I don't know if you are not overestimating how much hockey quality these fans will want to see. If as you surmise these fans are high rollers and out of towners and tourists, they will be fans of other teams and will want to see those teams kick some Vegas ass! Toronto based tourists will want to see a Leafs win. Therefore it actually makes sense to have the team oblige these fans who have no real allegiance by racking up some 10 win seasons. As the team gets better the local fan base will grow and supplement the tourists coming to see their own team kick ass on the Gamblers. So I think the blueprint calls for them to suck horrendously and lay down for the NHL for a while, stockpile draft picks, and show some improvement after a few years.