Putting a team in Las Vegas would be disastrous for NHL

Some blunders, you can predict long before they happen.

When the NHL abandoned cable TV channel ESPN for the Outdoor Life Network, it wasn't going out on a limb to suggest the deal would backfire. Same thing when the Philadelphia Flyers took to wearing long-legged Cooperall pants or when the defunct Oakland Seals ordered players to wear skates painted white.

Or how about when the Fox network experimented with a glowing puck on its telecasts?

These days, the NHL seems to be on the verge of making another doozy by putting an expansion team in Las Vegas, widely lauded as "one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed this week that TV and film producer Jerry Bruckheimer is among a group of prospective investors who have discussed with the league their interest in owning a team in Las Vegas.