Revisiting the Golden Knights

Show of hands, who thought the Vegas Golden Knights would even make the playoffs prior to the season? You can put them down, you liar. 500 to 1 was the opening line for the odds they would make the Stanley Cup Finals before the season began, and here we are, they made the Finals in their first year, something that of the teams still in the NHL, only the Toronto Arenas (now Maple Leafs) and the St. Louis Blues achieved. So, who exactly are the Golden Knights? Well, to answer that, let's look at how the roster was constructed and the people responsible for putting the team together.

In goal, there is Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban. Fleury was the big name of the team's expansion draft, and prior to the season, some thought he would face the same fate that Peter Sidorkiewicz would face when he was taken by Ottawa in their expansion draft in 1992. When healthy, Fleury proved that he still had something left and then some. Subban was destined to be a bust for the Boston Bruins, having never cracked the roster on a full-time basis. His pick up off waivers by the Golden Knights proved to be a smart move and one that would see them swap him for Calvin Pickard as a backup. Pickard is now in Toronto's system.

On defense, it's still a largely unknown group that is headed by Washington cast-off Nate Schmidt. Colin Miller, a pick from Boston, led all blueliners on the team in scoring while Shea Theodore, who was traded to Vegas so Anaheim could get Clayton Stoner's contract off their books, looks like a future star. Former Calgary defender Deryk Engelland proved to be the face of the team's leadership, as his ties to Las Vegas, from playing there previously in the ECHL to having a home there, all made it easy to call him the unofficial captain of the team. He also chipped in a respectable 23 points.

Up front, the offense is led by William Karlsson, a former Blue Jacket who was pegged to be a great penalty killer who occasionally chipped in offense. 43 goals later, and he blew expectations out of the water. Jonathan Marchessault was taken from Florida with the provision that Vegas also take Reilly Smith's contract as well. Turns out that Marchessault's 30-goal season in Florida wasn't a mirage, as he trailed Karlsson for the team scoring lead by three points (78 to 75) and Smith was fourth on the team in scoring with 60 points. Florida's crow eating isn't just confined to those two players, as you'll find out later. Other players that made their former teams look bad include David Perron, who was third in scoring on the team despite missing a few games to injury, and he made the Blues wish they had his production on the second line. Erik Haula was taken from Minnesota and Alex Tuch was thrown in on a trade because Minnesota wanted to protect their blue line. About that, Haula missed the 30-goal mark by one and finished fifth on the team in scoring, and Tuch looks like a solid player that the team can build upon, and both provide scoring that the Wild could have used.

 Bill Foley owns the team, and he figured out right away that to build a solid team, he needed good hockey people. For all the grief George McPhee got for the Filip Forsberg trade while in Washington, his time as General Manager wasn't bad. Foley gave him another shot. Kelly McCrimmon was plucked from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL to provide more insight. Remember when I said that the crow eating for the Florida Panthers wasn't over? That Gerard Gallant guy that they told to piss off last season at the beginning of a long road trip and left him at the airport did a pretty good job for the Vegas Golden Knights this year.

Yes, the Vegas Golden Knights making the Stanley Cup Finals is nothing short of amazing, so much so that people are calling it rigged. Look back on your predictions before the season and then tell me if you really expected any of this to happen.