The Vegas Golden Knights, who were supposed to be terrible like every other expansion franchise, are heading to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year.
The Vegas Golden Knights playing for the Stanley Cup in their expansion season is on the short list of best sports stories ever. When they were put together, they didn’t have a recognizable star outside of Marc-Andre Fleury and their blue line was paper thin. However, their brand of hockey, as well as their belief that they could make it this far is what got them here.
With Jonathan Marchessault and Rielly Smith playing so well throughout the playoffs, the Florida Panthers have become a running joke for the way they gifted the Golden Knights their top line. They’re not the only team that should be held accountable, though. The majority of Vegas’ team was constructed through the expansion draft or through trades designed to protect certain players in the expansion draft.
But a year before that, when the NHL had just granted Vegas an expansion franchise, fans were very quick to bury them:
To be fair, hockey fans will take any chance they can get to bag on Gary Bettman. But you’ve got to give him credit for this one, as it’s playing out very well. Even after the team came together in the expansion draft, many wrote off their chance at being competitive:
https://twitter.com/OldTakesExposed/status/998330420767883266
And of course, we can’t let the owner off the hook either. Back in August of 2017, Bill Foley boldly claimed to ESPN that his team would be “pretty good in three years and will make a run in five or six.”
Next: The Golden Knights are going to win the Stanley Cup, aren’t they?
There have been doubters all throughout their playoff run as well, but now that they’re in the Cup Final, nobody’s doubting them. The Golden Knights aren’t the first expansion franchise to play in the Stanley Cup Final, but they’re certainly the most memorable. And after touching the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, they don’t believe anything, not even superstition, will stop them on their quest to win a Cup in their inaugural season.