Vegas Knights Prevail First Year in The League

The NHL playoffs have been exciting for many reasons. Well, for one hockey is an exciting sport by itself and even better a new expansion team is playing for Lord Stanley. Well, with that said the Washington Capitals are the more experienced team and have players like Ovechkin leading the charge. However, who would have ever expected an expansion team in their first year in the league to make such massive strides? How about nobody!

When a team can break into the league this early and disrupt experienced teams you can point to one person that causes it. No….it is not the head coach. It is usually the GM of the team and for the Knights George McPhee has proven he knows how to assemble a team. It is the GM that makes trades…..recommends players for acquisition and seeks out opportunity to build a franchise. The Vegas Knights currently cycle the puck faster than any team in the league often making it hard to follow for the spectator. They acquired a veteran goalie (Mark Andre Flurry) to protect the net and guide young players down the right path. However, making it to the finals was never a destination this year. In fact, one could argue the ultimate goal was to capture the Vegas hockey market and pack the stadium night after night. Well, they have packed the stadium and perhaps have begun building a hockey dynasty and have proven Vegas is a strong hockey market with a giant following.

Just think how many teams have played in the NHL for 20 plus years that can not make it to the finals. The Arizona Coyotes have been in existence for 20 years and still have been yet to make to the finals. However, lots of change has gone on in terms of ownership and a few different GM’s sprinkled with the idea of leaving the Phoenix market.

every so often. Feels like a travesty, but today with a strong GM and good management a ton can be overcome. Vegas has clearly proved that putting the right people in the front office has resulted in smart decisions being made. Hence, the building of a team that is currently going after the title.

Being an underdog is a powerful reason to prove others wrong. It is interesting to see that literally 90% of the team is from overseas. There is only a hand full of US players on the Knights roster. Is that the secret ingredient to building a team that knows how to win in the NHL? It would be hard to say that is true, however Vegas along with their GM has shown the world a new franchise can change initial perception of being “new”. Go Knights!