Not many are as closely connected to the NHL expansion process as it relates to Las Vegas than MGM and AEG, the financial forces behind T-Mobile Arena.

So that’s why this comment from MGM’s CEO Jim Murren understandably perked some ears. Murren was asked by Liz Claman of Fox Business what he thought were the chances of Las Vegas getting a professional sports team.

High and increasingly so. We just built the best arena in the United States with our partners AEG. It’s pro ready for hockey and basketball. I bet we’re going to have a hockey team, and I bet they are on the ice in 2018. -Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International

2018. And by 2018 do you mean, 2017-18 or 2018-19? Cause, there’s kind of a big difference.

According to our sources close to the team, 2017-18 is still the current plan and one person even went as far as to say, “2018-19 been discussed in the building, it is not our plan at all.” (We’ll have much more Monday when we lay out the latest information we have in relation to the timeline of an announcement.)

So what did Murren mean? That we don’t exactly know, however my best guess would be that he isn’t fully aware that an NHL season spans two calendar years. It’s possible for simplicity sake when the NHL and T-Mobile Arena are discussed they use the year 2018 rather than the tedious “2017-2018 season.”

My guess of course is pure speculation. We have reached out to MGM and Mr. Murren for clarification, but have not been able to get in direct contact with him.

The entire video is here (the direct quote comes at 8:02), and be sure to check back with us here at SinBin.vegas Monday as we update the current timeline as far as we know it.