Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 15: The Golden Misfits
The Vegas Golden Knights have become one of the most hated teams in sports. There was a time when this team was universally beloved as they became the greatest expansion team in NHL history.
When it was announced the Vegas Golden Knights would be the NHL’s newest team back in 2016, there was definitely some pessimism. Those negative feelings only grew when the 2017 Expansion Draft came and went. Vegas got to pick a player from each team, but each management group could protect most of their players. These are real quotes that people said/posted during and after the 2017 expansion draft:
“Wow the Golden Knights are gonna be so, so bad.” -Twitter user
“Remember when we all thought the Golden Knights were going to be better than expected? Yeah, nope.” - Scott Wheeler, NHL reporter
“How good can they be? Spoiler alert: Not Very Good.” - Dom Luczyszyn, The Hockey News, he is now a writer at The Athletic
I think you get it. Despite some intriguing picks like goaltender Marc-André Fleury and wily veteran James Neal, the consensus was that Vegas was going to be just like every other expansion team in their first years: bad.
Their owner, Bill Foley, said they had a 6 year plan. Even the people inside the organization had low expectations for their first season. The excitement around Vegas’s first major professional sports team managed to subdue most of the pessimism. Then, tragedy struck.
On October 1st, 2017, 6 days before Vegas’s first NHL game, a shooter opened fire on a crowd of people attending the a music festival. In the end, 58 people were killed. To honour those victims, the Golden Knights retired the number 58.
Vegas went on to win their first 3 games of the season, including their first game ever against the Dallas Stars and their first ever home game against the Arizona Coyotes. In fact, Vegas won 8 of their first 9 games as a team. While this was miraculous, many brushed it off as a team playing on fumes in the wake of a tragedy. One problem with that theory: it didn’t stop.
The expansion Vegas Golden Knights finished with 51 wins, 4th most in the NHL, and 109 points, which was 5th most. The obvious question on everyone’s mind: HOW?! It was simple: everyone was wrong about Vegas’s expansion draft.
From the LA Kings, Vegas selected tall, hard hitting defenseman Brayden McNabb who immediately became a stalwart on their blueline next to Nate Schmidt who was grabbed from the Capitals.
Vegas selected Erik Haula from the Minnesota Wild and swung a trade for one of their better prospects named Alex Tuch. Haula put up 29 goals and 55 points while Tuch quickly made it to the NHL and put up 15 goals and 37 points.
The Golden Knights took Jonathan Marchessault from the Panthers and swung a trade for the “overpaid” Reilly Smith right after. Marchessault put up 75 points and Smith put up 60.
Last but not least, the Golden Knights selected 4th liner William Karlsson from the Blue Jackets. Karlsson scored 43 goals, put up 78 points and led the entire NHL in +/- with +49.
I’ve only mentioned some of their best moves. It should be clear that Vegas finessed the league during the expansion draft and nobody realized it until the games were played. The Golden Knights weren’t just a fun story, they were a legit contender.
In round 1, they faced the LA Kings. Kopitar, Doughty and Quick were all still in or near their primes, but it didn’t matter as Vegas swept them in 4. Tuch, Haula, Karlsson, McNabb and Neal all had a goal each in this series.
Next, they were matched up with the San Jose Sharks. Another veteran team with playoff experience. Vegas won game 1 7-0 and won the series in 6 games. Marchessault, Karlsson and Smith all had 8 or more points.
In the conference final they faced the Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights beat them in 5, relying on Fleury to hold off the Jets’ attack and Marchessault to beat Hellebuyck. Fleury had a .938 save percentage and Marchessault had 4 goals in 5 games as Vegas did the unthinkable. They made it to the Cup Final in their first season coupled with the recent tragedy and they became universally admired. They became known as the Golden Misfits
They would lose the Stanley Cup Final to Ovechkin and the Capitals in 5 games after winning game 1 in Vegas.
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that the expansion draft was rigged or that they were handed a perfect team or that they were favourites going into the season. All that is revisionist history.
5 years later, the Vegas Golden Knights completed Bill Foley’s original 6 year plan and won the 2023 Stanley Cup with exactly 6 Misfits still around:
Karlsson, McNabb, Shea Theodore, William Carrier, Smith and Marchessault won the Final against the Florida Panthers in 2023. Marchessault was awarded the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP that year.
There are plenty of good reasons to hate Vegas today, but don’t forget the Misfits of 2018. They were Vegas’s first ever sport heroes and Stanley Cup Heroes.
