The date was October 1, 2017.

As a senior hockey writer for RotoWire, I had been eager to start penning post-game wrap notes for the preseason finale between the Golden Knights and Sharks. While it’s often said that exhibition games are meaningless, I was smitten by the idea of an expansion team breaking ground in my happy place. At this point, sports gambling and its associated controversies were largely confined to Vegas, so I had a profound interest in knowing how that would all shake out. Plus, my childhood adoration for the film series “The Mighty Ducks” — which has deeply rooted ties to Anaheim’s NHL franchise — has fostered a personal affinity for expansion teams.