Marchessault, Karlsson became superstars. Neal, Perron, Smith were always good players capable of being key offensive contributors. Tuch was a good prospect, who was given up so that they would not take the highly touted Matt Dumba. Theodore, Schmitt, Miller are the backbones of that blueline and all can really skate and are heady. Even though there blueline really lacks superstar talent, they get it done by commite and Fleury absolutely holds the fort.
Gerrard Gallant may be the best coach in the NHL and he was amazing in Florida too before coming to Vegas.
Vegas was built to be a team with speed, but not only do they have speed...Since they have minimal young players they have strong forwards, this allows them to be strong on the wall which enables them to force turnovers on the forecheck. Also GG built there breakout around guys getting the puck on the wall inducing a pinch and making strong plays up the middle to transition with speed. There breakout is so good because guys are very strong on the wall and dont turn it over when huge guys like Myers and Byfuglien pinch down the wall.