When the Vegas Golden Knights were introduced to the world, nobody believed their owner, Bill Foley, when he said, “Playoffs in Three, Cup in Six.”
Well, even his prophecy about playoffs in three was off. Not only did the Golden Knights make the playoffs in their first year of existence, Vegas went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final losing to the Washington Capitals. The part of the prophecy Foley got right was Cup in Six. The loss in 2018 was a motivating factor for a lot of the Original Golden Misfits on the team to hoist the Stanley Cup in June 2023.
Along the way, this Golden Knights team made the playoffs in five of their first six years of existence. Not to mention, the Golden Knights went to the Western Conference four times as well. And this team has not slowed down. Each year, they want to get better. As GM Kelly McCrimmon stated, “I am in the Winning Business, not the Hockey Business.”
And he is right. That is why the Vegas Golden Knights are one of the more hated teams in the hockey world. An expansion team is not supposed to do things they are doing. You can equivalate what Vegas has done to what the New York Yankees have done in baseball, minus the 26 World Championships.
The Yankees in their heyday did everything in their power to get the best players. It seems when top players become available Kelly McCrimmon and the Vegas Golden Knights are always one of the teams linked. Take away no state tax part, Vegas has built a winning culture players want to be a part of. Now they have to deal with a salary cap, but it has not stopped them from being one of the best teams in the NHL for the past six years.
And that is why it was so strange to see the Golden Knights have the sixth-best odds to win the Stanley Cup. Usually, the defending Stanley Cup Champions have the best odds. Not this year. It is interesting because the Golden Knights are the same team were last year. Minus one player. That player is Reilly Smith—other than that, they have brought back the same team.
Look at what players like Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Adin Hill, William Karlsson, Chandler Stephenson, and Mark Stone are doing. Not to mention, the rest of the supporting cast has picked up where they left off in the Stanley Cup Final. Again it is still early, but this team has to be the favorite to come out of the Western Conference. Right now, who is better? Or who is the more complete team right now than Vegas?
And it is interesting to speak with players about the disrespect the team gets. While the players will not admit they do not listen to the noise, it is apparent from the start of the season the players do. Vegas is off to a 5-0 start and they are dominating teams as well. The Golden Knights have not missed a beat.
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It has been apparent that since Day 1, any version of this Golden Knights team has played with a chip on their shoulder. Go back to last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Golden Knights were on a mission to prove they were the best team. In each series outside of the Stanley Cup Final, people picked against them. Thus, they went out and showed why they were the better team. And it all started against the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2.
As Michael Jordan stated in the Last Dance documentary, the Vegas Golden Knights have taken this personally. So, you think this team or that team is better? Ok, fine, we are out to prove they are not.
While there is always a chance of a Stanley Cup Hangover, with head coach Bruce Cassidy at the helm, it was not going to happen with the Vegas Golden Knights. Add to the fact that all this team does is make or rewrite history; the Golden Knights should have been the favourite to win the Stanley Cup.
Now, it is only five games, but you can clearly see the players are on a mission to repeat. But they will not admit that to the public. However, the disrespect they got on the odds board and in the press was definitely a motivating factor at the start of their season.
So when it comes to the end of the season and we see the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final or lifting the Stanley Cup again, maybe we should not doubt this team anymore.