I’ve been wondering lately, does Vegas have a real rival? It’s hard to say only three years into their existence, but there are a few possibilities:

The Coyotes are close, and a fellow desert city. If the yotes were actually competitive, it would be a decent rivalry

I think their harshest rival is the Sharks, almost solely based on the two nail biting playoff series they’ve had together, with the last one ending in a blown call and four power play goals.

I say no, Vegas doesn't have a rival. SJS were as close as it got, but now the Sharks are non-contenders. Had the Sharks not regressed, I think things would've heated up big time with Vegas. The Yotes are non-contenders, as well. I think 2 teams need to meet in the playoffs multiple times and things have to get super competitive to be considered a real rivalry. I consider Pens/Caps to be a great rivalry. I think Rangers/Devils will heat up in the next couple seasons. But Vegas' best chance for a great rivalry is probably Colorado. I don't see the opportunity for a geographical rivalry b/c Vegas is pretty isolated and like I said, ARI is pretty mediocre. DET/COL was one of the greta rivalries in league history and they weren't close at all.

You can be a rival without both teams being good. Even though San Jose is bad, there is still an intense rivalry between the teams, with Evander Kane & Ryan Reaves at the centre of it. This past season, in the preseason + regular season in 5 games they had 2 games of 75+ combined penalty minutes, and a total of 248 PIM between them. And Evander Kane only played in 2 of those games. This is absolutely an intense rivalry, and I’d say it’s the biggest rivalry in the NHL, because they actually hate each other. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s playoffs or preseason, the games are always intense.

Edit: I do agree with you that playoff series make the “best” rivalries, but this one (like TOR vs. MTL) transcends the playoffs.

So Vegas absolutely has a rival, but the question is, does Columbus? They’re 17 years older and I still can’t think of anyone that they have a rivalry with at all. I’d also be interested in hearing if ARI, MIN, FLA, or NSH fans think they have a rival.

I think teams obviously THINK they have rivals, but that’ really not what it is.
I think if ARI was competitive, they could have rivalries with any of the California teams.
The problem with Minny is they have nobody close to them. Maybe the Stars could count, but not really.
Florida has Tampa so close, but the Panthers have lagged in the middle of the pack for a while now.
Nashville has the same problem as Minny, which is proximity. They had the winter classic with Dallas, and they’e close to the Blues, but none of those really count

It's not so much proximity with MN, it's lack of being at the same level with the teams they would consider rivals.
-They were the little brother to CHI for a few years.
-COL (probably the closest to being a rival) games are intense, but the teams haven't been good at the same time. A couple more good Playoff series and they could be though.
-MN/Jets are the best games to see live, but it's more the fans than the on-ice teams.
-NSH and MN might as well be the same team (historically). Just lots of blah.
-STL has CHI and doesn't want to cheat on them or something.
-DAL is more of a fan thing because they used to be in MN, but the games don't have much heat.
-VAN is a "what could have been" after the conferences were realigned.

Ya they do.

sjs????