission for the interview. Therefore, with Mahoney, the Caps do not have to allow him to speak to Las Vegas as the move would be lateral…unless it’s not.

With the organization as young as it is, there are positions available at basically every spot except GM. If McPhee really wants Mahoney, the man many believe is the reason for Washington’s draft success over the past decade, he can get him by offering him a better position.

The question now is how bad does he want him. Guess we’ll find out soon.