It’s hard enough just to make the playoffs in a league in which half the teams now fail to qualify. Vegas has made it eight times in its nine seasons.
It’s very hard to make the second round. Consider that only two teams have made it each of the past two years — the Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes — and Vegas has done it six times in its nine seasons.
The Golden Knights are going for their 14th series win in their nine seasons, which would pass the Lightning for most in the NHL in that span. They have made the third round four times and the Stanley Cup Final twice, and they won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
“There’s only one team that wins every year,” McCrimmon said. “Fortunately, we’ve done it one time. But it’s a lot of work, and you have to make a lot of good decisions. It’s not necessarily just one good decision. You’ve got to make a lot of good decisions if you want to have good teams.”
The NHL gave Vegas a better chance than previous expansion teams to build a competitive team immediately with new expansion draft rules. That’s true.
But let’s not forget: At first, no one thought the Golden Knights would be good in their inaugural season, including the Golden Knights. No one predicted they would go all the way to the Cup Final then.
And let’s be honest: McPhee and McCrimmon not only did a masterful job of taking advantage of the expansion draft rules, but they’ve done a masterful job of turning over the roster ever since, making hard, bold, sometimes unpopular decisions.
The team that won the Cup in 2023 looked significantly different than the one that made the Cup Final in 2018, and this team looks significantly different than last season’s team.
Seven players have appeared in the playoffs for the Golden Knights this year who weren’t with them last year: Rasmus Andersson, Nic Dowd, Carter Hart, Mitch Marner, Jeremy Lauzon, Colton Sissons and Cole Smith.
That’s a superstar forward, a starting goalie, an entire fourth line and two defensemen.
On top of that, the Golden Knights shocked the hockey world by changing coaches March 29, replacing Bruce Cassidy, who led them to the Cup in 2023, with John Tortorella.
Clearly, it was the right move.
