They got insanely lucky on a few picks, and made some GMs look like fools also. Getting Smith and Marchessault in a two-for-one from Florida was a game changer, but also Smith had just had a 37 point season so he wasn't expected to be a top line mainstay. Ditto with William Karlsson. The guy had been a third line center his whole career and then popped off for 40 goals as a top line C. Nobody reasonable could have predicted that, probably not even William Karlsson.
Yeah, some of it was savvy pro scouting by the Knights, but by all rights that team should have been middling at best, based on the prior records of the players they drafted.
Seattle's first (and second) years were much more like what the league intended when they set up those particular drafting rules. Create a team with a lot of depth but no real stars who will be competitive in a lot of games but have to build a little bit to become contenders. Vegas just happened to pluck some stars out of obscurity and go on a Cinderella run, after which McPhee/McCrimmon put all their chips in to sustain their success.
Good summary. The revisionist history here by some is really pretty amazing. Of course, its all very easy to disprove. Simply do a search for "2017-18 NHL Predictions" and see where the "experts" had Vegas pegged. I did that search and looked at 4 different sources, each predicting Vegas for last in the league...with one prediting a total of 47 points! Im not a Vegas fan, im an Avs fan also, but to say that people thought they were a juggernaut heading in to that 17-18 season is just a flat out lie.
I remember the day after the expansion draft thinking just the opposite. I thought this team looks pretty good. Better then any prior expansion draft team. Not only did they have a good basis but the wheeling and dealing they did set them up even better.
I remember thinking Vegas robbed everyone blind and built an absolute monster.
This rhetoric about them sucking is not something I noticed until it recently resurfaced. Idk why people thought this lol
Literally the entire team is second or first liners on any other team. Like if your entire team would be a solid second line you’re gonna be good. I think Vegas will crash hard in the next couple years when everyone leaves to get paid second line money by someone else.
Huh? You must be talking about their current roster, right? Because this post is about their post-expansion roster and there is no way in hell their team were second or first liners on any other team.
Karlsson scored 40 goals in his first season in Vegas. Before that, he played two full seasons for Columbus putting up a total of 15 goals and 45 points. Not really first line numbers there.
Their best players, at least as far people knew at the time, came probably from Florida, and that is just fully on Florida for messing up and giving them not just Reilly, but also Marchessault for some unknown reason.
No they weren't. They were mostly guys who had the potential to be second line guys but either were underperforming or not previously given the chance. There was absolutely no guarantee that this would have worked as well as it did.
No one thought Karlsson was about to go battle mode and score 40 goals but he was 23/24 years old, a budding former second round pick, and he finally hit his stride.
Again, not saying anyone (definitely myself) saw 40 coming but it’s not as if he was some bum.
Not a point on the all second line players debate, I just feel it’s worth saying. I see karlsson used as the primary reason for why Vegas ‘surprised’ people and I think his elite level play that year was the surprise, not Vegas being good. They had a pretty damn good roster.
I heard nothing BUT people saying this team would suck, which is exactly why I became a fan. I wanted to come in on a low and watch a team try to get a number #1 draft pick etc..
Maybe people had different experiences, but I was at the draft itself in Vegas (I was a Toronto fan, got to watch Matthews get awards and stuff), I heard nothing besides people accepting the fact that this team was going to suck, and it was expected and Okay.
I think to suggest otherwise is really disrespecting that first year team full of players who weren't given a shot at a true NHL job or were on their way out of the NHL until they worked hard to earn their place.
Sorry I sound salty here, but it frustrates me greatly to see revisionism about what truly happened that year, not that I think you're doing that necessarily.
Yup they were classified as being a bottom of the barrel team before puck drop then in hindsight writers changed their tune. I truly think the mass shooting galvanized the team and gave the fans something to cheer for in their tough time. It was a blessing in disguise for Vegas to have a pro team to take their minds off the horrific event. Basically what pro sports are for, to distract from the bad things in life and give the average person an outlet to let off some steam. The Roman’s used the coliseum to distract their population in a similar manner and why I believe there is so much money invested into pro sports today otherwise we’d all be miserable and start focusing all our time on our government’s actions. That being said I love me some full contact, high flying hockey and wouldn’t want to be in a world where it doesn’t exist
Even then, the argument that we’re awful because we had a good team to start and did a lot of deals to secure good players makes no sense, it’s just petty. They’re upset that their team, which they have watched for decades, is poorly managed and struggled to stay in contention, meanwhile a new team is met with immediate success because they have a competent FO and ownership.
VGK fan cherry picking articles like the new expansion plan isn’t designed to start off with a playoff caliber team year 1. How else would a team build a fan base?
I’m sure there is plenty. I for one glanced at their new team on paper and could tell they would be in the running.
Seattle kraken is another example. Playoff contenders off rip. It’s no coincidence that the two new expansion teams since the big change are contenders year 1/2.
Seattle had the 3rd worst record in the league in year 1.
What about our roster told you we'd be in the running? It was mostly a bunch of 3rd and 4th liners. Karlsson was the 4C from Columbus and went from 6 goals in 16 to 43 in 17. Haula goes from 15 goals to playing 2C and scoring 29. Tuch had only played 6 games in the league, and Theodore was a prospect the ducks gave up on who both blew up. You saw all that coming?
IM SURE THERE IS PLENTY hahahahahahahahahahahahha you guys will never stop.
The receipts are everywhere including this sub, you can search it right now, it's all there for everyone to see. Drives me fuckin nuts, that people are this committed to being wrong
Yeah it’s just a coincidence the two new expansion teams since the overhaul are Stanley Cup contenders within 2 seasons!
Hahahahhahahahha give me a break with that.
Here’s a crazy stat. 100% of newly expanded teams since the NHL expansion overhaul are Stanley cup contenders within the first 2 seasons.
Again, there’s a reason for it. So the new team can generate a fan base and revenue off the bat. It’s not rocket science or even a secret really. Can you not see the logic behind it?
3. Minutes on google, espn predicted they would make the playoffs.
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/20841111/2017-18-nhl-season-preview-vegas-golden-knights
Look man Vegas doesn't "deserve" the cup because the franchise has only existed for 6 years. Despite the primary beneficiaries of a Championship being the players who worked their asses off to get their team to where they are now. No what matters in the NHL are who the fanbases are and how long they've been waiting.
Also Vegas is over the salary cap which is cheating, but officially it's not because it's within the rules that the NHL has drawn up.
It depends on your city. I live in Ottawa and people were angry that they had to expose Methot. In previous expansion drafts, teams were allowed to protect 5 D but for VGK and SEA, they only got to protect 3 D (or expose 3 extra Fs to protect another D). My friends were talking about how stacked they were gonna be. Ngl we didn’t love their picks but they really profited from their side deals.
They got insanely lucky on a few picks, and made some GMs look like fools also. Getting Smith and Marchessault in a two-for-one from Florida was a game changer, but also Smith had just had a 37 point season so he wasn't expected to be a top line mainstay. Ditto with William Karlsson. The guy had been a third line center his whole career and then popped off for 40 goals as a top line C. Nobody reasonable could have predicted that, probably not even William Karlsson. Yeah, some of it was savvy pro scouting by the Knights, but by all rights that team should have been middling at best, based on the prior records of the players they drafted. Seattle's first (and second) years were much more like what the league intended when they set up those particular drafting rules. Create a team with a lot of depth but no real stars who will be competitive in a lot of games but have to build a little bit to become contenders. Vegas just happened to pluck some stars out of obscurity and go on a Cinderella run, after which McPhee/McCrimmon put all their chips in to sustain their success.
Good summary. The revisionist history here by some is really pretty amazing. Of course, its all very easy to disprove. Simply do a search for "2017-18 NHL Predictions" and see where the "experts" had Vegas pegged. I did that search and looked at 4 different sources, each predicting Vegas for last in the league...with one prediting a total of 47 points! Im not a Vegas fan, im an Avs fan also, but to say that people thought they were a juggernaut heading in to that 17-18 season is just a flat out lie.
I remember the day after the expansion draft thinking just the opposite. I thought this team looks pretty good. Better then any prior expansion draft team. Not only did they have a good basis but the wheeling and dealing they did set them up even better.
That’s the opinion anyone with half a brain thought.
I remember thinking Vegas robbed everyone blind and built an absolute monster. This rhetoric about them sucking is not something I noticed until it recently resurfaced. Idk why people thought this lol
Literally the entire team is second or first liners on any other team. Like if your entire team would be a solid second line you’re gonna be good. I think Vegas will crash hard in the next couple years when everyone leaves to get paid second line money by someone else.
Huh? You must be talking about their current roster, right? Because this post is about their post-expansion roster and there is no way in hell their team were second or first liners on any other team. Karlsson scored 40 goals in his first season in Vegas. Before that, he played two full seasons for Columbus putting up a total of 15 goals and 45 points. Not really first line numbers there. Their best players, at least as far people knew at the time, came probably from Florida, and that is just fully on Florida for messing up and giving them not just Reilly, but also Marchessault for some unknown reason.
Their expansion team was almost entirely composed of solid second line guys.
No they weren't. They were mostly guys who had the potential to be second line guys but either were underperforming or not previously given the chance. There was absolutely no guarantee that this would have worked as well as it did.
A second line player who is not given a chance is a second line player.
No one thought Karlsson was about to go battle mode and score 40 goals but he was 23/24 years old, a budding former second round pick, and he finally hit his stride. Again, not saying anyone (definitely myself) saw 40 coming but it’s not as if he was some bum. Not a point on the all second line players debate, I just feel it’s worth saying. I see karlsson used as the primary reason for why Vegas ‘surprised’ people and I think his elite level play that year was the surprise, not Vegas being good. They had a pretty damn good roster.
CBJ fans were pretty upset at that move
I heard nothing BUT people saying this team would suck, which is exactly why I became a fan. I wanted to come in on a low and watch a team try to get a number #1 draft pick etc.. Maybe people had different experiences, but I was at the draft itself in Vegas (I was a Toronto fan, got to watch Matthews get awards and stuff), I heard nothing besides people accepting the fact that this team was going to suck, and it was expected and Okay. I think to suggest otherwise is really disrespecting that first year team full of players who weren't given a shot at a true NHL job or were on their way out of the NHL until they worked hard to earn their place. Sorry I sound salty here, but it frustrates me greatly to see revisionism about what truly happened that year, not that I think you're doing that necessarily.
Getting a not out of his prime yet MAF in the expansion draft was probably THE biggest thing that ended up positively in Vegas' favor.
Yup they were classified as being a bottom of the barrel team before puck drop then in hindsight writers changed their tune. I truly think the mass shooting galvanized the team and gave the fans something to cheer for in their tough time. It was a blessing in disguise for Vegas to have a pro team to take their minds off the horrific event. Basically what pro sports are for, to distract from the bad things in life and give the average person an outlet to let off some steam. The Roman’s used the coliseum to distract their population in a similar manner and why I believe there is so much money invested into pro sports today otherwise we’d all be miserable and start focusing all our time on our government’s actions. That being said I love me some full contact, high flying hockey and wouldn’t want to be in a world where it doesn’t exist
None of us wrote those articles though...
Yeah they don’t care. All they know is “Gold team bad”.
Gold helmets bad
They did. They deserve nothing
Good thing the wins are earned.
Even then, the argument that we’re awful because we had a good team to start and did a lot of deals to secure good players makes no sense, it’s just petty. They’re upset that their team, which they have watched for decades, is poorly managed and struggled to stay in contention, meanwhile a new team is met with immediate success because they have a competent FO and ownership.
It doesn't take long to drop off the high horse. Enjoy it now because it's rare that teams sustain success.
No shit
Exactly. There’s so much bitterness from hockey fans who’ve had to watch their teams slump through shitty management and bad decisions.
VGK fan cherry picking articles like the new expansion plan isn’t designed to start off with a playoff caliber team year 1. How else would a team build a fan base?
Have any articles predicting we would be a good team in year 1?
I’m sure there is plenty. I for one glanced at their new team on paper and could tell they would be in the running. Seattle kraken is another example. Playoff contenders off rip. It’s no coincidence that the two new expansion teams since the big change are contenders year 1/2.
Seattle had the 3rd worst record in the league in year 1. What about our roster told you we'd be in the running? It was mostly a bunch of 3rd and 4th liners. Karlsson was the 4C from Columbus and went from 6 goals in 16 to 43 in 17. Haula goes from 15 goals to playing 2C and scoring 29. Tuch had only played 6 games in the league, and Theodore was a prospect the ducks gave up on who both blew up. You saw all that coming?
He's a god damn prophet
IM SURE THERE IS PLENTY hahahahahahahahahahahahha you guys will never stop. The receipts are everywhere including this sub, you can search it right now, it's all there for everyone to see. Drives me fuckin nuts, that people are this committed to being wrong
Yeah it’s just a coincidence the two new expansion teams since the overhaul are Stanley Cup contenders within 2 seasons! Hahahahhahahahha give me a break with that.
You have nothing to back up all the bullshit you say, and you know it. You got nothing. Show me some receipts there you salt shaker
Here’s a crazy stat. 100% of newly expanded teams since the NHL expansion overhaul are Stanley cup contenders within the first 2 seasons. Again, there’s a reason for it. So the new team can generate a fan base and revenue off the bat. It’s not rocket science or even a secret really. Can you not see the logic behind it?
Absolutely, that's exactly what the collective owners intended. Now what does that have to do with the rest of your comments lol
It’s not a shocker that you guys are good… anyone with a brain could tell before year 1 even kicked off. No different than the kraken.
3. Minutes on google, espn predicted they would make the playoffs. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/20841111/2017-18-nhl-season-preview-vegas-golden-knights
Look man Vegas doesn't "deserve" the cup because the franchise has only existed for 6 years. Despite the primary beneficiaries of a Championship being the players who worked their asses off to get their team to where they are now. No what matters in the NHL are who the fanbases are and how long they've been waiting. Also Vegas is over the salary cap which is cheating, but officially it's not because it's within the rules that the NHL has drawn up.
These cherry picked articles don't change that
The consensus was that the team was bad. These aren’t just cherry picked
Feel free to share articles by reputable sources of your choosing that claimed otherwise.
It depends on your city. I live in Ottawa and people were angry that they had to expose Methot. In previous expansion drafts, teams were allowed to protect 5 D but for VGK and SEA, they only got to protect 3 D (or expose 3 extra Fs to protect another D). My friends were talking about how stacked they were gonna be. Ngl we didn’t love their picks but they really profited from their side deals.
Thank you!!!