[Randall] How the Golden Knights went from risky ploy to model franchise.

[Kranix]

[MOD] In my eyes it is more a hate for Bettman and the league as a whole. Bitter on my part? I don’t think so. I think the VGN have taken a bit of my love away from the NHL after being a fan for over 40 years. I don’t care how it came. Success, in my eyes, should be a process.

I guess that’s just in my DNA so if that’s petty, fine.

You are totally bitter. You wanted them to pick their team from the ECHL and then spend 10 years drafting top 3? What's the point of that?

 

[Kranix]

I've just come to terms that if they swept the entire playoffs and won a Stanley Cup this year people would still defend the expansion draft.

Absolutely unbelievable the mental gymnastics some of you people must go through to try to make this into some feel good story. They made the NHL look like a joke with their expansion draft conditions.

Why do expansion teams have to be bad? You're the one doing mental gymnastics. St. Louis made the finals three years in a row from expansion.

 

[IceNeophyte]

I have never hated a team more than the Vegas Golden Knights and I have never hated hearing about something more than I hate hearing about the Vegas Golden Knights.

And yet, here you are....

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Let's say you have your next 3 1st round, 2nd round and 3rd round picks available to you last off season.

Is there any reason why you couldn't have landed 5 or 6 of some of the top players on the VGK?

Karlson, March, Eng, Fleury, Miller, Perron.

These guys EASILY could've been had by any team in the league for a few firsts and 2nds. Nobody saw the value in them. Frigging columbus GAVE AWAY A FIRST just to have VGK take Karlson INSTEAD of another player LOL.

People are jealous, I honestly think that's the only thing going on, there's no merit to anyone hating the franchise right now.

 

[haveandare]

I've just come to terms that if they swept the entire playoffs and won a Stanley Cup this year people would still defend the expansion draft.

Absolutely unbelievable the mental gymnastics some of you people must go through to try to make this into some feel good story. They made the NHL look like a joke with their expansion draft conditions.

Did you think they were handed a great team before they played a game?

 

[5 Minute Major]

Why do expansion teams have to be bad? You're the one doing mental gymnastics. St. Louis made the finals three years in a row from expansion.

Yeah, because an expansion team HAD TO make the Finals. They were the best expansion team for three years in a row. They probably would have taken last place in the Eastern Division.

Educate yourself.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Amazing play on the ice aside, I'm just really proud of the fans. I wasn't sure the Knights could be more than a fairweather event in Vegas where people from out of town might go to a game the same way they see a show, but it really seems like the city has taken to hockey and it's not just an outoftowner experience. I guess seeing a losing season would be a better indicator, but right now (and winning probably has a huge factor) Vegas is a much better hockey market than quite a few other NHL markets around the league.

They were a winning team right from the start of the season and finished in first place. Add in that it’s their first season and of coarse there was going to be hype. The true test of their fanbase will be when things aren’t going so well like missing the playoffs several seasons in a row etc.

 

[Kranix]

Yeah, because an expansion team HAD TO make the Finals. They were the best expansion team for three years in a row. They probably would have taken last place in the Eastern Division.

Educate yourself.

And were you crying then like you are now?

 

[613Leafer]

They have two guys on the team under 6'0 (Tatar + Marchessault). It's a very big team, and generally guys that can skate quite well too.

Maybe they don't have elite skill on the roster, but they're tough to play against as a team. Big, fast, good depth, well coached, and good goaltending. It's a good recipe.

 

[moosehead81]

Why do expansion teams have to be bad? You're the one doing mental gymnastics. St. Louis made the finals three years in a row from expansion.

St Louis played in an "expansion" division consisting of the 6 expansion teams to get to the cup final. They were swept all three years 4 games to nothing by Montreal in the first two and Boston in the third. They drafted from the original six teams in 1967 from team lists which protected one goaltender and 11 players per team. Once a team "lost" a player, they could put a player from their unprotected list back onto its protected list. St Louis had only 70 of a possible 148 points its first season, playing 24 of 74 games against the "established" teams.
Comparing the "success" of that St Louis team with the current Vegas situation is a red herring. There is no comparison.

 

[Kranix]

St Louis played in an "expansion" division consisting of the 6 expansion teams to get to the cup final. They were swept all three years 4 games to nothing by Montreal in the first two and Boston in the third. They drafted from the original six teams in 1967 from team lists which protected one goaltender and 11 players per team. Once a team "lost" a player, they could put a player from their unprotected list back onto its protected list. St Louis had only 70 of a possible 148 points its first season, playing 24 of 74 games against the "established" teams.
Comparing the "success" of that St Louis team with the current Vegas situation is a red herring. There is no comparison.

Thanks for the lesson. They had a manufactured chance at the Stanley cup. Were you bitter about it? What if they fluked out and won? Would you have been offended?

 

[ChanceVegas]

People are jealous, I honestly think that's the only thing going on, there's no merit to anyone hating the franchise right now.

And that is really all there is to most of the discussion on VGK. People are jealous and trying to find ways to justify their bitterness.

 

[ChanceVegas]

They were a winning team right from the start of the season and finished in first place. Add in that it’s their first season and of coarse there was going to be hype. The true test of their fanbase will be when things aren’t going so well like missing the playoffs several seasons in a row etc.

I agree. We will see what happens if we have a down year. I still think it would take a couple of down years, but this is our first Pro team so it is tough to form an opinion on fan support here in Vegas.

 

[Kale Hulls]

Did you think they were handed a great team before they played a game?

I knew they would be not the worst team in the league before the season even started. Took me about a 20 games in and I realized the league made a huge mistake. Then I realized that it probably wasn't a mistake and they knew they had to farm some fans while they are still the only professional team in Vegas. The problem I think I see is that they are going to lose alot of long time fans when they beat the Jets. I had predicted them to go to the SCF months ago if you want to go through my post history and find that I'm not flip flopping. Just watching them I knew they were a top team in the west.

 

[Jamin]

Amazing play on the ice aside, I'm just really proud of the fans. I wasn't sure the Knights could be more than a fairweather event in Vegas where people from out of town might go to a game the same way they see a show, but it really seems like the city has taken to hockey and it's not just an outoftowner experience. I guess seeing a losing season would be a better indicator, but right now (and winning probably has a huge factor) Vegas is a much better hockey market than quite a few other NHL markets around the league.

Hard to judge if their fairweather since the team is killing it lol. If they dont do as good next year or stumble out the gate will be the real test imo.

Easy to buy in when your team is winning the division and pwning the first 2 rounds of playoffs.

 

[haveandare]

I knew they would be not the worst team in the league before the season even started. Took me about a 20 games in and I realized the league made a huge mistake. Then I realized that it probably wasn't a mistake and they knew they had to farm some fans while they are still the only professional team in Vegas. The problem I think I see is that they are going to lose alot of long time fans when they beat the Jets. I had predicted them to go to the SCF months ago if you want to go through my post history and find that I'm not flip flopping. Just watching them I knew they were a top team in the west.

I'm not sure I see the mistake or problem. The league gave them a team of middling players with nobody even arguably a top talent except maybe Fleury and Neal, and Fleury was notoriously hot and cold.

Do you think the league planned this team to be as good as they are in order to "farm some fans"? If so do you think they have other teams purposely playing worse against them or that the league somehow helped guys like Karlsson suddenly become many times the player they were before?

I just don't see how this is the leagues doing. You yourself said that before the season started you thought they'd merely not be the worst team. Now the league is purposely making them cup contenders? How?

 

[ArGarBarGar]

I knew they would be not the worst team in the league before the season even started. Took me about a 20 games in and I realized the league made a huge mistake. Then I realized that it probably wasn't a mistake and they knew they had to farm some fans while they are still the only professional team in Vegas. The problem I think I see is that they are going to lose alot of long time fans when they beat the Jets. I had predicted them to go to the SCF months ago if you want to go through my post history and find that I'm not flip flopping. Just watching them I knew they were a top team in the west.

The team hitting their stride just at the right time with an unlikely group of players means the league made a mistake and a lot of long time fans are just going to stop watching?

Hell, they haven't even won the Cup, yet, and could very well crash and burn next season, and we are writing this team as if they were handed a cup winning roster and one that will contend for years to come.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

I knew they would be not the worst team in the league before the season even started. Took me about a 20 games in and I realized the league made a huge mistake. Then I realized that it probably wasn't a mistake and they knew they had to farm some fans while they are still the only professional team in Vegas. The problem I think I see is that they are going to lose alot of long time fans when they beat the Jets. I had predicted them to go to the SCF months ago if you want to go through my post history and find that I'm not flip flopping. Just watching them I knew they were a top team in the west.

Bro, somebody pulled up a quote from you saying that they had the worst long term outlook of any team in the NHL. Stop using this revisionist history that you have literally been disproven on.

 

[Kranix]

Gerard Gallant, Marchessault, Karlsson and all the rest should have to suffer for 10 years in an inept franchise. It's called earning it! Back in my day, you had to work so hard and by gosh those beautiful boys worked so hard and built something, and you would spend 40 years trying to build a winner, and the cup is ruined now because the team I've been following never won it and now a new team might win it.

 

[Kale Hulls]

Bro, somebody pulled up a quote from you saying that they had the worst long term outlook of any team in the NHL. Stop using this revisionist history that you have literally been disproven on.

Fake news.

 

[pbgoalie]

I've just come to terms that if they swept the entire playoffs and won a Stanley Cup this year people would still defend the expansion draft.

Absolutely unbelievable the mental gymnastics some of you people must go through to try to make this into some feel good story. They made the NHL look like a joke with their expansion draft conditions.

What's a joke is long time teams that are so inept that they can't put a competitive team together even with multiple drafts, established minor league teams and years to develop their players. Even worse is teams that tank and get rewarded for it with premium draft positions....
Bad contracts, bad development, bad coaching are all pieces of bad teams, but blaming bettman, refs, and a bs mantra that Vegas was somehow handed a great team is the best part of deflection as to why teams are getting nowhere like Vegas did in one year.

As a Ducks fan, I understand why everyone dislikes us for the most part. We have Perry
Well, and Kesler.......
But there are a lot who just can't stand that the Ducks have been competitive for a long time, because,you know,they're not a real hockey market according to the traditionalists, well that and we're mean to other teams

 

[ChanceVegas]

What's a joke is long time teams that are so inept that they can't put a competitive team together even with multiple drafts, established minor league teams and years to develop their players. Even worse is teams that tank and get rewarded for it with premium draft positions....
Bad contracts, bad development, bad coaching are all pieces of bad teams, but blaming bettman, refs, and a bs mantra that Vegas was somehow handed a great team is the best part of deflection as to why teams are getting nowhere like Vegas did in one year.

As a Ducks fan, I understand why everyone dislikes us for the most part. We have Perry
Well, and Kesler.......
But there are a lot who just can't stand that the Ducks have been competitive for a long time, because,you know,they're not a real hockey market according to the traditionalists, well that and we're mean to other teams

Yup, I've been saying it as often as I can. People who are mad at Vegas' success are actually mad at their own team's lack of it and in denial. So instead of pointing the finger at their team, they point it at the NHL and make up reasons to do so. It's as transparent as can be.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

Vegas' success can be more attributed to GM incompetence, and not expansion rules in themselves IMO

 

[kk87]

Not only is this one of the most fantastic stories in hockey history, but Vegas's style of play is one that most teams league-wide should aim to emulate. Relentless on the forecheck, structured and responsible defensively, and the pace they play with doesn't change whether they're winning, losing, or tied. As a hockey fan, you have to appreciate it.

 

[triggrman]

I'm still pissed we had to give up Neal for one year or Jarnkrok for 5, sucks to have to make that choice. But man would it had been nice to have players like that available in 1998, instead we got that great goal scorer Krivokrasov and the great Scott Walker..