Vegas' entry to the NHL wasn't much different than recent expansions by the NFL and MLB. They just did a much better job than recent expansion teams and a better job in one year than Pegs has done in several with the Sabres
Vegas did luck out with Fleury, I'l grant you that. But that wasn't league welfare. Fleury didn't want to sit behind Murray. The Pens front office wasn't going to force a player to stay who did not want to be there. When the expansion draft came along the Pens front office exposed Fleury so he could move on and the Pens could hold back another player from the expansion draft