Tales of triumph

by Ed Graney

THEY CAME FULL CIRCLE,

these Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, from the depths of not qualifying for the playoffs one year to its apex the next. From the worst season of the franchise’s six-year existence to its absolute best.

They now sit atop the NHL. What a ride it has been.

It was different this time, and not just because the Knights closed out the Cup with a win against the Florida Panthers in five games of a best-of-seven series. Different from when they lost to the Washington Capitals in the final to conclude that magical and improbable inaugural season of 2017–18. Back then, the narrative centered on tragedy, how a team and a town immediately bonded over a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. How sadness was mixed with joy, how such a dark moment in a city’s fabric was replaced by the sort of bright light only sports can create.

Las Vegas fell in love with the Knights then. The sentiment grew stronger this season.

But this time was more about change, about a new perspective, new ideas, new system, new dynamics. It began with the hiring of Bruce Cassidy as coach in June 2022, the former Boston Bruins boss who would arrive with his own strategy on how to build a winner.

He delivered a style of play, a culture, an identity.

“A lot of preparation,” Cassidy said. “Every coach in this league works hard to prepare their team, puts in a lot of time and effort, sacrifice away from your family at times. So, that’s the rewarding part, and then to get your name on the Cup is the ultimate reward. The rewarding part is seeing it all come together at the right time.

“It’s still pretty fresh. It’s pretty cool.”

This was the team, with no apologies, raised by president of hockey operations George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon. It didn’t happen overnight. It took years in the making, the two willing to move on from some enormously popular names to construct a roster they believed could challenge for the Cup.

They never stopped trying to improve things. To get the absolute best players. And not to just make the final, as in Year One. But to win it.

Mostly, this team had the right makeup. The right amount of veteran leadership and young talent that combined for what proved to be a championship roster.

Six players had won the Cup — with nine rings in all — before the Knights claimed their own title. Six players who had been there, done that. Those who were needed sounding boards as the Knights maneuvered their way through such a memorable playoff run.

It was unlike the first year, and yet it was in some ways. Nothing defines a better work environment than a selfless room of high-character individuals. The Knights had such then and do now. They have as good a people as they do players. It has always been this way, a mandate from owner Bill Foley.

His point: Before you check someone’s skill or hockey knowledge or what makes his game special, review his character.

And the Knights have. And they have succeeded greatly at it.

They had the right captain in Mark Stone, who exists in a state of deference when praising his teammates. They had a star in center Jack Eichel, whose talent on the ice was a missing piece that helped the Knights scale the most difficult of final hurdles.

They had six of the remaining Misfits from that first season, players who understood better than anyone else the long and winding and successful journey that had its share of speed bumps along the way. They had solid complementary players who executed their roles to perfection.

They had a Conn Smythe Trophy winner in forward Jonathan Marchessault, and a goalie in Adin Hill who produced a near-historic playoff in net.

“We have a dressing room full of Stanley Cup champions now,” McCrimmon said.

Health matters. In not qualifying for the playoffs in 2021–22, the Knights had 500 man games lost to injury. This season’s team didn’t come close to such a number, but had its share of players missing significant time. Stone was out for half the season following a second back surgery.

But when the playoffs commenced, most all were accounted for. The Knights played their best and were at their healthiest when it mattered most. This, a team that won the Pacific Division with 51 victories and 111 points, earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Knights were big. They were strong. They were fast.

That first season was about destiny. This was more about pure talent and at times domination.

They would use five goalies during the season and not blink much at all because of the defensive structure Cassidy implemented. They would roll four lines like nobody’s business. They featured the best blue line in hockey. Depth was paramount to their success. It meant everything.

And they would make their owner seem oh-so-prophetic.

It was Foley way back when, before there was an initial roster, a nickname, a color scheme, much of anything, who pronounced what has become a sort of mantra around the organization: “Playoffs in three; Cup in six.”

The Knights easily reached that first goal during the first season and have now secured the second by winning it all.

“Really proud of our players and of George and Kelly,” Foley said. “It’s just starting to sink in … It was the Cup in six, wasn’t it?”

So what now?

McCrimmon said the goal is to build a team that can contend on a sustainable basis. Good news, then, that the core of this championship team will return next season. It’s beyond significant that so many players are locked up contractually.

It’s also music to a fan base’s ears, one whose support helped define a playoff march that saw the Knights defeat Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dallas and then Florida.

Never faced an elimination game. Not once.

One that saw a record 19,000-plus pack T-Mobile Arena for the clinching Game

5 of the Stanley Cup Final while another 11,000 celebrated outside in the plaza. The stands at City National Arena were again filled for practices. More and more young faces lit up at the sight of their favorite players.

Hockey in the desert? You betcha. It just grows and grows.

And when it was over, when the final seconds of a 9-3 victory ticked away, those on the best team in hockey took turns holding aloft a silver cup that remains the toughest symbol of excellence to win in all of sports.

“It’s still hard to believe,” McPhee said. “The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. You wake up every day, and it gets a little bit better in the sense that it can never be taken away from you. I’ve heard that expression so many times from so many people when they win, and it’s the truth. We did it.”

That inaugural year was a great story, a season of firsts, a maiden voyage, all about being Vegas Strong. It ended just short of the ultimate goal.

This time was different. The Golden Knights of 2022–23 came full circle.

They now sit atop the NHL. What a ride it has been, is right.

Here, then, through our words and pictures, is how a local hockey team came to be known as Stanley Cup champions. ◆

ON THE COVER:

Copyright © 2023 by Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc.

All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-63846-076-3

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.

Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com. Printed in Canada.

This book is an unofficial account of the Vegas Golden Knights' 2022–23 season and is not endorsed by the NHL or the Vegas Golden Knights.

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