@@tyrous1743FLA had to give us 1 player but instead they gave us Marshy, Smith AND a draft pick, 3 players in total all to protect a player that’s not even in the NHL anymore. Perhaps, your the one that need to understand what happened in the expansion draft better. AKA FLA’s management are idiots.
I will say one thing, everyone thought that Vegas would move Karlsson and Smith last off season, because we didn't have money for either of them. The McManagers found a way to keep them, and believed in them, and that's what got them here in my opinion. They do skirt the line of loyalty and business, but they absolutely do show loyalty as well, when it most matters at least
Exactly. I’ve always argued that. It’s not like they’re just completely ruthless and get rid of anyone. There’s a reason there’s still the original 6 players on the team. They’ve earned their spot here and are a huge reason why we just won a cup.
Yes. Other expansion in the Sun Belt deserves some criticism, but pulling off the move to Vegas was a slam dunk. I do think Vegas was a perfect storm but a lot of the ingredients that were a part of that came down to Gary capitalizing on the massive latent demand of Vegas.
With VGK being our first hometown professional team, we’ve backed them and embraced them like no other. You can tell there is a real togetherness between team and community. I feel like over the next 4-5 years we have the potential to get another cup, but who knows, this has been an awesome ride!
As a Florida fan I’m not happy about this result, but honestly it was a blast to watch this as a first season watching hockey. Having a first time winner in Vegas cuts the pain a little, plus seeing a new super well run franchise win is cool!
I think Smith’s off the ice presence kept him on the team. He’s the face of the franchise on the local level and holds a lot of respect amongst the players
Smith is one of my all time favourite players. He is always under the radar and always will be. He perfectly embodies that over achieving misfit energy that Vegas has molded as their identity
Thats the thing. Fleury was a Ghost in Vegas off the ice. A lot of the guys we kept were out in the public, fun to talk with. Fleury was not that guy in Vegas. He didnt do anything if it was not a team event.
Something to consider about the 2 biggest "ruthless" moves by the VGK in dumping Fluery and Pacioretty's contracts is they both are represented by Allan Walsh. IMO the tweeting out of the photoshopped pic of Fluery with the sword through his back in the middle of a playoff run irreparably damaged the relationship with the VGK organization. There was some logic to sending both out of town as they were going into the final year of their deals and approaching the twilight of their careers but I don't think it's a coincidence that there was effectively no return for either player while the other moves the VGK made at least got some minor compensation in those deals. As for the offseason, I think they really need to try to keep Barbashev more than anyone else. While Marchy and Eichel were playing very well prior to his arrival, once Barbashev was added to that line they became absolutely dominant from the physicality he brought. I'd love for Hill to stick around because of his constant positive attitude, however I'll be more than happy to see him get a bag from his outstanding playoff performance from another team.
@@brianhum8765 It certainly did. I will always love Fleury, but Walsh is a prick to do what he did during a playoff run, and I question Fleury's judgement for allowing him to do that. Still love Flower, always will, but it was a real crummy move.
What they realize and what other NHL GM's seem amazingly slow to grasp (it's been almost 20 years) is how valuable cap space is. I remember back in the Mike Gillis days when they were being weighed down by Luongo's boat anchor contract, they went something like two years holding on to him when they really wanted Schneider to be their #1 goalie because, as Gillis insisted, "I ain't giving him up for nothing." I'm far from a Canucks fan, but even I was saying, "You ain't giving him up for nothing. You're giving him up for $8M in cap space". Even if you put Luongo on waivers and another team claims him and you get no player in return, you have $8M free to pick up someone you need instead of it sitting on the bench being a distraction. Gillis's GM career in Vancouver died on that hill. With Fleury & Pacioretty, who were still valuable players, Vegas was smart enough to see that the freed up money was more important than any scraps they could get in return just to "save face". It boggles my mind that after nearly two decades of the cap this still hasn't been grasped by either many other GMs or even fans.
@@RRaquello This. People keep saying they’re mortgaging the future (trading prospects and draft picks) to win now but they’re smart enough to not get tied down with anchor contracts and then just get rid of declining players when others would hold onto them too long and players want to play there so they can use that cap space to just sign more free agents/trade for more prospects or Stephenson’s below market value. You need elite management to correctly identify these undervalued and overvalued players but they have it. That’s basically what happened with Pacioretty; they gave up Suzuki for him which in a vacuum is a short term win and a long term loss. Except they then shipped him cheap and used the cap space to sign Eichel and still came out even if not ahead in the long term.
Bottom line: the Vegas brain trust of George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon absolutely know what they are doing, the NHL is a multi-billion dollar business with millionaire players, this isn't patty cake
And what did Vegas do? Immediately reached out to Columbus and got Quick because they knew great goalies with experience are rare. Vegas needed Quick and he did an excellent job in goal and helping the other goalies on the team.
Vegas was basically the anti-Leafs this playoffs. Everyone played out of their minds and all their stars stepped up to carry the team. I picked Vegas in my bracket because they looked like the most complete team at the end of the season and that held true through the entire playoffs.
@@bertoneill2488 Every team is playing by the same rules. Instead of bitching about teams following the letter of the rules, how about you bitch at the NHL and owners who all voted not to change the rules after Tampa did the same a couple years back?
Ive said this on this channel before. As a Vegas local, this town, will NEVER not love this team! The VGK mean so much to so many people here. People who are not from Vegas will never understand. Back in 2002, when I was in the Army I was flying home on leave. Some nice old lady was absolutely flabbergasted that I lived there. She actually asked me what hotel I lived in. That's how people have viewed this city for as long as I can remember. The VGK gave us something we never had before. When they parade the cup on the strip on Saturday, you will see!
Shannon you’re the BEST!!!! I found your channel in our first incredible inaugural season!!!! You’re breakdowns are fantastic. You’re honest & you don’t BS fans. Thank you for making this an even better year!!!!
I said it before and I’ll say it again. As a Buffalonian, I desperately wanted Eichel to lift the cup in blue & gold, but as a Vegas local I’m completely content with him raising it ALL GOLD. Can’t wait for Tuch to take Buffalo to the playoffs!!!
As a fan I'm not upset about getting Eichel, but I do miss Tuch. He's not a superstar but in the playoffs he always had that knack to come through when it mattered. If we see the Sabres get into the playoffs in the near future, I hope I see Tuch keep that up.
The Sabres will make the playoffs next season and Tuch is a beast. I miss him here in Vegas. I see the Sabres as being the Edmonton Oilers of the East next season. They just need better defense and goaltending.
Just found you on RUclips. Best overview of a team, back to front, no opinions, just details and knowledge of Foley and his business model players team history and a bit of locker room workings. Thoroughly enjoyed it - Many Thanks
The Sabres' GM Adam's knew what he was doing when trading Eichel to Vegas and even Montour and Rhinehart to Florida. He wanted to help them get a shot at the cup. Lowkey really happy to have him as our GM. As far as the trade between Vegas and Buffalo, it really is a win-win situation.
The Eichel trade is definitely a win/win scenario. Eichel was never given the supporting cast in Buffalo thanks to the sheer incompetence of Murray and Botterill, so he needed to be moved to a team with that supporting cast. And Buffalo needed a reset, and they for sure got that in all of the Eichel/Reinhart/Risto trades and the hauls they received for those players.
do you see KA as the kind of GM that can be like either this team, in its dealings with players..... or the Panthers who pulled the trigger on the TkaSchnook deal that got them to the finals? I see too much "Darcy 2.0 / in love with his guys above all else " in him. Now he has needs that the pool of kids cant address to meet our needs for next year, i,e, a NHL veteran #4 Dman for OP to play with and some bottom 6 PK/faceoffs helpers. I wait to see if he just grins after the next draft day stock-up and fades away till camp......I dont know what he'll do, I can hope he isnt Darcy 2.0.......
@@rileykazama3145 You could argue Vegas won the trade, but you could also argue Vegas would still have won the Cup this season if they had not made the trade and still had Tuch instead of Eichel.
Vegas was my no.2 team from day 1, as I was born in Utah and l live in Edmonton. I gotta say, I love the Vegas organization so much and respect it so much too. I don't care to see owners win the trophies (I respect them and what they do for the team and but they weren't playing the game), but I actually loved see Bill Foley lift the cup (though at 78yo he needed some help from Kelly McCrimmon). He wanted to win just as badly and he's done incredible building this franchise. I hope in 30 years we can talk about how Vegas is one of the greatest organizations in sports (hopefully my Oilers rise too).
Remember the talk about Vegas not being a hockey town? There were 20 to 25,000 fans OUTSIDE T-Mobil Arena in the 'courtyard' between the stadium and the parking garages. Unbelievable. People packed together so tight they could hardly move. And Knights gear all over town? Just know that it was there before the season even started.
One thing to note. Vegas players pay 10-15 percentage points less in taxes compared to Canadian teams, and 5-15 points less than most US teams. Great Fall/Winter/Spring weather, really nice housing for their salaries, great amenities to enjoy for a night out, a fan base that adores them, and they have been a consistent contender (4 of the past 6 years in the final 4). So some (not all) players are going to be willing to take a little (10-25%) less just for that. That gives them in essence more money to work with than other cities.
They dumped Coach Gallant (I disagreed), the dumped Coach DeBour, (I agreed and he never bonded with the fans), they hired Coach Cassidy (I agreed) who was "a misfit" coach just fired by Boston so they show they are willing to do anything to win. But the one that was the most difficult was Fleury to make Lehner #1. That one really upset the fans and I believe still does today. But it shows bold thinking. To me, the VGK saved Jack Eichel's career. He was stuck and holding to his principles about his surgery. He was making a ton of money and unwanted. Vegas comes along and gives him the star treatment. Lets him do the surgery, gives him the best rehab people and time, then with Cassidy to figure out how best to use him in a new role. Yes they will do anything but they also can be a force for good.
The Buff owner does not care about winning. They did not even spend all of their cap space to either improve the team or for cap dump draft picks. Not doing either is cheap and wasteful. The knights players completely choked in 2022 for Pete Deboer. They had every opportunity to make the playoffs and they blew it and blaming Deboer was just lazy. I would bet you even the knights players would admit they choked in 2022. That does not mean there is not better coaches than Deboer though. If Jack was still on Buff he would not have won the cup in 2023 obviously. It is a team sport. Picking Lehner over MAF was a mistake.
@@danhockeygeneralmanager maf was the reason they choked against montreal. He was the reason they lost to san jose. He was the reason they lost to Washington. Fleury is notorious for losing in the playoffs. His last 2 rings he didn't play to win. Another goalie got him those rings because he can't be trusted. They needed to move his contract to make space. Lehner played most of last season injured. Deboer is also a choke artist. Look at his coaching record. Inexplicable deep playoff run the first year followed by fledgling mediocrity the next couple of years. He chose to play a unhealthy mark stone. He chose to play an injured lehner. His first year in new jersey, san jose, vegas and now dallas all ended in a cup finals loss or a conference finals loss. Within a couple of years he gets fired after missing the playoffs. It's standered deboer. Twice it's a coincidence, 3 times even. But 4 times now? It's a trend.
@@JarradBruessel32 I saw the San Jose series game 7 and that is not true at all. MAF was fully screened and never saw at least 1 of the goals in game 7. That silly penalty by Eakin and Mcnabb cost the knights that game. Pavelski was not even a threat to score. Blaming MAF for that is just not accurate. It is a team sport regardless of how good or bad a coach is. The best coach out of the bottom 10 teams could be one of the best coaches in the NHL but the team roster would be so bad you would never know it. Some NHL head coaches only have backup quality players on the roster to pick from at some positions. Do you want to start this backup goalie or that backup goalie? Do you want to start this backup defenseman or that backup defenseman? Tons of the Knights fan base wanted Mark Stone back in 2022. Mark Stone should have said no. Even an injured Mark Stone could lift up the team morale coming back but sadly he did not in 2022 if I remember. I do not understand how you can be that harsh on Deboer or any NHL head coach when most of them have no say in the roster at all or very minimal. Cassidy did not take over some bottom 10 Knights team and make them a winner. He took over a good team that had multiple injury problems in 2022 and ran with it. No knights goalie even had a losing record in the reg season. It is really hard to lose when a backup goalie still wins anyway.
@@danhockeygeneralmanager dude the guy has done the same thing 4 freaking times. Takes your team deep into the playoffs his first year then within two years that roster will start to lose and he gets canned. Also fleury allowed a very soft game 7 game winning goal to san jose. His nickname in Pittsburgh was meme-andre fleury for a reason. He set the league record for most 3-1 blown series leads by a goalie in their career. He is a choke artist. Minnesota even gave up using him in the playoffs. The guy chokes massively in the playoffs. He choked to montreal. He choked to san jose. He choked to Washington. He chokes. Again he has 3 rings thanks to murray playing in the finals for both 2016 and 2017. Without murray fleury has 1 ring. Fleury would have choked both finals just like he has choked every season since 2009.
Fleury was traded to Chicago on my birthday, when I got a Fleury hoodie from a friend. Quite an awkward & memorable gift, but I genuinely appreciated it nonetheless 😂
@@trenelson9212 True. I'm just torn. I'm a people person, but I'm also in business. Vegas' results are undeniable...But at what cost? That will always be the question. Maybe for professional sports you shouldn't get emotional but I rewatched the post-trade interviews with Patches, Fleury, and others and it's rough.
@@mattblom3990 Well, Fleury had already won the Cup with Pittsburgh, so he had that consolation. Not like Billy Harris with the Islanders. I think way too big a deal was made over that whole thing.
I respect VGK's ruthlessness, its about the team not a player, goalie, coach. Some GMs were/are too loyal to their players and want to always "run it back" even if it would cost them their jobs *cough Kyle *cough* . Not every move worked out for VGK but they were always willing to course correct when things were not working. Respect to that.
Ask Detroit how basically handing out pension contracts to long serving players goes; you get stuck with guys like Dan Cleary, Luke Glendening and Stephen Weiss for too many years and got Holland forced out for Yzerman.
Calgary Flames with Jarome Iginla. What a shit show. The management wouldn't trade Jarome because they didn't want to ask him to waive his no trade clause because it would be bad PR. Iginla didn't want to ask for a trade because it would spoil his "legacy" in Calgary. So you had a team that wanted to trade a player, and a player who wanted to be traded to a contending team, but because both failed to be "ruthless", the team was stuck in inertia while the player was daily losing trade value. Meanwhile the LA Kings made an offer to Calgary for Iginla that wasn't acted on, and turned around and made the same deal with Philadelphia that brought Mike Richards to LA and Wayne Simmonds & Brayden Shenn to Philly. So Richards ends up winning the cup with LA,. Philly gets two good players in Simmonds & Shenn, Jarome retires with no Stanley Cup and when the Flames finally trade Jarome they end up with a bunch of scraps. Imagine being a Flames fan and watching that soap opera play out over about five years.
@@RRaquello there really are too many front offices run with the mindset of a family business where everyone’s afraid to make the hard calls. You don’t win in a hard salary cap league by hanging onto declining assets, handing out anchor contracts like you’re dispensing Jehovah’s Witness pamphlets. You ship that declining asset on the cheap (or even free when their contract runs out because you smartly didn’t sign them for too long) and sign guys to contracts that expire or get cheap before their twilight years and if they demand one of those stupid DiPietros, you tell them to walk because you can just sign a younger player with that cap.
As a Toronto fan, I can't help but think of how Vegas isn't afraid to change their core. Perhaps they're a bit ruthless, but their goal is always to win. And they did. It's a copycat league, so it'll be interesting to see how other teams react.
@carparthero yea the fanbase ain't toxic. Every fanbase has toxic fans. Just the dumbass haters like you have created that narrative and the the circle jerk persists. Most fans are just normal people saving money to go support the home team. Try meeting real people and not judging the whole fanbase off of internet comments 🤡
Watched this video the day after VGK sent Reilly Smith to Pittsburgh. You are good sir! You called it two weeks before it happened. Sadly, that’s what needs to happen if you want to stay on top.
Seeing Hill and Thompson as the main guys would be awesome! They totally deserve it Edit: i think Hill deserved the Conn Smythe, but Marchy would've been my next pick so I get it
As a Dallas fan, I wish they had this mentality. They end up with these bad contracts.Kick the can down the road for years, all while wasting the prime years of the guys who really have a shot. If you go to Vegas, it’s with the expectation that you’re making a run for the cup. That shouldn’t be controversial. And last time I checked, everyone who got traded from Vegas still had a job
It's truly marvelous to me how the Knights won over Vegas. A lot of people have had concerns about Vegas being a very transient city with far more tourists than locals, but the Knights are a team that truly feels like their own. They weren't the plan B for an Oakland team like the Raiders and (soon) A's, they started in Vegas and they wear their Vegas-ness all over their sleeves. Some of that may just be them getting there first, but they only had a couple years to do it. But they built themselves off the idea of being the band of misfits, and built an identity and a connection to the city almost immediately. This year's Knights also feel a bit more humbled, last year they were kinda arrogant but this year they were determined.
Agreed. I know I was one of them who thought they were 'classless' but at the same time they don't care about emotions; at the end of the day they want to hoist the Stanley Cup. As long as you get to the end, no matter how ruthless you appear to be, that's all that matters.
Don’t get it twisted. People were 100% right to be pissed off. The Mic managers (see what I did there?) only won when they stopped chasing the shiniest object in free agency and the trade deadline, and settled for smaller targets. And even then, they needed insane luck and being over the cap in the playoffs to win. I hope that they will never win another Cup in my lifetime.
I'm a big vegas fan who is specifically a big Lehner fan, and the Fleury trade really just taught me that I can't really trust that a player I like is gonna stick around for the long run lol so I'm just over here enjoying the players we have in the moment regardless of what the future holds
My only issue with the fleury trade was they sent him off to die essentially in Chicago. If you want to move him… fine he was aging and you wanted a true 1c. But at least give him some say especially if you aren’t planning to get anything for him anyway. But in the end they won and honestly they were correct to move him. He hasn’t been good since that season.
@@matthewdaley746 It won't matter, no one is expecting them to win 3 cups like Tampa. We got 1 that's all that matters even if it means we go to the bottom in a few years.
The conventional wisdom (of the cap era) has consistently been that you have to develop from within. Vegas shows that draft picks tend to be over-valued, so flipping assets aggressively is a viable strategy to stay competitive over a longer window
This takes the sting away from seeing Ovi skating around our arena in Vegas holding the Cup. We were happy for a deserving legend to win it (and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier bearded Russian man). Just glad this eases the pain of that moment.
Do you think there's a chance that the original year one roster gets a banner in the rafters? The group laid the groundwork and even then epitomized what the yeah still is.
Great idea. Would be a classy move, like Butch starting 5 misfits in game 5. Like Stone making sure all the support staff, down to the chefs for the team meal, got to raise the cup. I've never seen that before in a cup celebration. Classy stuff.
Everyone is going to talk about the Eichel trade, but can we discuss Petro acquisition? Dude was a beast for them and shows how dumb Armstrong and blues were to let him go. Made Binnington look a stud and without Petro blues are not the same.
Nate Schmidt is still popular in Vegas. He still plays in charity ball games around Vegas. As far as the misfit line staying together thats another story. Even MacFhee said he was unaware that Cassidy was starting them in game 5. MacFhee said the whole 1st shift was played in front of Hill. They couldn’t get out of their own zone. As a line together the misfits no longer gel. They play much better playing on different lines. As they proved throughout the playoffs. Players also have an advantage that Nevada has no state income tax. 10% plus bigger paycheck is appealing.
How about Deryk Engelland? I loved him when he was on the Flames, and he was a big part of the story with the original Vegas team. I know he was a Vegas resident even before he went there as a player, so is he still connected with the team?
@@RRaquello He’s a great guy. I believe he has some high level position in the organization but we also see him around the rink coaching the kids and helping out the next generation.
Yeah, I'm an Oilers fan, but well done VGK. I think we had some truly bizarre calls against us, but Vegas had the gamesmanship and psychology side of things on us for sure. They also took out a lot of McDavid and LD's support and supply. Moreover, the Oilers simply were not good enough in defence. Each time we scored it felt like within minutes, VGK would get on the board. They also knew when and how to swarm us, which seems to have ensured they always gave themselves options.
they love to forget most of the expansion roster is gone and that nobody thought who we drafted was good except maybe marchy, ultimately it was all the other franchises panicking and giving us picks and other players that gave us trade capital to assemble the current roster
@@JBTriple8 The league cheats against the Leafs because it's actually a bigger story that they never win than if they do win. Like in baseball when the Cubs (and Red Sox) finally won, they became just another team and the sport lost one of its biggest stories and the draw of "will they finally win this year?". The biggest story in hockey, every year, is the Leafs losing., If they ever do win, hockey loses that, so Bettman has to make sure they lose.
Been seeing a lot of people fantasizing about their teams trading for the first overall pick this year and thought it be a great video to go over any trades for FOA draft picks and how that shook out
They are going to crash and burn eventually but I can see vegas going for another deep cup run if they keep the same roster, and I wouldn't be surprised if they repeat again. And if I were vegas, I would resign barbashev and let hill walk.
Barbashev was a major acquisition, he really solidified the top line which in turn helped create depth on down the lines in the forward group, I sincerely hope they can bring him back, I doubt, though, that Hill will stay
People hate them because they were given every break imaginable. Most expansion team have to build and work for their success. They will not last. A group that has no foundation will not last.
There is resentment (translate jealousy) towards Vegas because of their quick success. Yes, the draft rules favored them, but you can't blame the stupidity of several teams (obviously think Florida) on Vegas for giving up great players. Also, the brain trust of Vegas has proven incredibly gutsy and savvy and not afraid to make bold moves. In addition, the media here doesn't micro scrutinize everything little thing hockey related like some cities (think Toronto). The fan base here is loyal and totally appreciative, and should Vegas start declining, which is almost inevitable at some point in the future, I don't anticipate jerseys being thrown out on the ice. Sorry, all you naysayers, but Las Vegas really is a hockey mecca, and Gary Bettman deserves a ton of credit for that.
IMO, all the players that Vegas got in the draft were eagerly tossed off by GM's all over the league happy to be rid of them. That included Fleury. If you look at the first line up versus the one that entered the playoffs there's a lot of changes. These were done by VGK management, not by "the draft"
@@Vegaslocal Just ask Florida fans how they felt when their front office protected guys like Pysyk and Petrovic instead of Smith and Marchessault; it was anything but a case of "the league left us no option we had to let great players go", more like "how was our front office stupid enough to protect these players?" In case anyone was wondering, Pysyk hasn't earned a contract above $1M/year since and Petrovic hasn't played in the NHL since 2019. It's not Vegas' fault other team's front offices are stupid.
@@brianhum8765 Florida basically gave Vegas 2/3 of the OG misfit line, which may or may not used that name again. Unlike the Seattle expansion, every dumb GM allowed Vegas to build a team out of “diamonds in the rough”. Dale Tallon was the biggest idiot of the bunch, and I hate saying that because he basically built the Chicago Blackhawks dynasty.
I hated the Knights their first few years, of course because they didn't have to wait like so many of us, but I've come to admire the roster strategy and their play on the ice.
Chandler Stephenson won a cup with Washington. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Nobody goes into pro sports for job security. With that said, the one person I felt for was Nate Schmidt. He really seemed to love playing in Vegas, and he had some local TV endorsement contracts. I know the one most fans were upset with was Fleury. Don't ask me why I thought that was just business. However, all the pain and sacrifices were worth it in the end. Vegas won the cup, and it's hard to argue with that.
Schmidt signed his death warrant as a Knight when his production nose dived after his PED suspension. They stuck with him on the suspension, but when his numbers cratered, it raised to many questions about was the PED thing actually part of it. As for Fleury... Having his agent post the sword tweet was the moment management started looking to move him. During that off season between 2019-2020 there were a ton of rumors the knights were looking to move him. It was even reported that Fleury was told he had 1 year, the 2020 season to win it all or they were going to trade him. It was also reported that in the exit interviews McCrimmon told Fleury to his face he was going to be trying to trade him. It was also confirmed that Fleury's agent knew about the trade with chicago, and he was the one to leak it.
I like Schmidt (exciting player and energetic guy), but he has become a turnover machine. He was a mess in the Winnipeg series, and pretty much every time I’ve seen him after leaving VGK.
@@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556 That's not really fair, the games he was healthy for, he played well. Or rather, he'd play well enough and basically as soon as he started getting into a rhythm and you started to see flashes, he'd get a concussion.
@@esharp48 I read somewhere that he had some other kind of health issue not related to concussions which is what has really kept him out most of the time. Not sure what the issue is, but it has basically ended his career.
Vegas fan here. My gut says Hill wont be back. The front office is ruthless, we have other options who are cheaper or harder to move in goal, and a system that makes any goalie better. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised, but I don't see our front office giving Hill what he has just proved he is worth.
While that may have happened a year or so ago, I think the FO is waking up. At the time that I am writing this Hillsy has already been signed to (a possibly overpriced) contract, but he has proven his worth. I think the ongoing threat of fans tar and feathering the FO is at the front of their minds!
I’m definitely not a winning is everything guy in sports, sometimes I think a great season can come even if it ends a bit sour because winning in this world is not the most important thing. For this reason I rank the inaugural season higher than this year as the best VGK season, though I have the 1990 Runnin Rebels as the greatest Vegas sports team, and part of that was definitely winning it all.
I was at the cup fan party and twice I heard “I have been here since the 70s” locals (TV and radio) when commenting about the Knights completely overlook the Tarkanian coached Runnin Rebels. I can understand recent residents overlooking UNLV but if you lived here during that time, no way, sorry, The strip went dark after Tark The Shark passed away. Tarkanian’ Runnin Rebs and the Knights Misfits are similar to me. Hill was wearing a #4 UNLV jersey at the fan party. Karlsson’s drunk speech is part of Las Vegas sports history now. Haha
I moved here shortly after the Tarkanian Runnin rebels win! While the rebels are not a professional team (which we were told we'd NEVER get because, well, *reasons*) that was probably the most fun in sports in Vegas before the Knights, frankly.
I can see the Knights Sending Lehner and a 2024 1st for future considerations. That gives space to sign Babri, Hill, blue, Howden and maybe keep Doro. Kessel is gone, Brossoit is gone. Quick Retires. Then again i think Lehner is LTIRetired.
Definitely not enough to sign all of those guys. It's only 8.5 million. I hope Hill takes a decent deal, but he's probably outplayed any type of regular money. I hope they sign Barbashev, Hill (if he's willing to be paid less) and Dorofeyev. If they can't get Hill then a half decent back up goalie for LT.
I would like to think there will be enough cap space to keep Barby but seems iffy. He won't come cheap. I just don't see Hill coming back, Kessel likewise, and Quick will retire.
@@sincitysinnermike I don't see how Quick's name gets on. He didn't have enough regular season games and he didn't play at all in the playoffs. When the Rangers won they had a similar issue with Ed Olczyk, but they eventually put it on because he played one playoff game.
Still so happy shea theodore of aldergrove won a stanley cup. Love that my hometown i grew up in has a fantastic hockey culture. Got my name on one of the play-off banners that hanged in the old rank. It's cool to think my name was up there beside any of the teams shea played on that won the playoffs and got their own banner.
I'm fine with their trade decision and way of building the roster. Just the courtesy of the process we criticized on McCrimmon. Like, Not telling properly the player that he is being traded? Not checking the player NTC team carefully before making that blunder? If they do it right, no one hates them. Like it or not, VGK needs to improve on communications between players and teams albeit after winning a cup. Because to retain a good relationship in the long run, they gonna need it.
I think they've learned their lesson. Look at the sendoff fanfare they are giving Reilly Smith, for instance! They really risked alienating so many fans with the Fleury fiasco. I think they realize just how dedicated to the team the fans were, and how the fans wouldn't care if everybody in the FO just evaporated. I think there was a combination of issues that happened at the same time that caused fan rebellion. Between the total lack of communication between the organization and Fleury, having Lehner take his place during the postseason, and for whatever damn reason getting DeBoer to be the head coach from the Sharts of all teams, the torches and pitchforks scenario was starting to possibly become a thing.
In a cap league Cap Space is an asset. Dumping players for “nothing” is a Canucks way of thinking. Dumping players for cap room is a Vegas way of thinking
His off the ice foibles will also hurt him. Bankruptcy and the several allegations of fraud make him toxic to the vgk. He can be an outstanding goalie, but I don't think he will be back.
The goal of every franchise should be to win a cup. Every player in Vegas knows (and several have commented on it) that it may be their last year if they don't perform. Ther expectation in the market is a cup... every year. And those expectations put pressure on the pleayers, pressure that should be there. If you win CUPS though you'll be a legend.
Just my 2¢, but i think that Bill Foley and the VGK organization will be fine when the inevitable lean years come. I doubt we'll ever be in a situation like the Yotes or sharks (their attendance numbers were awful this season). Yes, fan interest will wane when the team isn't good. However, like my Raiders, visiting fans will put asses in those seats to keep the revenue coming in until they're good again. Is that ideal? No, but it will more than keep the lights on. I was one of the guys wondering if/should Reilly Smith would be moved, while simultaneously defending William Karlsson to my fellow VGK fans. They wanted that 43 goal scorer from the inaugural season, but didn't realize how unsustainable his ridiculous shooting percentage from that season was. They were wrong about wanting to get rid of Karlsson and i was wrong about my misgivings about Reilly Smith 🤷🏽♂️ I can't see any scenario where Robin Lehner ever suits up for VGK again. They'd move him for a bag of pucks if they could. I also think that while they want to retain most of our UFAs, that they would prioritize Barbashev over Hill. Even if Hill gets a big money deal elsewhere, we've still got Logan Thompson who was ahead of Hill on the depth chart. Goalie depth was key this season, but there's almost no way that rash of injuries to the position could happen again....right? We do massage the cap pretty well so far, but at some point something has to give. If we really want Barbie back (and we should), maybe someone like Martinez becomes expendable. It'll be interesting to see what moves McPhee & McCrimmon make to keep the band together AND make improvements (can't be stagnant even if you just won the cup) for next season. I suspect, as always, some of the fanbase is gonna be upset...
It was Dadanov or Smith, and they chose Smith. They may be willing to move guy's, but theyre also willing to show loyalty. It was dramatic at times, but how often is a team the same after 6 years really?
Marchessault's win of the Smythe over the team that dumped him is such poetic justice
And Smith had the GWG
The knights dumped multiple players who did not want to leave.
I would not call it poetic justice unless it was personal.
Dumped him because they didn't want to lose more.... Tell me you didn't pay attention to the expansion draft lol
@@tyrous1743Almost every case of that happening was not worth it lol
@@tyrous1743FLA had to give us 1 player but instead they gave us Marshy, Smith AND a draft pick, 3 players in total all to protect a player that’s not even in the NHL anymore. Perhaps, your the one that need to understand what happened in the expansion draft better. AKA FLA’s management are idiots.
Idk if Vegas set a precedent or not, but you gotta give ‘em props for staying true to their strategy
yeah i dont there 1 formula to winning Lord Stanley Colorado, St,Louis, Tampa and Vegas have shown there are various ways to win it.
I will say one thing, everyone thought that Vegas would move Karlsson and Smith last off season, because we didn't have money for either of them. The McManagers found a way to keep them, and believed in them, and that's what got them here in my opinion. They do skirt the line of loyalty and business, but they absolutely do show loyalty as well, when it most matters at least
Perfectly said.
Exactly. I’ve always argued that. It’s not like they’re just completely ruthless and get rid of anyone. There’s a reason there’s still the original 6 players on the team. They’ve earned their spot here and are a huge reason why we just won a cup.
Well said. I feel like you have to have at least some loyalty otherwise locker room morale just plummets.
They placed their loyalty and their bets on that misfit core, and the payoff has been nothing short of GLORIOUS now! Well done by the McGM’s!
Ppl forget fluery started to suck he had to go
Gary getting a pro franchise into Vegas before any other league was brilliant. Them winning a championship this early is just than much better.
Yes. Other expansion in the Sun Belt deserves some criticism, but pulling off the move to Vegas was a slam dunk. I do think Vegas was a perfect storm but a lot of the ingredients that were a part of that came down to Gary capitalizing on the massive latent demand of Vegas.
WNBA did it before him, the LV ACES had already won a championship
With VGK being our first hometown professional team, we’ve backed them and embraced them like no other. You can tell there is a real togetherness between team and community. I feel like over the next 4-5 years we have the potential to get another cup, but who knows, this has been an awesome ride!
As a Florida fan I’m not happy about this result, but honestly it was a blast to watch this as a first season watching hockey. Having a first time winner in Vegas cuts the pain a little, plus seeing a new super well run franchise win is cool!
I can see Florida developing further in the next few years. If they clean up their act and pull together, they can possibly with their first cup.
One of the best stories to come out of Vegas' Stanley Cup win is Phil Kessel harassing the Toronto media!
I think Smith’s off the ice presence kept him on the team. He’s the face of the franchise on the local level and holds a lot of respect amongst the players
Smith is one of my all time favourite players. He is always under the radar and always will be. He perfectly embodies that over achieving misfit energy that Vegas has molded as their identity
Thats the thing. Fleury was a Ghost in Vegas off the ice. A lot of the guys we kept were out in the public, fun to talk with. Fleury was not that guy in Vegas. He didnt do anything if it was not a team event.
Agree. He's number one in being out on charity issues and community service.
Smith is our True Misfit imo. Under the radar but still a leader and makes plays that aren’t noticed
That and he basically gave the team a discount on his last contract, by not asking for any extra money more than what he was making before.
Don't forget that Chandler Stevenson had a Cup (same building but wrong team)
Yup, in our inaugural season too
Something to consider about the 2 biggest "ruthless" moves by the VGK in dumping Fluery and Pacioretty's contracts is they both are represented by Allan Walsh. IMO the tweeting out of the photoshopped pic of Fluery with the sword through his back in the middle of a playoff run irreparably damaged the relationship with the VGK organization. There was some logic to sending both out of town as they were going into the final year of their deals and approaching the twilight of their careers but I don't think it's a coincidence that there was effectively no return for either player while the other moves the VGK made at least got some minor compensation in those deals.
As for the offseason, I think they really need to try to keep Barbashev more than anyone else. While Marchy and Eichel were playing very well prior to his arrival, once Barbashev was added to that line they became absolutely dominant from the physicality he brought. I'd love for Hill to stick around because of his constant positive attitude, however I'll be more than happy to see him get a bag from his outstanding playoff performance from another team.
Everyone conveniently forgot about that; may have had something to do with Vegas dumping him so unceremoniously.
@@brianhum8765 It certainly did. I will always love Fleury, but Walsh is a prick to do what he did during a playoff run, and I question Fleury's judgement for allowing him to do that. Still love Flower, always will, but it was a real crummy move.
What they realize and what other NHL GM's seem amazingly slow to grasp (it's been almost 20 years) is how valuable cap space is. I remember back in the Mike Gillis days when they were being weighed down by Luongo's boat anchor contract, they went something like two years holding on to him when they really wanted Schneider to be their #1 goalie because, as Gillis insisted, "I ain't giving him up for nothing." I'm far from a Canucks fan, but even I was saying, "You ain't giving him up for nothing. You're giving him up for $8M in cap space". Even if you put Luongo on waivers and another team claims him and you get no player in return, you have $8M free to pick up someone you need instead of it sitting on the bench being a distraction. Gillis's GM career in Vancouver died on that hill. With Fleury & Pacioretty, who were still valuable players, Vegas was smart enough to see that the freed up money was more important than any scraps they could get in return just to "save face". It boggles my mind that after nearly two decades of the cap this still hasn't been grasped by either many other GMs or even fans.
@@RRaquello This. People keep saying they’re mortgaging the future (trading prospects and draft picks) to win now but they’re smart enough to not get tied down with anchor contracts and then just get rid of declining players when others would hold onto them too long and players want to play there so they can use that cap space to just sign more free agents/trade for more prospects or Stephenson’s below market value. You need elite management to correctly identify these undervalued and overvalued players but they have it.
That’s basically what happened with Pacioretty; they gave up Suzuki for him which in a vacuum is a short term win and a long term loss. Except they then shipped him cheap and used the cap space to sign Eichel and still came out even if not ahead in the long term.
Bottom line: the Vegas brain trust of George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon absolutely know what they are doing, the NHL is a multi-billion dollar business with millionaire players, this isn't patty cake
They're not the only ones who make ruthless trades. There was a ton of outcry when the Kings traded Quick to Columbus.
And what did Vegas do? Immediately reached out to Columbus and got Quick because they knew great goalies with experience are rare. Vegas needed Quick and he did an excellent job in goal and helping the other goalies on the team.
I do think part of that outcry over Quick was that moves like that are not what Kings fans have come to expect.
@@VegaslocalQuick expressed a desire to NOT be in Columbus, so they brokered a move to a suitor. Vegas got him for a great deal, basically.
You should have seen the outcry when beloved Columbus goalie Quick was traded away from the team
Quick owes Columbus a Drink😉
Vegas was basically the anti-Leafs this playoffs. Everyone played out of their minds and all their stars stepped up to carry the team. I picked Vegas in my bracket because they looked like the most complete team at the end of the season and that held true through the entire playoffs.
They are also the anti leafs cause they don't just "run it back" year in and year out without making changes to what wasn't working.
Not hard to be a complete team when your 10mil over cap space LMAO
@@bertoneill2488 Every team is playing by the same rules. Instead of bitching about teams following the letter of the rules, how about you bitch at the NHL and owners who all voted not to change the rules after Tampa did the same a couple years back?
@@bertoneill2488 NHL needs to change the rule. This cap debate is stupid. Blame the NHL not the Knights.
@@jordynbebus6641 Blame the teams that also decide to abuse it.
Ive said this on this channel before. As a Vegas local, this town, will NEVER not love this team! The VGK mean so much to so many people here. People who are not from Vegas will never understand.
Back in 2002, when I was in the Army I was flying home on leave. Some nice old lady was absolutely flabbergasted that I lived there. She actually asked me what hotel I lived in.
That's how people have viewed this city for as long as I can remember. The VGK gave us something we never had before. When they parade the cup on the strip on Saturday, you will see!
Shannon you’re the BEST!!!! I found your channel in our first incredible inaugural season!!!! You’re breakdowns are fantastic. You’re honest & you don’t BS fans. Thank you for making this an even better year!!!!
I said it before and I’ll say it again. As a Buffalonian, I desperately wanted Eichel to lift the cup in blue & gold, but as a Vegas local I’m completely content with him raising it ALL GOLD.
Can’t wait for Tuch to take Buffalo to the playoffs!!!
I hope Buffalo finally pulls through. That city has went through enough
As a fan I'm not upset about getting Eichel, but I do miss Tuch. He's not a superstar but in the playoffs he always had that knack to come through when it mattered. If we see the Sabres get into the playoffs in the near future, I hope I see Tuch keep that up.
The Sabres will make the playoffs next season and Tuch is a beast. I miss him here in Vegas. I see the Sabres as being the Edmonton Oilers of the East next season. They just need better defense and goaltending.
Tuch could be counted on to get that lady .0005 second goal in the period! 😄😄
Barbashev was an absolute beast in these playoffs. He wasn't even on my radar beforehand.
He was a tank who showed moments of being like this in St Louis but never got the big minutes to do so. He’s a beast
Vegas have the luxury that all the players want to play there. Something that small market cdn teams will never have.
No income tax either
What a steal getting Cassidy.
Just found you on RUclips. Best overview of a team, back to front, no opinions, just details and knowledge of Foley and his business model players team history and a bit of locker room workings. Thoroughly enjoyed it - Many Thanks
As for the people who have won the cup before, Stephenson actually won in 2018 playing for Washington against Vegas.
Congrats to the Vegas Golden Knights. 24 Canadians on the roster 👍 🇨🇦
and none in the stands....like it was meant to be.
And their leading scorer is from the USA!
why does this always need to be about canada vs usa? Can we all just be hockey fans?
@@brianjones7660And you would be wrong. You'd be surprised at the number of Canadians in the stands. Let's face it. It's part of the DNA!
Canadian Golden Knights! 😊
The Sabres' GM Adam's knew what he was doing when trading Eichel to Vegas and even Montour and Rhinehart to Florida. He wanted to help them get a shot at the cup. Lowkey really happy to have him as our GM. As far as the trade between Vegas and Buffalo, it really is a win-win situation.
The Eichel trade is definitely a win/win scenario. Eichel was never given the supporting cast in Buffalo thanks to the sheer incompetence of Murray and Botterill, so he needed to be moved to a team with that supporting cast. And Buffalo needed a reset, and they for sure got that in all of the Eichel/Reinhart/Risto trades and the hauls they received for those players.
do you see KA as the kind of GM that can be like either this team, in its dealings with players.....
or the Panthers who pulled the trigger on the TkaSchnook deal that got them to the finals?
I see too much "Darcy 2.0 / in love with his guys above all else " in him. Now he has needs that the pool of kids cant address to meet our needs for next year, i,e, a NHL veteran #4 Dman for OP to play with and some bottom 6 PK/faceoffs helpers. I wait to see if he just grins after the next draft day stock-up and fades away till camp......I dont know what he'll do, I can hope he isnt Darcy 2.0.......
Vegas won the trade
@@rileykazama3145 Easy to win a cup 10+ mil over cap space
@@rileykazama3145 You could argue Vegas won the trade, but you could also argue Vegas would still have won the Cup this season if they had not made the trade and still had Tuch instead of Eichel.
@@bdonaghu They *do not* get past Edmonton without Eichel, full stop.
Vegas was my no.2 team from day 1, as I was born in Utah and l live in Edmonton. I gotta say, I love the Vegas organization so much and respect it so much too. I don't care to see owners win the trophies (I respect them and what they do for the team and but they weren't playing the game), but I actually loved see Bill Foley lift the cup (though at 78yo he needed some help from Kelly McCrimmon). He wanted to win just as badly and he's done incredible building this franchise. I hope in 30 years we can talk about how Vegas is one of the greatest organizations in sports (hopefully my Oilers rise too).
Remember the talk about Vegas not being a hockey town? There were 20 to 25,000 fans OUTSIDE T-Mobil Arena in the 'courtyard' between the stadium and the parking garages. Unbelievable. People packed together so tight they could hardly move. And Knights gear all over town? Just know that it was there before the season even started.
The Golden Knights have a strong fanbase outside of Vegas as well and it has greatly helped the NHL as a whole.
I live in California and I like the golden knights
Why do people simply overlook this?
@@rileykazama3145 I live in Missouri and I love the Knights.
One thing to note. Vegas players pay 10-15 percentage points less in taxes compared to Canadian teams, and 5-15 points less than most US teams. Great Fall/Winter/Spring weather, really nice housing for their salaries, great amenities to enjoy for a night out, a fan base that adores them, and they have been a consistent contender (4 of the past 6 years in the final 4). So some (not all) players are going to be willing to take a little (10-25%) less just for that. That gives them in essence more money to work with than other cities.
I respect that Vegas kept going for it and constantly trying to win and in the end they got what they deserved
They dumped Coach Gallant (I disagreed), the dumped Coach DeBour, (I agreed and he never bonded with the fans), they hired Coach Cassidy (I agreed) who was "a misfit" coach just fired by Boston so they show they are willing to do anything to win. But the one that was the most difficult was Fleury to make Lehner #1. That one really upset the fans and I believe still does today. But it shows bold thinking.
To me, the VGK saved Jack Eichel's career. He was stuck and holding to his principles about his surgery. He was making a ton of money and unwanted. Vegas comes along and gives him the star treatment. Lets him do the surgery, gives him the best rehab people and time, then with Cassidy to figure out how best to use him in a new role. Yes they will do anything but they also can be a force for good.
The Buff owner does not care about winning. They did not even spend all of their cap space to either improve the team or for cap dump draft picks. Not doing either is cheap and wasteful.
The knights players completely choked in 2022 for Pete Deboer. They had every opportunity to make the playoffs and they blew it and blaming Deboer was just lazy. I would bet you even the knights players would admit they choked in 2022. That does not mean there is not better coaches than Deboer though.
If Jack was still on Buff he would not have won the cup in 2023 obviously. It is a team sport.
Picking Lehner over MAF was a mistake.
@@danhockeygeneralmanager maf was the reason they choked against montreal. He was the reason they lost to san jose. He was the reason they lost to Washington. Fleury is notorious for losing in the playoffs. His last 2 rings he didn't play to win. Another goalie got him those rings because he can't be trusted. They needed to move his contract to make space. Lehner played most of last season injured. Deboer is also a choke artist. Look at his coaching record. Inexplicable deep playoff run the first year followed by fledgling mediocrity the next couple of years. He chose to play a unhealthy mark stone. He chose to play an injured lehner. His first year in new jersey, san jose, vegas and now dallas all ended in a cup finals loss or a conference finals loss. Within a couple of years he gets fired after missing the playoffs. It's standered deboer. Twice it's a coincidence, 3 times even. But 4 times now? It's a trend.
@@JarradBruessel32 I saw the San Jose series game 7 and that is not true at all. MAF was fully screened and never saw at least 1 of the goals in game 7. That silly penalty by Eakin and Mcnabb cost the knights that game. Pavelski was not even a threat to score. Blaming MAF for that is just not accurate.
It is a team sport regardless of how good or bad a coach is. The best coach out of the bottom 10 teams could be one of the best coaches in the NHL but the team roster would be so bad you would never know it.
Some NHL head coaches only have backup quality players on the roster to pick from at some positions. Do you want to start this backup goalie or that backup goalie? Do you want to start this backup defenseman or that backup defenseman?
Tons of the Knights fan base wanted Mark Stone back in 2022. Mark Stone should have said no. Even an injured Mark Stone could lift up the team morale coming back but sadly he did not in 2022 if I remember.
I do not understand how you can be that harsh on Deboer or any NHL head coach when most of them have no say in the roster at all or very minimal.
Cassidy did not take over some bottom 10 Knights team and make them a winner. He took over a good team that had multiple injury problems in 2022 and ran with it. No knights goalie even had a losing record in the reg season. It is really hard to lose when a backup goalie still wins anyway.
@@danhockeygeneralmanager dude the guy has done the same thing 4 freaking times. Takes your team deep into the playoffs his first year then within two years that roster will start to lose and he gets canned. Also fleury allowed a very soft game 7 game winning goal to san jose. His nickname in Pittsburgh was meme-andre fleury for a reason. He set the league record for most 3-1 blown series leads by a goalie in their career. He is a choke artist. Minnesota even gave up using him in the playoffs. The guy chokes massively in the playoffs. He choked to montreal. He choked to san jose. He choked to Washington. He chokes. Again he has 3 rings thanks to murray playing in the finals for both 2016 and 2017. Without murray fleury has 1 ring. Fleury would have choked both finals just like he has choked every season since 2009.
@@JarradBruessel32 You are too biased to think logically on a lot of your points.
Fleury was traded to Chicago on my birthday, when I got a Fleury hoodie from a friend. Quite an awkward & memorable gift, but I genuinely appreciated it nonetheless 😂
You got more from your friend for that trade than Vegas got for Fleury.
@@mattblom3990Yet if they didn't make that trade who knows if they would have won the cup.
@@trenelson9212 True. I'm just torn. I'm a people person, but I'm also in business. Vegas' results are undeniable...But at what cost? That will always be the question. Maybe for professional sports you shouldn't get emotional but I rewatched the post-trade interviews with Patches, Fleury, and others and it's rough.
@@mattblom3990 With pro sports in the free agent - hard cap times it much easier just to cheer for the laundry. Players come and go so often.
@@mattblom3990 Well, Fleury had already won the Cup with Pittsburgh, so he had that consolation. Not like Billy Harris with the Islanders. I think way too big a deal was made over that whole thing.
I respect VGK's ruthlessness, its about the team not a player, goalie, coach. Some GMs were/are too loyal to their players and want to always "run it back" even if it would cost them their jobs *cough Kyle *cough* . Not every move worked out for VGK but they were always willing to course correct when things were not working. Respect to that.
Ask Detroit how basically handing out pension contracts to long serving players goes; you get stuck with guys like Dan Cleary, Luke Glendening and Stephen Weiss for too many years and got Holland forced out for Yzerman.
Calgary Flames with Jarome Iginla. What a shit show. The management wouldn't trade Jarome because they didn't want to ask him to waive his no trade clause because it would be bad PR. Iginla didn't want to ask for a trade because it would spoil his "legacy" in Calgary. So you had a team that wanted to trade a player, and a player who wanted to be traded to a contending team, but because both failed to be "ruthless", the team was stuck in inertia while the player was daily losing trade value. Meanwhile the LA Kings made an offer to Calgary for Iginla that wasn't acted on, and turned around and made the same deal with Philadelphia that brought Mike Richards to LA and Wayne Simmonds & Brayden Shenn to Philly. So Richards ends up winning the cup with LA,. Philly gets two good players in Simmonds & Shenn, Jarome retires with no Stanley Cup and when the Flames finally trade Jarome they end up with a bunch of scraps. Imagine being a Flames fan and watching that soap opera play out over about five years.
@@RRaquello there really are too many front offices run with the mindset of a family business where everyone’s afraid to make the hard calls. You don’t win in a hard salary cap league by hanging onto declining assets, handing out anchor contracts like you’re dispensing Jehovah’s Witness pamphlets. You ship that declining asset on the cheap (or even free when their contract runs out because you smartly didn’t sign them for too long) and sign guys to contracts that expire or get cheap before their twilight years and if they demand one of those stupid DiPietros, you tell them to walk because you can just sign a younger player with that cap.
As a Toronto fan, I can't help but think of how Vegas isn't afraid to change their core. Perhaps they're a bit ruthless, but their goal is always to win. And they did. It's a copycat league, so it'll be interesting to see how other teams react.
except toronto will still be who they are. toxic fanbase and media will prevent the leafs from achieving success lol.
@@carparthero "toxic fanbase"
@@michaelb5119 that's exactly what i said.
@carparthero yea the fanbase ain't toxic. Every fanbase has toxic fans. Just the dumbass haters like you have created that narrative and the the circle jerk persists. Most fans are just normal people saving money to go support the home team. Try meeting real people and not judging the whole fanbase off of internet comments 🤡
Watched this video the day after VGK sent Reilly Smith to Pittsburgh. You are good sir! You called it two weeks before it happened. Sadly, that’s what needs to happen if you want to stay on top.
Seeing Hill and Thompson as the main guys would be awesome! They totally deserve it
Edit: i think Hill deserved the Conn Smythe, but Marchy would've been my next pick so I get it
As a Dallas fan, I wish they had this mentality. They end up with these bad contracts.Kick the can down the road for years, all while wasting the prime years of the guys who really have a shot.
If you go to Vegas, it’s with the expectation that you’re making a run for the cup. That shouldn’t be controversial. And last time I checked, everyone who got traded from Vegas still had a job
It's truly marvelous to me how the Knights won over Vegas. A lot of people have had concerns about Vegas being a very transient city with far more tourists than locals, but the Knights are a team that truly feels like their own. They weren't the plan B for an Oakland team like the Raiders and (soon) A's, they started in Vegas and they wear their Vegas-ness all over their sleeves. Some of that may just be them getting there first, but they only had a couple years to do it. But they built themselves off the idea of being the band of misfits, and built an identity and a connection to the city almost immediately.
This year's Knights also feel a bit more humbled, last year they were kinda arrogant but this year they were determined.
Damn out of our UFA’s I really hope we can find a way to keep Barbi and Hill!!!
I am sure they will get it done!
Gonna have to trade Lehner's contract...or find a way to keep him on LTIR
I think they will yeah Lehner might be a casualty though
@@Aforg209Adios Lehner!!
The McManagers did everything they could to assemble a winning team. Their decisions pissed a lot of people off, but the results speak for themselves
Agreed. I know I was one of them who thought they were 'classless' but at the same time they don't care about emotions; at the end of the day they want to hoist the Stanley Cup. As long as you get to the end, no matter how ruthless you appear to be, that's all that matters.
Don’t get it twisted. People were 100% right to be pissed off. The Mic managers (see what I did there?) only won when they stopped chasing the shiniest object in free agency and the trade deadline, and settled for smaller targets. And even then, they needed insane luck and being over the cap in the playoffs to win. I hope that they will never win another Cup in my lifetime.
@@tehbeernerd we shall catch all your salty tears in our giant new cup. 😘
@@tehbeernerd wishing for their failure is bad for you, and has no effect on them.
@@stoddard1953Agreed 100%.
Stephenson gets his 2nd cup, winning in Game 5 in the same barn, 5 years later. A future trivia question I think.
One of the best run franchises in the league
I was hoping this was coming. Thank you!
Chandler Stephenson also has a cup, he was on the Washington team that beat Vegas in 2018.
I'm a big vegas fan who is specifically a big Lehner fan, and the Fleury trade really just taught me that I can't really trust that a player I like is gonna stick around for the long run lol so I'm just over here enjoying the players we have in the moment regardless of what the future holds
I feel bad for Lehner, he is technically with the team that won the cup but since he was injured I don't think his name will be included.
@@nickfenton2334 And then as soon as he's healthy, he will be shipped out.
@@michaeld6147 Yep.
I'm very happy for the win but a Cup doesn't change my opinion of how they treated of Fleury.
My only issue with the fleury trade was they sent him off to die essentially in Chicago. If you want to move him… fine he was aging and you wanted a true 1c. But at least give him some say especially if you aren’t planning to get anything for him anyway. But in the end they won and honestly they were correct to move him. He hasn’t been good since that season.
@@matthewdaley746 It won't matter, no one is expecting them to win 3 cups like Tampa. We got 1 that's all that matters even if it means we go to the bottom in a few years.
The conventional wisdom (of the cap era) has consistently been that you have to develop from within. Vegas shows that draft picks tend to be over-valued, so flipping assets aggressively is a viable strategy to stay competitive over a longer window
As a Caps fan, I congratulate Vegas on winning. Enjoy the spoils of your Cup win.
This takes the sting away from seeing Ovi skating around our arena in Vegas holding the Cup. We were happy for a deserving legend to win it (and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier bearded Russian man). Just glad this eases the pain of that moment.
Do you think there's a chance that the original year one roster gets a banner in the rafters? The group laid the groundwork and even then epitomized what the yeah still is.
Id love that!!
Great idea. Would be a classy move, like Butch starting 5 misfits in game 5. Like Stone making sure all the support staff, down to the chefs for the team meal, got to raise the cup. I've never seen that before in a cup celebration. Classy stuff.
Would be a good idea
Everyone is going to talk about the Eichel trade, but can we discuss Petro acquisition? Dude was a beast for them and shows how dumb Armstrong and blues were to let him go. Made Binnington look a stud and without Petro blues are not the same.
Did chandler stephenson win 2 cups too? One with WSH and one with VGK
In the same building too!
Nate Schmidt is still popular in Vegas. He still plays in charity ball games around Vegas. As far as the misfit line staying together thats another story. Even MacFhee said he was unaware that Cassidy was starting them in game 5. MacFhee said the whole 1st shift was played in front of Hill. They couldn’t get out of their own zone. As a line together the misfits no longer gel. They play much better playing on different lines. As they proved throughout the playoffs. Players also have an advantage that Nevada has no state income tax. 10% plus bigger paycheck is appealing.
How about Deryk Engelland? I loved him when he was on the Flames, and he was a big part of the story with the original Vegas team. I know he was a Vegas resident even before he went there as a player, so is he still connected with the team?
@@RRaquello He's with the VGK foundation now.
@@RRaquello He’s a great guy. I believe he has some high level position in the organization but we also see him around the rink coaching the kids and helping out the next generation.
As a golden knights Fan. I would honestly be shocked if Robin Lehner played next season. that will help the salary-cap
I think it was they stayed somewhat healthy. That unit stayed relevant all season and played as ONE SINGLE IMPENETRABLE UNIT!
chandler stephenson won in 2018 against the knights as well
Yeah, I'm an Oilers fan, but well done VGK. I think we had some truly bizarre calls against us, but Vegas had the gamesmanship and psychology side of things on us for sure. They also took out a lot of McDavid and LD's support and supply. Moreover, the Oilers simply were not good enough in defence. Each time we scored it felt like within minutes, VGK would get on the board. They also knew when and how to swarm us, which seems to have ensured they always gave themselves options.
For those who think Vegas won because Bettman wanted so, then why has Arizona still not won a cup?
they love to forget most of the expansion roster is gone and that nobody thought who we drafted was good except maybe marchy, ultimately it was all the other franchises panicking and giving us picks and other players that gave us trade capital to assemble the current roster
exactly also wouldnt The Leafs and Oilers have cups already since has 4 of the Leagues biggest Superstars Matthews & Marner ; McDavid & Draisaitl.
@@JBTriple8 The league cheats against the Leafs because it's actually a bigger story that they never win than if they do win. Like in baseball when the Cubs (and Red Sox) finally won, they became just another team and the sport lost one of its biggest stories and the draw of "will they finally win this year?". The biggest story in hockey, every year, is the Leafs losing., If they ever do win, hockey loses that, so Bettman has to make sure they lose.
@@RRaquellothe league doesn't cheat against them lmfao. They just are mentally not able to do crap
@@JBTriple8 no because Bettman doesn't like Canada, that's public knowledge
Been seeing a lot of people fantasizing about their teams trading for the first overall pick this year and thought it be a great video to go over any trades for FOA draft picks and how that shook out
John Stevens, the assistant coach also with his third cup ...
the other cups were LA cups?
Hey we Vegas fans got our cup! We are happy!
VGKKK BABYYYYYY
They are going to crash and burn eventually but I can see vegas going for another deep cup run if they keep the same roster, and I wouldn't be surprised if they repeat again. And if I were vegas, I would resign barbashev and let hill walk.
Barbashev was a major acquisition, he really solidified the top line which in turn helped create depth on down the lines in the forward group, I sincerely hope they can bring him back, I doubt, though, that Hill will stay
People hate them cuz their ownership and management did better than that of their teams’ in a shorter time. Congrats to the knights
Nope. Not so.
@@mikekole 🤣
People hate them because they were given every break imaginable. Most expansion team have to build and work for their success. They will not last. A group that has no foundation will not last.
@@ronreinhold8997 OK Ron 🤡
There is resentment (translate jealousy) towards Vegas because of their quick success. Yes, the draft rules favored them, but you can't blame the stupidity of several teams (obviously think Florida) on Vegas for giving up great players. Also, the brain trust of Vegas has proven incredibly gutsy and savvy and not afraid to make bold moves. In addition, the media here doesn't micro scrutinize everything little thing hockey related like some cities (think Toronto). The fan base here is loyal and totally appreciative, and should Vegas start declining, which is almost inevitable at some point in the future, I don't anticipate jerseys being thrown out on the ice. Sorry, all you naysayers, but Las Vegas really is a hockey mecca, and Gary Bettman deserves a ton of credit for that.
Love your videos, you are so good with your analysis. Thank you.
PHIL THE 3 TIME THRILL
There’ll never be an expansion process by any sports team that will exceed Vegas’ excellent expansion draft and their building of a winning team.
IMO, all the players that Vegas got in the draft were eagerly tossed off by GM's all over the league happy to be rid of them. That included Fleury. If you look at the first line up versus the one that entered the playoffs there's a lot of changes. These were done by VGK management, not by "the draft"
They're not even close. The Arizona Diamondbacks won a title in their 4th season, nice try.
@@Vegaslocal Just ask Florida fans how they felt when their front office protected guys like Pysyk and Petrovic instead of Smith and Marchessault; it was anything but a case of "the league left us no option we had to let great players go", more like "how was our front office stupid enough to protect these players?"
In case anyone was wondering, Pysyk hasn't earned a contract above $1M/year since and Petrovic hasn't played in the NHL since 2019. It's not Vegas' fault other team's front offices are stupid.
@@KWally ah yes 2001 D-Backs. That was quite the team too.
Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson.
@@brianhum8765 Florida basically gave Vegas 2/3 of the OG misfit line, which may or may not used that name again. Unlike the Seattle expansion, every dumb GM allowed Vegas to build a team out of “diamonds in the rough”. Dale Tallon was the biggest idiot of the bunch, and I hate saying that because he basically built the Chicago Blackhawks dynasty.
I hated the Knights their first few years, of course because they didn't have to wait like so many of us, but I've come to admire the roster strategy and their play on the ice.
Forgot Stephenson. This was his second cup as well.
24 Canadians on the roster and 18 in the final series
Chandler Stephenson won a cup with Washington.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Nobody goes into pro sports for job security. With that said, the one person I felt for was Nate Schmidt. He really seemed to love playing in Vegas, and he had some local TV endorsement contracts. I know the one most fans were upset with was Fleury. Don't ask me why I thought that was just business.
However, all the pain and sacrifices were worth it in the end. Vegas won the cup, and it's hard to argue with that.
Schmidt signed his death warrant as a Knight when his production nose dived after his PED suspension. They stuck with him on the suspension, but when his numbers cratered, it raised to many questions about was the PED thing actually part of it.
As for Fleury... Having his agent post the sword tweet was the moment management started looking to move him. During that off season between 2019-2020 there were a ton of rumors the knights were looking to move him. It was even reported that Fleury was told he had 1 year, the 2020 season to win it all or they were going to trade him. It was also reported that in the exit interviews McCrimmon told Fleury to his face he was going to be trying to trade him. It was also confirmed that Fleury's agent knew about the trade with chicago, and he was the one to leak it.
Haula was the most fucked up, by far
I like Schmidt (exciting player and energetic guy), but he has become a turnover machine. He was a mess in the Winnipeg series, and pretty much every time I’ve seen him after leaving VGK.
@@esharp48 and Nic Roy is good, and going to keep getting better.
@@kftc1980 oh I mostly meant about how he learnt
It's a real shame about Nolan Patrick. I still remember the hype for him. Even as a 2nd overall player, the ceiling should be pretty high.
Yup he basicly pulled a Puljujarvi xdd. Turned into a complete bust.
@@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556 Puljujarvi has had injuries but nothing like Patrick.
@@valitsemllaluokanavahyvaks3556 That's not really fair, the games he was healthy for, he played well. Or rather, he'd play well enough and basically as soon as he started getting into a rhythm and you started to see flashes, he'd get a concussion.
@@esharp48 I read somewhere that he had some other kind of health issue not related to concussions which is what has really kept him out most of the time. Not sure what the issue is, but it has basically ended his career.
HG, subscribed!
Great video, TY.
Would you kindly consider a video on all the VGK head coaches please?
Enjoy your channel.
Chandler Stephenson won the cup against the Vegas Golden Knights as well
8:03 Stephenson won the cup in Washington before
Vegas fan here. My gut says Hill wont be back. The front office is ruthless, we have other options who are cheaper or harder to move in goal, and a system that makes any goalie better. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised, but I don't see our front office giving Hill what he has just proved he is worth.
While that may have happened a year or so ago, I think the FO is waking up. At the time that I am writing this Hillsy has already been signed to (a possibly overpriced) contract, but he has proven his worth. I think the ongoing threat of fans tar and feathering the FO is at the front of their minds!
VGK are impressive.
Best thing...Stone got out of Ottawa!
I think one can blame the late former owner of Ottawa for that move!!!
I’m definitely not a winning is everything guy in sports, sometimes I think a great season can come even if it ends a bit sour because winning in this world is not the most important thing. For this reason I rank the inaugural season higher than this year as the best VGK season, though I have the 1990 Runnin Rebels as the greatest Vegas sports team, and part of that was definitely winning it all.
I was at the cup fan party and twice I heard “I have been here since the 70s” locals (TV and radio) when commenting about the Knights completely overlook the Tarkanian coached Runnin Rebels. I can understand recent residents overlooking UNLV but if you lived here during that time, no way, sorry, The strip went dark after Tark The Shark passed away. Tarkanian’ Runnin Rebs and the Knights Misfits are similar to me. Hill was wearing a #4 UNLV jersey at the fan party. Karlsson’s drunk speech is part of Las Vegas sports history now. Haha
I moved here shortly after the Tarkanian Runnin rebels win! While the rebels are not a professional team (which we were told we'd NEVER get because, well, *reasons*) that was probably the most fun in sports in Vegas before the Knights, frankly.
Interesting stuff. Kessel is close to a thousand points, it would be cool to see him get that.
they cycle through their stars and keep a core of guys who make a little less i like that
I can see the Knights Sending Lehner and a 2024 1st for future considerations. That gives space to sign Babri, Hill, blue, Howden and maybe keep Doro.
Kessel is gone, Brossoit is gone. Quick Retires.
Then again i think Lehner is LTIRetired.
Definitely not enough to sign all of those guys. It's only 8.5 million. I hope Hill takes a decent deal, but he's probably outplayed any type of regular money. I hope they sign Barbashev, Hill (if he's willing to be paid less) and Dorofeyev. If they can't get Hill then a half decent back up goalie for LT.
I would be fine with Phil staying if he can accept a limited role, and let the streak end. Good vibes.
@@kftc1980 Phil knows his games played streak is over, unless he signs with some team like Chicago.
I would like to think there will be enough cap space to keep Barby but seems iffy. He won't come cheap. I just don't see Hill coming back, Kessel likewise, and Quick will retire.
We'll miss Phil the thrill, everything I've read he's a great teammate and certainly a character
I'm curious as to who's gonna get their names on the Cup. According to Wikipedia, they have like 5 goalies on the roster right now
Thompson and Brossoit both need to be on there, Thompson was the guy for most of the regular season and brossoit held down the fort before injury
Of the 4 names, Hill, Quick, Brossoit, and Thompson, Thompson is the one that would have to be petitioned I believe.
All of them should be on there IMO. Without them they'd not be champs.
@@sincitysinnermike He dressed for over half of the games so that isnt an issue.
@@sincitysinnermike I don't see how Quick's name gets on. He didn't have enough regular season games and he didn't play at all in the playoffs. When the Rangers won they had a similar issue with Ed Olczyk, but they eventually put it on because he played one playoff game.
The team gets free lap dances for life now. That's a pretty good incentive to stay.
Still so happy shea theodore of aldergrove won a stanley cup. Love that my hometown i grew up in has a fantastic hockey culture. Got my name on one of the play-off banners that hanged in the old rank. It's cool to think my name was up there beside any of the teams shea played on that won the playoffs and got their own banner.
I'm fine with their trade decision and way of building the roster. Just the courtesy of the process we criticized on McCrimmon.
Like, Not telling properly the player that he is being traded? Not checking the player NTC team carefully before making that blunder?
If they do it right, no one hates them. Like it or not, VGK needs to improve on communications between players and teams albeit after winning a cup. Because to retain a good relationship in the long run, they gonna need it.
I think they've learned their lesson. Look at the sendoff fanfare they are giving Reilly Smith, for instance! They really risked alienating so many fans with the Fleury fiasco. I think they realize just how dedicated to the team the fans were, and how the fans wouldn't care if everybody in the FO just evaporated.
I think there was a combination of issues that happened at the same time that caused fan rebellion. Between the total lack of communication between the organization and Fleury, having Lehner take his place during the postseason, and for whatever damn reason getting DeBoer to be the head coach from the Sharts of all teams, the torches and pitchforks scenario was starting to possibly become a thing.
In a cap league Cap Space is an asset. Dumping players for “nothing” is a Canucks way of thinking. Dumping players for cap room is a Vegas way of thinking
I think the Lehner contract was a mistake. I have never been big on Lehner, and he really isn’t a 5 mill goalie.
His off the ice foibles will also hurt him. Bankruptcy and the several allegations of fraud make him toxic to the vgk. He can be an outstanding goalie, but I don't think he will be back.
Vegas always interesting to follow.
Any takers on how much merch, THG gets when he’s in LV later this summer? Me thinks quite a bit.
How fun would a VGK vs Sabres 2024 SCF be?
Nice vid
Very cool 👍
The goal of every franchise should be to win a cup. Every player in Vegas knows (and several have commented on it) that it may be their last year if they don't perform. Ther expectation in the market is a cup... every year. And those expectations put pressure on the pleayers, pressure that should be there. If you win CUPS though you'll be a legend.
Just my 2¢, but i think that Bill Foley and the VGK organization will be fine when the inevitable lean years come. I doubt we'll ever be in a situation like the Yotes or sharks (their attendance numbers were awful this season). Yes, fan interest will wane when the team isn't good. However, like my Raiders, visiting fans will put asses in those seats to keep the revenue coming in until they're good again. Is that ideal? No, but it will more than keep the lights on.
I was one of the guys wondering if/should Reilly Smith would be moved, while simultaneously defending William Karlsson to my fellow VGK fans. They wanted that 43 goal scorer from the inaugural season, but didn't realize how unsustainable his ridiculous shooting percentage from that season was. They were wrong about wanting to get rid of Karlsson and i was wrong about my misgivings about Reilly Smith 🤷🏽♂️
I can't see any scenario where Robin Lehner ever suits up for VGK again. They'd move him for a bag of pucks if they could. I also think that while they want to retain most of our UFAs, that they would prioritize Barbashev over Hill. Even if Hill gets a big money deal elsewhere, we've still got Logan Thompson who was ahead of Hill on the depth chart. Goalie depth was key this season, but there's almost no way that rash of injuries to the position could happen again....right?
We do massage the cap pretty well so far, but at some point something has to give. If we really want Barbie back (and we should), maybe someone like Martinez becomes expendable.
It'll be interesting to see what moves McPhee & McCrimmon make to keep the band together AND make improvements (can't be stagnant even if you just won the cup) for next season. I suspect, as always, some of the fanbase is gonna be upset...
The Golden Misfits ... Legends in Vegas FOREVER... Bigger than Elvis...Celine...The Rat Pack....
Hoookay buddy
Chandler Stephenson, also not his first cup.
It was Dadanov or Smith, and they chose Smith. They may be willing to move guy's, but theyre also willing to show loyalty. It was dramatic at times, but how often is a team the same after 6 years really?
If you look at all the teams' rosters from 2027-18, I believe you will find that many or most teams have fewer than six players remaining from them.
Dadonov was fine, but mostly carried by Stephenson and Eichel. Dumping him and replacing with Kessel was smart, but at the same time, obvious decision
Vegas is built like a guy playing NHL23
Wasn't Howden playing on the top line with Stone?
he was, but that was 2nd line
Vancouver & Buffalo take notes of Vegas's building a championship winner!
Does this system work yes but there are teams that can not do this like mainly any Canadian team can not do this tactic
They can be back next year, no doubt.
@@kfnwuwbw9s Saltier than the Dead Sea.
Doing Fluery like they did still has me annoyed and hard for me to root for them
I will root for them because they are the team. The front office, on the other hand, can go suck rocks.