Vegas Golden Knights History
The Vegas Golden Knights are in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs vs. Edmonton Oilers. The Vegas Golden Knights are the number one seed of the western conference and they had their first match up vs. Winnipeg Jets. They won the series 4-1. They only lost game one at home and went on a tear winning the last four games in the playoffs.
Time for some history about the Golden Knights and how they became who they are today. The Golden Knights is the 31st team that joined the NHL as an expansion team in the year 2017. This is not the first time hockey was played in Las Vegas; that was an NHL game. The NHL has had a presence in Las Vegas since 1991; that year, the city hosted the first outdoor game between two NHL teams – a preseason exhibition between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers outside Caesars Palace. The Kings would subsequently organize “Frozen Fury” – a series of annual preseason games in Las Vegas against the Colorado Avalanche.
The NHL Awards ceremonies have been held in Las Vegas since 2009. In 2009, the media speculated about a plan involving Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Nevada.
This is some history with hockey being played in Las Vegas the current GM Kelly McCrimmon was the first GM for the Golden Knights and McCrimmon turned down an offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs to join their front office but he decided to go to become the GM of the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights first coach was Gerard Gallant he lasted from 2017-2020 so he was fired from the Golden Knights after a four game losing streak in 2020. He was replaced by Peter DeBoer who was the second coach for the Golden Knights. Gallant’s record with the Golden Knights was 213-118-75. He made two playoff appearances in the first Season he made it to the Stanley Cup Finals as a expansion team since the 1967-1968 St. Louis Blues.
Peter Deboer was the second coach the Golden Knights hired and he made the playoffs two out of the three seasons he was head coach for them. He was let go by the Golden Knights on May 16, 2022 and was hired by the Dallas Stars a month later. Deboer’s stats as the head coach of the Golden Knights is 98-50-12.
The third and current head coach of the Golden Knights Bruce Cassidy he is the current head coach of the Golden Knights and he won 50 games in his first season and won the division. Out of all six seasons five of the seasons the Golden Knights made the playoffs in all of them. They only missed out of the postseason only once. They build a team from all kinds of players such as Marc-André Fleury as their goalkeeper.
The current Golden Knight Goalkeepers are Laurent Brossoit, Adin Hill, Robin Lehner and former Los Angeles Kings Jonathan Quick. The Vegas Golden Knights have a stack goalkeeper talent to choose from for their games. The Vegas Golden Knights mascot is a Gila monster that is named chance.
The Golden Knights wanted to have a knight as their mascot but they felt it would not be child friendly. If you don’t know what Gila Monster is, it’s a venomous lizard from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. What are your thoughts on the Vegas Golden Knights?
Do you think it will win a Stanley Cup anytime soon? And if you’ve been to any Golden Knights games what is the experience like as a fan watching a game in Vegas.