Cup in Six: How Vegas Golden Knights clinched first Stanley Cup in franchise history

Full circle for the Golden Misfits

In many ways, things came full circle for these Golden Knights. It did for the “Golden Misfits”, which refers to the players who have been in Vegas since the team’s inception. In what he called a “Great Gesture,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy started Vegas’ 2017-18 first line of Reilly Smith-William Karlsson-Jonathan Marchessault with Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez. Brayden Mcnabb played but didn’t make the cut since he wasn’t a goaltender.

For Cassidy, Wednesday marks his first anniversary of joining Vegas after being fired by the Boston Bruins. Stone had two back surgeries and missed 39 games in the regular season. Then, he scored eleven goals and had 24 points in 22 games, becoming the first Vegas captain to win a cup. Jack Eichel wasn’t allowed to receive surgery on his neck and was dealt to Vegas by the Buffalo Sabres. The Golden Knights allowed him to get the surgery and were rewarded. Eichel became a two-way hockey star, led the league in playoff points and is now a Cup champion.

For Alec Martinez, he missed 53 games in the 2021-2022 season after a skate sliced his face open. Now, he’s a cup Champion for the third time. He’s won all of them with Jonathan Quick, who Martinez handed off the Cup too. After spending the first 17 years of his NHL career with the Los Angeles  Kings, Quick was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. Columbus then flipped him to Vegas.

The 37-year-old served as Adin Hill’s backup. He mentored the 27-year-old netminder, who was in the playoffs for the first time. Hill brings this Knights tale full circle. The goalie mobbed at the final buzzer was their backbone. He stepped in as the team’s fifth-string goaltender. He went 11-4 with a 2.17 Goals Against Average, a .932 save percentage, and a +7.7 Goals Saved Above Expected.

He topped his brilliant postseason with 31 saves on 34 shots in Game 5 and is now king of the Hill.
“If you ask any player in the NHL who’s ever won a Cup, I guarantee you, besides having kids and getting married, it’s one of the top moments of their life,” Hill said. “In my career, as a child growing up, you face adversity. You get cut from teams or don’t make the team you wanted to. Everybody’s got bumps in the road. It’s just a matter of sticking to the plan. To not change your course of action.”