Ten years later, the Golden Knights' standard of excellence remains high

LAS VEGAS — From tragedy, triumph.

Three words. It sums up the inaugural season of the Vegas Golden Knights. A team that didn’t exist when its home rink opened in 2016. A group of castoffs that no one wanted, became the “Golden Misfits” that set records for success by an expansion team and went to the Stanley Cup Final.

The horrific events of October 1, 2017 which saw 58 people killed while attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival across from Mandalay Bay and the team, which had yet to play a game, responding to helping a city’s wounded soul heal has formed an unbreakable bond which exists to this day.

And while that team came up short in its quest to do what most deemed impossible, it set the standard for those who would follow. Mark Stone. Jack Eichel. Noah Hanifin. Adin Hill. Mitch Marner. And many others, some of who have their named etched on the Stanley Cup as a result of being members of the 2022-23 championship team coached by Bruce Cassidy. The culture for success had already been established by the time they arrived in Las Vegas and it has been deeded to them to maintain.

There’s no cool torch like the one in Montreal where the Canadiens, they of the 24 Cups employ the slogan in their locker room at the Bell Centre — “To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.” It’s a line from the poem “In Flanders Fields” dedicated to the Canadian soldiers who bravely fought in World War I. The Knights do have their own locker room slogan, courtesy of their owner, Bill Foley, a West Point graduate — “Always advance, never retreat.”

And when you look at the team’s accomplishments in its first nine years, there’s been very little retreat. As the Knights prepare for what will be their 10th season on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, they do so with the intent of making more hockey history.

With 45 wins, Vegas would tie the Edmonton Oilers, who had won 446 games in their first 10 seasons as an NHL franchise. The Knights are 401-224-76 in their nine-year history. They have won at least 45 games in three of the last four seasons. So barring a string of injuries such as the 2021-22 season which saw the franchise miss the playoffs for the only time in its history, there’s a pretty good chance of seeing another record.

In the beginning …

Of the original roster of 2017-18, only three players remain — Shea Theodore, William Karlsson and Brayden McNabb. A fourth, Jonas Rondbjerg, was drafted in the third round of the 2017 entry draft and he remains in the organization. Ryan Craig, an assistant on Gerard Gallant’s coaching staff, has stayed with the team and Tuesday, will make his debut as an NHL head coach behind the Golden Knights’ bench against the Chicago Blackhawks.

McNabb, a big defenseman, was taken from the Los Angeles Kings. Karlsson and Theodore wound up in Vegas as throw-ins after then general manager George McPhee cut deals with Columbus and Anaheim to take players who would never play for Vegas.

David Clarkson was at the end of the road with the Blue Jackets but Karlsson was still in the early stages of his career. He was originally in Anaheim, got traded to Columbus where he played for John Tortorella. Ironically, the two reunited late last season and in the playoffs when Karlsson returned from a lengthy injury to help the Knights reach the Stanley Cup Final against Carolina.

Theodore, a young defenseman, was sent to Vegas after McPhee agreed to take Clayton Stoner, another veteran who was at the end of the line. There were multiple moves such as those, giving the Knights additional assets to form their inaugural roster. Alex Tuch accompanied Erik Haula from Minnesota. Reilly Smith joined Jonathan Marchessault from Florida.

McPhee, assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, Vaughn Karpan, head of NHL Pro Scouting and the rest of the hockey operations staff worked countless hours evaluating, running mock drafts, trying to find the right chemistry for a team that few were giving a chance to succeed.

And while many had a right to be skeptical of whether this team would have any success, there was a culture being developed. This may be a new hockey team comprised of castoffs, but they were going to be motivated to compete every night and have an opportunity to show the world they not only belonged in the NHL, but could thrive at the game’s highest level.

They had a goaltender with three Stanley Cup rings in Marc-Andre Fleury, who Pittsburgh was willing to move on from. There were players from winning franchises who didn’t accept losing.
 
“It was a motivated group,” Craig said of that Year One roster. “Guys had a chip on their shoulder. They were out to prove something.”

And that was what McPhee was betting on. That this group of “Golden Misfits” would have a common bond, a reason to show everyone they could win.

“It was a very close-knit group,” Theodore said. “Guys played for each other. They believed.”

Karlsson said: “I was worried it would just be the opponents’ fans in the arena. But I was wrong. I was very happy with the way it turned out.”

“We are Vegas Strong”  

The Golden Knights had just completed their preseason, losing to San Jose at T-Mobile Arena early in the evening of Oct. 1, 2017. A trip to Dallas beckoned as they would play their historic first game on the road, then travel to Glendale, Arizona the following night to face the Arizona Coyotes before hosting the ‘Yotes three nights later in what was going to be a gala home opener.

But as the players were together down the street having a team dinner at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, a half-mile in the other direction, an unspeakable carnage was unfolding.

A deranged gunman, perched in a room on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay, armed with more than a thousand rounds of ammunition, had opened fire on a crowd of country music fans who were enjoying the final night of the weekend event.

Word quickly spread to the players, coaches and members of the Golden Knights organization. Everyone was accounted for and safe. But in the bloody aftermath, questions would quickly surface.

What can the team do to help? Would it still play on Friday in Texas? What about the plans for the home opener?

The game in Dallas would be played. Players who were still getting accustomed to their new city, showed up to thank first responders and talk with families who had either lost loved ones or were injured. Long lines formed at the area blood banks as people donated blood.

As for the home opener, the team pivoted 180 degrees. There would be no gala ceremony. Instead, it would be a somber, dignified event. In Dallas, the Stars, who were in mourning over the death of their broadcaster, Dave Strader, joined the Knights at center ice as moments of silence were observed.

The hockey gods were kind to the Knights as James Neal scored the game winner, and his second of the night, with 2:44 remaining as Vegas prevailed 2-1. Neal would be the hero the following night in Glendale as he scored in overtime in another 2-1 win.

On Oct. 10, the teams met again in the home opener at T-Mobile Arena. Each Golden Knights player, coach and executive was accompanied on the ice by a first responder. Defenseman Deryk Engelland, who was the lone Golden Knights player who had spend time in Las Vegas from when he was a member of the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL, gave a brief but passionate speech to the sellout crowd that ended with “We are Vegas Strong.”

"Like all of you, I'm proud to call Las Vegas home. I met my wife here. Our kids were born here. I know how special this city is. To all the brave first responders that have worked tirelessly and courageously through this whole tragedy, we thank you.
"To the families and friends of the victims, we'll do everything we can to help you and our city heal. We are Vegas Strong.”

It was 58 seconds long, equalled shortly after by a moment of silence for the victims. And then the game began. And whether it was a fate, kismet or whatever, Engelland, who scored just 30 goals in 631 games, scored from near the top of the right faceoff circle, beating Antti Raanta for a 2-0 Golden Knights lead.
“I think it was a crazy way to start the year for sure,” Theodore said. “But the guys did a great job to help rally the community. At the same time, we’re just athletes who play a game. But we like being part of the community and do what we can at certain times and that we’re honored to be here playing for the Golden Knights.
“But it was a special time and a lot of heartbreak, a lot of tough times for a lot of people. But we did what we could.”
The record year
Vegas would win its home opener 5-2 and start 3-0, a record for an NHL expansion team. They would ultimately set several records including:
Most wins by an expansion team with 51.
Most points by an expansion team with 109.
First expansion team to win a division title as Vegas captured the Pacific Division.
First team to sweep an opponent in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after Vegas eliminated Los Angeles 4-0.
First team to win a conference title after Vegas defeated Winnipeg in the Western Conference Final.
“I’ve said a number of times three months into our first year, when we were just putting the organization together, Kelly and I had the same thoughts at the same time, recognizing how we’ve been in Vegas for three months, we liked it, it was easy top get around, the weather was great, people were very nice, there was a lot of civic pride,” McPhee said. “Kelly and I knowing what the facilities were going to be like, knowing that Bill was going to fund everything fully with no shortcuts. We knew if we did our jobs we were going to win.
“I think having been a general manager before, having understood the expansion rules, and the fact Bill wanted to win right away and didn’t want to go the normal route of taking five or six years, that wasn’t going to work for anybody. It needed to work immediately in Vegas so we decided to be very bold, very unconventional and needless to say, it’s gone very well.”
McCrimmon said: “I think probably first and foremost, what I think about is the connection with the city. We’ve been received from Day One and that’s the big thing.
“Second is the sustained success we’ve been able to achieve over that period of time. The accomplishments, the level of play we’ve been able to sustain. No team in the NHL has had more victories, won more playoff series, certainly that is memorable.
“Certainly the passion in our arena. It’s a great market, a great franchise. No one imagined it would play out the way it has. We’ve had a lot of continuity. Players like playing and living here. There’s a commitment to winning that starts with Bill Foley.”
Together, McPhee and McCrimmon established Foley’s vision of what he wanted the team’s culture to be, not just on the ice, but off of it as well.
“There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things,” McPhee said. “There’s nothing in between. We just decided we were going to do all the right things.
“Kelly and I quickly developed a relationship. We didn’t know each other when he was hired. But we’ve worked well together and we have had a lot of success together.”
Theodore said of the team’s culture: “It starts from the top with Bill Foley, the way he wants us to be around the rink, you have to be a good person, you have to be a good guy. Obviously good players have come in. But first and foremost, we’re a family and we stick together through everything.”
Craig knows what expectations are. Nothing has changed over the years.
“Obviously there was a bond forged with the city after what happened (on October 1). And there was the standard we set, getting to the Stanley Cup Final and Kelly and George have said how it changed the course of the franchise,” Craig said. “There’s a continuity, a brotherhood effect there, I think everybody came there with a bit of a chip on their shoulder and it was the momentum that built and built and became unstoppable until the end.”
A ‘Vegas Born’ franchise
Sometimes, it’s forgotten that Las Vegas had had professional sports, including hockey, for decades. Longtime residents will remember the Thunder of the International Hockey League and the Wranglers of the ECHL. Real old-time Las Vegans recall the Gamblers, who played at the Commercial Center in the 1970s.
What the Golden Knights did was open the door for other major league professional sports teams. The NFL relocated the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. The WNBA moved its San Antonio franchise to Las Vegas in 2018 and rebranded it as the Aces.
Major League Baseball will call Las Vegas home in 2028 when the Athletics move into their new ballpark on the old Tropicana Hotel and Casino site. And the NBA is contemplating expanding to Las Vegas.
But Foley was the first to bring a major league franchise to town. At least the four main major league sports (there was a North American Soccer League team in 1977, the Quicksilvers).
The key was unlike the others, this hockey team was conceived and born in Las Vegas. It wasn’t some other city’s team that was being relocated. It was Vegas’ own. It’s why the support has remained strong, along with a winning team. Vegas has made the postseason in eight of its nine seasons and has reached the Stanley Cup Final three times, capturing the championship in 2023 and fulfilling Foley’s boast of “Cup in Six.”
Foley believed it would work and he ultimately convinced the NHL it would. That and a then record expansion fee of $500 million. Today, Forbes values the Golden Knights franchise at $2.2 billion, placing it in the top third in the league in worth.
He hired McPhee and McCrimmon and allowed them to do their jobs without interference. He trusted them to make the right decisions, including the tough ones such as moving on from Fleury and Cassidy, Marchessault and Gallant and Pete DeBoer.
That trust remains a significant part of the team’s culture and ultimately, its overall success as a franchise.
Memories to last a lifetime
When the puck drops Tuesday, thoughts will be about returning to the Stanley Cup Final. Craig has called it “unfinished business.”
But it was what took place in Year One that is the foundation for what exists today. When McPhee looks back on that inaugural season, one visual sticks out.
“Probably when we got to the Finals and I saw the slogan projected on the ice ‘Welcome to Impossible.’” he said.
He also remembers the importance of responding the proper way to the shooting, especially when it came to the home opener.
“It was very very significant,” McPhee said. “Suddenly we were on a very different platform and we became a hockey team that helped bring the community together and made people feel a little bit better.”
For the remaining players, being part of building something still resonates with them, 10 years later.
“I think about just how much fun we had,” Karlsson said. Obviously, we established our winning culture right away.”
McNabb said: “I think back to getting picked in the (expansion) draft; the shooting, how the team helped the city rally together following the tragedy. And the winning culture we established, going to the Finals. It was a great group of guys.
“It means a lot to still be here. Building a winning culture, it’s really hard to do. But we were able to do so right off the hop and it has helped us over the 10 years. It’s known around the league and it’s where everyone in the organization wants to be so credit to all the guys who have been here. Now we’re looking to keep it going.”
Theodore said: “It was a special year from the start. It was a fun year, a career year for a lot of guys. Looking back, it’s kind of a shame losing in the Finals. But overall, it was a lot of fun.”
McPhee will never apologize for trying to win. And the unparalleled success the franchise has had under his and McCrimmon’s stewardship makes it all the more satisfying.
“There were as lot of naysayers about expansion, about Vegas,” McPhee said. “I give a lot of credit to Gary Bettman and Bill Daly and the Board of Governors for making it happen. It turned out to be an extraordinarily good decision because Las Vegas has been fantastic for the NHL and the NHL has been fantastic for Vegas.”