Why are the Golden Knights disliked by a majority of the NHL community?

[steveayres35]

Even though they had some success right away, I understand why some people may be jealous of their accomplishments.

For me, I'm more impressed that they have yet to miss the playoffs.

Click to read more...

 

[sabresfan65]

Because there are still too many people who think that "Pull yourself up by the boot straps" is a viable strategy in life. Vegas never did that because they were "handed" a great team to begin with.

 

[Super Cake]

1. The Knights haven't suffered enough
2. The refs favor them.
3. The Knights are just a bunch of goons.

These are what I keep on hearing from other teams fans.

 

[Pia8988]

Bitterness and jealousy

 

[willy702]

I think a lot of them are still bitter because they were certain hockey wouldn't work in Las Vegas. So they continue this narrative that the Knights got all kinds of favorable rules for the expansion draft, which is nonsense. Combine that with disgust with the failings of their own teams and you get this. I don't think its very deep hatred though, they certainly hate their rival teams a lot more.

 

[82Ninety42011]

They are bullies and beating others teams be my guess. Add there a newborn team and already have this reputation sounds like they are doing something right.

 

[Vegas07]

The only teams I’ve seen that don’t get hated are the teams that are consistently at the bottom of the standings for pretty much their entire existence. Start winning and a team will start to get hated.

 

[azvgk]

It's the "favorable treatment" we supposedly got at the expansion draft. Somehow, we got nobody better than allegedly the 9th best player on their former teams, somehow we wound up with Tuch, Marchessault, Karlsson, et al. Not our fault if others overrated their protected players.

Reality isn't that refs favor us (somehow we get less power plays than the opposition, though with our power play maybe that's a blessing in disguise), it's that we have a good organization with fabulous fans (with more were on HFboards) that drafts well, spends to the cap, scouts well, etc.

 

[Pirate Deadpool]

Only when Vegas has a team that all aged at once and are in the bottom 5 of the league, the haters will forget about us. Then if experience several lean seasons where we draft and develop well that gets us a team with the potential to win the cup we'll hear complaints about tanking.

I just hope we win one cup with this core and give the haters the finger with a ring attached to it. It definitely won't be easy. Foley definitely spends the money to buy all of the things (minor league team and new arena) adding to the first class practice facility as well as other things that make Vegas a model franchise. It's good that we have an owner that is willing to spend on a contending team. Vegas as a city is easy to have haters from outsiders who only sees the strip and thinks that's all that Vegas is. It's not your normal city for sure, but it's our city.

 

[Pirate Deadpool]

Did Taylor Hall ever say why he refused a trade to Vegas at the trade deadline? He's definitely a VGK hater with the rest of them. I thought it was so funny been my girlfriend's favorite player not on the Golden Knights is Taylor Hall and I have no idea why.

 

[CupInSIX]

Did Taylor Hall ever say why he refused a trade to Vegas at the trade deadline? He's definitely a VGK hater with the rest of them. I thought it was so funny been my girlfriend's favorite player not on the Golden Knights is Taylor Hall and I have no idea why.

Hall's only choice was the Bruins.

 

[Puckstop40]

It’s mostly from fan bases that have been poorly ran for years. There seems to be this belief that the Knights get favorable reffing as well even though we were on the wrong end of one of the worst penalties called in playoff history. Everyone thinks we were gift wrapped a good team even though almost everyone was on here saying McPhee botched it and did a terrible job.

Guys like Reaves (my thoughts about him have been very apparent on these boards) also leave a sour taste in certain peoples mouths, but the majority of the Knights are good people on and off the ice. Seriously, how can anyone not like Flower?

 

[rkwittem]

The only complaint that has any validity to me as a non-Knights fan is the expansion draft changes really benefitted them. It is never easy to be first.

I'm just an outsider, Boston first, Detroit second guy.

 

[nbonaddio]

While I can't speak to the rest of the fanbases, I can say that Pittsburgh (the general fanbase, not necessarily the angry, bitter edgelords that post here) is very, very much behind the Knights. I'm sure you can piece together why.

I'm actually going to be in Vegas next week on some business; I would be beyond thrilled to roll into the arena with a Penguins MAF jersey on.

 

[IceNeophyte]

The only complaint that has any validity to me as a non-Knights fan is the expansion draft changes really benefitted them. It is never easy to be first.

I'm just an outsider, Boston first, Detroit second guy.

That's a bit of a false narrative, though, everyone, and I mean almost everyone to a person, made predictions ranging from mocking them as the worst expansion roster ever to a more tame they might steal a few games but end bottom five in the NHL. I still look at the roster and on paper, they never should have made the finals. They were icing Sbisa and Merrill, for goodness' sake.

 

[rkwittem]

That's a bit of a false narrative, though, everyone, and I mean almost everyone to a person, made predictions ranging from mocking them as the worst expansion roster ever to a more tame they might steal a few games but end bottom five in the NHL. I still look at the roster and on paper, they never should have made the finals. They were icing Sbisa and Merrill, for goodness' sake.

People don't like the rule changes. There's no need to be defensive- I like watching y'all play

 

[themilosh]

Ive always rooted for Vegas. Not vs the Habs tho.

 

[Bruin]

As a Bruins fan I have never disliked your team and will be pulling for them to take the cup. Good luck!!

 

[Pirate Deadpool]

That's a bit of a false narrative, though, everyone, and I mean almost everyone to a person, made predictions ranging from mocking them as the worst expansion roster ever to a more tame they might steal a few games but end bottom five in the NHL. I still look at the roster and on paper, they never should have made the finals. They were icing Sbisa and Merrill, for goodness' sake.

Shea Theodore is the only player that we got through a trade for taking Stoner in the expansion draft that is a legit top line player. Tuch maybe could be a permanent top line winger down the road. Tuch is a legit top 6 player, but he's not going to unseat Stone or Patches on the first line and the second line trio isn't getting broken up. So I don't know how anyone can say we were gifted this unstoppable team.

The Golden Knights played an attacking style all game long which lead to lots of turnovers and they converted it into easy goals. Many thought they would run out of gas by the end of the year or the clock would strike midnight and their season would turn into a pumpkin. Even with their great record at midseason and as late as the trade deadline, the Golden Knights were dismissed as a fluke.

This article is good. It shows how the the hockey media went from Vegas is a bottom feeder team to omg they were gifted a team because they paid the league $500 million dollars to rig the expansion draft.


The grim truth on the supposedly ‘rigged’ expansion draft

 

[UncleRisto]

Don't shoot me for coming here in the midst of the Avs meltdown. New fans haven’t suffered through a bad team. Then there's the question of fans who might have jumped ship in favor of Vegas. I assume this would be because the new team is fun, or because their old miserable team was miserable. But for hockey is a sport of being miserable, not fun.

Anyway, enjoy the third round.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

I think it has to do with the fact that historically , new expansion teams were forced to suck for years and years before being relevant, and now Gary wanted them to be exciting right away, so he formulated a way to make that happen with the expansion draft format. Seattle will probably be a playoff team right away too

 

[nbonaddio]

Congrats! I'll see you guys in a couple of days with my Pens jersey on.

 

[JJ68]

Dont hate your team..glad hockey works in your city and is doing well. I dont see how that can bother anybody. Only thing that has always bugged me, and it's not a Vegas thing, is MAF getting called flower. His name actually translates to flowery. There is only 1 flower...The flower. Lafleur.

But during this series I'm sure I'll find more to hate. Pacioretty and Reaves might be prime targets.

 

[Vegas07]

I think it has to do with the fact that historically , new expansion teams were forced to suck for years and years before being relevant, and now Gary wanted them to be exciting right away, so he formulated a way to make that happen with the expansion draft format. Seattle will probably be a playoff team right away too

Actually our plan was to make the playoffs by year 3, and probably not seriously contend until year 5 and that was if (a huge if) things went according to plan. Everyone thought we would suck in year one. Look at the betting odds and predictions and our team was a huge underdog.

 

[Vegas07]