LAS VEGAS -- Midway through my chat with Bill Foley, the principal owner of the NHL's newest team, he discovered, much to his relief, that he didn't need to wear dress pants to his meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman.
Phew. Jeans suit the investment executive and entrepreneur better.
After Wednesday's official announcement that the NHL will expand for the first time since 2000 and add a new team in Las Vegas beginning with the 2017-18 season, Foley, an admitted recluse, might well be the most important, or at least the most interesting, man in hockey.
If this is uncharted territory for the NHL and all of pro sports -- the first pro franchise to call the gambling and vacation mecca home -- it is for Foley as well.