Las Vegas franchise names George McPhee GM

Las Vegas' NHL franchise named longtime Washington Capitals executive George McPhee the club's first general manager Wednesday.

"I was looking for a guy who was going to (have a) dedicated, take-no-prisoners, want-to-win attitude," said owner Bill Foley during a press conference, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "This has been an exhaustive process. George had all the components I was looking for."

McPhee steps into the job after serving as general manager of the Capitals from 1997-2014. He helped Washington capture the Southeast Division seven times, while also making a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season.

He most recently spent time with the New York Islanders, with whom he served as a special advisor to general manager Garth Snow.

While his team will be constructed from scratch via an expansion draft, McPhee is already setting high expectations.

"Our mission is clear, we're going to build a team Las Vegas can be proud of. Our goal is simple - to win the Stanley Cup," McPhee said. "We'll do our homework, scout everybody, and select the right players.

"I want to win now, too. We may have an opportunity other expansion teams haven't had before to put a successful team on the ice."

McPhee's first piece of business will be to fill out the rest of his staff, a process he says will begin next week. As for the team's coach, that decision will be a more lengthy process.

"We can take our time with that," he said.

Las Vegas will join league play in the 2017-18 season.