As the Vegas Golden Knights prepare for their third Stanley Cup Final in nine seasons, general manager Kelly McCrimmon acknowledges the team’s path to sustained success has been anything but conventional.
“It’s unprecedented in the league, so you wouldn’t expect it would happen,” McCrimmon said before departing for Raleigh, N.C., where the Knights open the Final against the Hurricanes. “But it’s been a tremendous journey, and we sure don’t think we’re done yet.”
The Knights can win their second championship in four years, and most of their core is signed long-term, defying predictions of an inevitable decline. They have become the NHL’s model organization through aggressive trades, savvy cap management, and a reputation for ruthlessness.
“This is one of the best organizations in the league with (owner Bill Foley), George (McPhee) and Kelly running it,” coach John Tortorella said.
The original blueprint was to build through the draft, but the historic 2017-18 expansion season—when the Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final—changed everything. “It changed the calculus of our entire organization,” McCrimmon said.
That offseason, the Knights signed Paul Stastny and traded for Max Pacioretty. Then came the move McCrimmon calls the most important in franchise history: acquiring captain Mark Stone from Ottawa at the 2019 trade deadline. “We went from a good team to a real contender,” McCrimmon said.
Subsequent deals brought Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, Alex Pietrangelo, Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, and Mitch Marner. The Knights have traded for three of the top five picks from the 2015 draft—two years before they existed. “We didn’t have a team in 2015, but we’ve done pretty well by that draft,” McCrimmon joked.
Forward Keegan Kolesar, the only player remaining from before the inaugural season, praised the organization’s eye for talent and character. “They do a good job of bringing in character people first and foremost… It’s been a perfect formula.”
The Knights fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Bruce Cassidy this season with eight games left, signed controversial goaltender Carter Hart, and have cut ties with fan favorites. Yet players like Nic Dowd, acquired at the deadline, cite the culture as a key to winning. “The organization is full of great people… it’s a lot easier to have success,” Dowd said.
McCrimnon credits the scouting staff for finding assets to trade, but admits the approach is risky. “You have to make good decisions… It’s a lot of customer pain along the way.”
The Knights have missed the playoffs only once in nine years, and that season they went 43-31-8. They own the most postseason wins of any team since their inception. Yet McCrimmon insists there’s little time for reflection. “We’re always focused on the here and now… sitting around talking about it is not how anyone in our organization is wired.”
