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Golden Knights owner Bill Foley spends time with Stanley Cup

by fanshotz

Golden Knights owner Bill Foley spends time with Stanley Cup


The man who declared “Cup in six” will spend time with the trophy Friday and Saturday.

Owner Bill Foley will host the Stanley Cup for two days at Rock Creek Cattle Company, his Montana ranch. The Golden Knights take an annual retreat there and the players even went up for a day with the Cup before their parade down Las Vegas Boulevard.

Foley was the man who made everything possible. He organized a season-ticket drive in Las Vegas before he was awarded a team and convinced the NHL to become the first major league to give the city a chance. He opened the floodgates for more teams to come flooding in, from the Aces to the Raiders to maybe soon the Athletics.

Foley also made a sharp hire in George McPhee, who was the Knights’ first general manager and now president of hockey operations. McPhee, along with now general manager Kelly McCrimmon, built a strong front-office staff that helped give the team one of the best rosters in the NHL.

Foley also invested in facilities. He gave the Knights a first-class practice rink at City National Arena, an envied atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena, the America First Center and The Dollar Loan Center for their American League team and enough infrastructure to grow youth hockey participation at a rapid pace.

The Cup’s next stop will be Sunday in Estevan, Saskatchewan. It will visit defenseman Brayden Pachal in his hometown.

Mark Stone — Tuesday, Wednesday

The Knights captain showed off the Cup in his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba on Tuesday. He brought it to Keith Bodley Arena, which he grew up playing at, and his old high school Westwood Collegiate.

Stone also took the Cup to the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba on Wednesday.

Brett Howden — Sunday

Howden was treated to a parade in his honor in his hometown of Oakbank during his day with the Cup.

The 25-year-old had plenty of reason to celebrate, given he signed a two-year contract extension with the Knights on July 19 with an average annual value of $1.9 million. Howden also played a round of golf with the Cup earlier in the day.

Ryan Craig — Saturday

Craig, a Knights assistant the last six seasons, was due to receive the Cup at Thomas Lake in Manitoba on Saturday.

The 41-year-old was named the Silver Knights coach in June. Craig, 41, took on a variety of duties for the team while serving under coaches Gerard Gallant, Pete DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy. He helped with the power play and penalty kill at different times, drilled faceoffs, worked with forwards and scouted opposing teams at different points.

Kelly McCrimmon — July 21, Monday

McCrimmon, the Knights’ general manager, showed off the Cup at Keystone Centre in Brandon, Manitoba on July 21.

McCrimmon has deep connections to the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings, being part of the organization for decades as a player, coach, general manager and owner.

He’s the first person to win the Stanley Cup and the WHL championship as a GM.

McCrimmon also paid tribute to his late brother Brad, who played 1,222 games as an NHL defenseman. Brad McCrimmon died in a plane crash in Russia in 2011 while traveling to his first game as a Kontinental Hockey League coach.

Kelly McCrimmon also got an extra day with the Cup on Monday for private events.

Michael Amadio — July 19

Amadio, one of the Knights’ unsung heroes, took the Cup to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

He had a community event at the local rink GFL Memorial Gardens, then hung out with family and friends. His dog even got the chance to drink out of the Cup.

Phil Kessel — July 18

Kessel had his third day with the Cup in Toronto, after previously winning it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. The 35-year-old received it in Toronto and celebrated with family and friends.

Kessel, who is tied for 96th all-time with 413 goals, scored 14 goals and 36 points after signing with the Golden Knights as a free agent last August. He broke the NHL record for consecutive games played with the team and became one of 10 active three-time champions.

Kessel is a free agent. He said after the Knights won the Cup he had no plans to retire and end his consecutive games played streak at 1,064.

Katy Boettinger — July 17

The Knights director of hockey administration had the Cup blessed in New Jersey before taking it on a ferry ride to Delaware.

Boettinger, the only woman with her name on the Cup from the Knights, handles a lot of different duties for the team like serving as a liaison for players and their families.

John Stevens — July 16

Stevens, a Knights assistant, was due to receive the Cup in Sea Isle City, New Jersey.

Stevens, 57, is coming off his first season with the Knights. He worked with the team’s defensemen, helping lead one of the best blue lines in the NHL. Stevens also ran the Knights’ penalty kill.

This is Stevens’ third Stanley Cup championship, after winning it all as an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.

Ivan Barbashev — July 15

Barbashev, a Cup-winning veteran with two titles to his name, partied in style in Miami.

He had the trophy aboard a 175-foot yacht filled with those close to him to celebrate. He also won the Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues.

Jack Eichel — July 14

Eichel began his day with the Cup with a police escort to one of the rinks he played at growing up: Skate 3 Ice Arena in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.

The North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, native then showed the trophy off to more fans at Chelmsford high school. Eichel spent a year there before leaving to play with the United States national team development program.

He also held a celebration with friends and family that included goaltender Jonathan Quick in Salisbury, Massachusetts.

Bruce Cassidy — July 13

The Knights coach used the Cup to help launch a charity his day with it, taking it to a kickoff event for the Cassidy Murray Foundation in Milton, Massachusetts.

The Cassidy Murray Foundation hopes to increase access to mental health resources including trauma and grief therapy to help those experiencing a loss. Donations can be made at cassidymurrayfoundation.org.

Cassidy also brought the Cup to New Seabury, Massachusetts, and took pictures with his family at Cape Cod.

George McPhee — July 12

The Knights president of hockey operations spent his day with the Cup with family and friends in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

McPhee was one of the team’s chief architects along with general manager Kelly McCrimmon. He was the Knights’ general manager their first two seasons before giving McCrimmon more responsibility.

Misha Donskov — July 11

Donskov, a Knights assistant coach, received the Cup on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

He worked with players on individual skills and helped several grow their games. Left wing William Carrier was one frequent pupil.

Donskov, who it was announced is leaving the organization July 2, also played a huge role in the Knights’ success growing youth hockey in Nevada.

Alex Pietrangelo — July 10

Pietrangelo was the second player to receive the Cup, spending the day with it in St. Louis on Monday doing some private events.

Pietrangelo’s wife Jayne’s family is from the area and they still spend time during the offseason there with their four children. He played for the Blues from 2008-20, winning his first championship in 2019.

Nicolas Roy — July 8

Roy was the first player to get the Cup, taking it to his hometown of Amos, Quebec. There was a town parade in his honor Saturday and a party at his home later in the night.

Contact Ben Gotz at [email protected]. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.





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