Golden Knights Set Up for Success their first season
Written by: Jenn Skotnicki
Success from the Word “GO”
I know
that when some people read this, especially VGK fans, they will not like what I
have to say. However, I am perfectly OK with that.
Growing
up in a hockey town, you learn the game inside and out. As I tell people I was
in the womb watching hockey! But all I know is that I sure came out a HUGE
hockey fan. I went to my fair share of games and loved the rivalry in the Aud.
Every kid that I knew wanted to play hockey, even us little girls! I was one of
the lucky ones to have a yard big enough to have our own homemade ice rink
every winter, where hours were spent perfecting the game in our spare time.
I had a
great teacher as well teaching me all the ins and outs of the game as well. All
the credit goes to my daddy for that! My eyes were always glued to the TV when
there was a game and back in the day we were not spoiled with the NHL Network
or Dish, so televised hockey games were far and few in between, but when there
was a game on, you bet your bottom dollar dad and I were ready to watch our favorite
team play.
When I left
Western NY, I left a huge piece of me back there, no more going to hockey
games, but luckily at this time I was thankful for Dish and the NHL Network
keeping me up to date on games. But I did go without it for a few years.
So when Vegas announced that they wanted an NHL
team here, who knew. It was defiantly a long shot. The best part of Vegas, is
you do have die hard hockey fans here from all over the country & world.
So, when Bettman announced that Vegas was one of the top 3 cities that could
possibly get an NHL team, he brought some hope and light finally for a
Professional Team here in Vegas. Which a lot of people were concerned because
of the sports books and legalized gambling here.
So when
Bettman announced that season tickets would go on sale, however it was still
not a guarantee that we would even get a team, the people here jumped at the
bit the moment they went on sale. When the ticket sales jumped to 15,000, I
think Bettman realized that there is a large diehard, hockey fan base here in
Vegas. Once the announcement was made official that we were officially getting
an NHL team here in the Valley, season ticket sales jumped yet another 1,000.
And they continued to grow. Tickets here now are one of the hardest tickets in
this city to get. The community did show an outpour of support to get this team
here. Is just to go and show we truly are Vegas Strong, in more ways than one.
But for a while it was a “wait and see” game – because no one knew what was
going to happen. Was this going to become a reality or just a lost cause.
And then Bettman announced how our
team would be built. Something that I was not sure would work. A lot of people
wondered what kind of Team would be built, who are the lucky or not so lucky
players would we get. The NHL expansion draft will be held June 20, 2017. It
will be the first opportunity for Las Vegas to stock its roster, and Foley
wants to hold a public viewing party. So, when draft day, June 20, 2017
approached, the fans could see who our team would be.
It was a time to see what teams
were willing to let which players go. It could be a crap shoot or it could mean
that we were going to get some of the high capped players that other teams were
willing to let go, because they wanted to make room for new up and coming
players. I will say that I was in shock when I heard about our roster and whom
we acquired.
At that moment in time, I knew we would have a winning team with the
chance of making the playoffs. I remember saying too that if we do make the
playoffs first round will probably be a sweep. I wish I put money down on that,
because I was right.
Now here is where a lot of the hatred towards me will make many people
angry. But, once again I am ok with that. So let us take a step back in time
when an expansion team came into the league they were not given the pick of the
liter, they were not handed anything on a golden platter as the Las Vegas Gold
Knights have been. And Bettman made damn sure of that. If you can name me 3 top
players that the Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, or Buffalo Sabres got
when they came into the league I will find a way to give you a million dollars.
Oh wait a minute you can’t because none of the teams got anyone with a big
name. These teams had to endure years of loss and working their asses off to
build a decent team that was going to be competitive in this highly competitive
league.
Does
anyone remember when Cleveland had a team? They ended merging with Minnesota
North Stars. I do believe that was only
after 3 or 4 years in the league. They were a short lived team.
The 1974-75 Washington Capitals
went 8-67-5. Clarence Campbell was the NHL commissioner at the time. He wasn’t
in the nation’s capital on the night the playoffs began, but at least they
named one of the conferences after him for a spell.
Booing the longtime commissioner —
Bettman is in his 24th season — has become a time-honored tradition in the
realm of growing a playoff beard, or throwing dead octopuses on the ice in
Detroit, or Jim Schoenfeld telling referee Don Koharski to have another
doughnut.
When Las Vegas officially was
awarded an NHL franchise on Nov. 22, 2016, Bettman was booed by about 5,000
fans who gathered at T-Mobile Plaza for the announcement. Who said Las Vegas
hockey fans would have to be educated?
“This is a community of two million people,
and while visitors tend to focus on the Strip, this is a city that has people
that have interests in the same things that people in all other major cities
have,” Bettman said about betting on Las Vegas when others were skeptical or
downright dismissive.
We were comfortable after we went through our thorough (expansion)
process that this was going to be an exciting franchise for us.”
After receiving the $500 million ante from Knights owner Bill Foley —
which seemed even more outrageous than Karlsson’s short-handed goal against the
Sharks — Bettman said there would be a more liberal expansion draft for the
Knights than there was for the 1974-75 Washington Capitals.
He was not bashful about giving the new kids a chance to succeed.
This was the NHL’s first expansion since 2000 — the first since Twitter
and Facebook and the digital era, he said, and that everybody would be watching
to see how these Knights would do in a warm weather city that had never had
major league sports and limited parking options.
“In that vein, we wanted to make sure the new team would have better
access to players than any other of its expansion predecessors,” Bettman said.
(the words of Bettman make me angry)
The 1974-75 Capitals started Ron Low in goal.
The 2017-18 Golden Knights went with Marc-Andre Fleury.
And after many heated talks on the phone with my daddy about this, he is
right, this team is Bettman’s team. And he(Bettman) will be more than happy to
see them go onto to win the Stanley Cup. However, I am hoping they get knocked
out by Winnipeg. They are so many more deserving Teams that deserve to go onto
the Stanley Cup Finals and winning the cup. That is why I am ecstatic that the
Washington Capitals have made it to the second round of the playoffs this
season. Yes, they have had their fair share of making it to the playoffs and
getting knocked out, because they held that jinx of a trophy, The Presidents
Cup.
So know let us take a closer look at some of the players that we have
acquired:
1)
Marc Andre’ Fleury – whom holds 3 Cups
and 2 Championships and was acquired from my least favorite team in the NHL
Pittsburgh. Even though he played for Pittsburgh, he deserves all the
recognition he gets, because he does have one of the fastest glove hands for a
goaltender. He is smooth in the net, he is quick and agile. He is a phenomenal
goalie.
2)
Clayton Stoner – who we acquired from
the Ducks. He has also seen plenty of Playoff Ice time, with the Wild in
2012-2013 Season, as well as winning the Western Conference Final with the
Ducks in 2015.
3)
Braden McNabb – got his fair share of
Ice time with the L.A. Kings in the 2015-16 Playoffs.
4)
Jason Garrison went to the Stanley Cup
Final with the Lightning in 2015. As well as going to the Eastern Conference
Final and playoffs in the 2015-16 season.
5)
Tomas Tatar – acquired from the Detroit
Red Wings and averaged 23 goals in his first 4 years in the league. As well as
going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the 2013 Season.
6)
Reilly Smith Acquired from the Florida
Panthers, before he was acquired by the Panthers, he played in Boston and went
on to play in the playoffs with them 4 times. He also went into the playoffs
with Florida as well in 2015-16 season.
7)
Ryan Reaves – went to the Playoffs with
St. Louis Blues in the 2011-12 season.
8)
David Perron – Also played with the St.
Louis Blues, and went to the Playoffs with them in the 2009 season.
9)
James Neal – played with Pittsburg in
the 2011 Playoffs
10)Jonathon Marchessault – faced off in the Playoffs with the Lightning in
the 2015-16 season as well played in 5 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
11)Oscar Lindberg – played in the playoffs with the Rangers in 2015-2016
12)Erik Haula – played in 13 playoff games with Minnesota in 2014
13)Cody Eakin – played in the playoffs with the Dallas Stars in 2015-16
14)Pierre Edouard Bellemare – played in the playoffs with the Philadelphia
Flyers and played in a total of 81 games with them.
So there are 14 players on VGK who have some of the best experience a
team could ask for, that was just handed to them, all because Bettman wanted to
make them a competitive Team. How is this fair to any of the other teams in the
NHL that have struggled for years? As far as I am concerned it is not fair to
those teams, who could use some amazing talent such as this group of players.
Vegas had Lady Luck on her side with this draft, while everyone else in the
league pretty much got screwed. And they can thank Bettman for that.
Not to say that I am not Proud
of them and the phenomenal opening season that they have given to us all here
in Vegas. Especially at such a trying and difficult time with the events of 1
October. And how each & every one of the players came forth and supported
all of us that live here and those families that lost loved ones or those
injured. For a brand new team coming into a new city with such a tragic event
like that, they could have just turned their backs to it and focused all their
time on the ice, but they chose not to. I am proud to have this team here, I
just would like to have seen them pay their dues just like every other team
that has come into the league. I truly do not feel like we as a first year team
deserve to be in the 2nd round of the playoffs. It is not fair to other teams who deserved to
be in that spot this year. But with that being said Bettman got what he wanted
and set out to do. Make sure that we had a Playoff team.
As most people know Bettman is not well liked by the fans because of his
favoritism of other teams and players, which makes us look bad because we are
one of those teams. So they next time you see Bettman in Vegas be sure to tell
him he is number one, (with your middle finger of course!) blow him a raspberry
or 2, I heard he likes those. I think he likes them best from his all-time
favorite player Crosby.
I also want to say this is not meant to attack any of the players of the
Golden Vegas Knights. This is just to bring light upon as to why this team was
handed such talent on a Golden Platter. I have seen so many posts on social
media, either hatred towards the team or wanting to see history made. If they
can go on to win the Cup, I will be ok with that however I will still be sad
because I feel it belongs to a different organization that has been in this
league for so many years and has struggled through and through. I cannot
reiterate that enough.
