The Carolina Hurricanes may have been a "bunch of jerks," but the Vegas Golden Knights look like the villains heading into the Stanley Cup final.
Move over, you bunch of jerks.
There's a group of misfits that everyone supposedly hates even more.
At least, that was the argument made by an ESPN.com writer on Monday who rhetorically asked whether the Vegas Golden Knights are "the most unlikable team in a Cup final."
The evidence was plentiful: there was signing Carter Hart, who a year ago was one of five former Canadian world junior players charged — and acquitted — of sexual assault; there was firing coach Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining in the regular season and then preventing him from interviewing for another job; there was coach John Tortorella declining to talk to reporters after a second-round win over Anaheim, which cost Vegas a draft pick and a hefty fine; and there was Mitch Marner, whom Toronto Maple Leafs fans have been hate-watching ever since he bolted for Sin City.
"Lot more awful storylines than good ones," tweeted ESPN.com's Rachel Kryshak, who is a former contributor to The Hockey News.
On the flip side, Kryshak argued that the Carolina Hurricanes are a pretty easy team to cheer, citing goalie Frederik Andersen's desire to win a Cup for Claude Lemieux, who recently died of suicide, GM Eric Tulsky's non-traditional path to the NHL, as well as the Hurricanes' long-awaited journey to finally get over the hump.
"Also, Seth Jarvis' buddies are cool," she tweeted. "Lot more positivity there."
Here's the thing: everyone loves to hate a villain — even more so than the hero.
Pro wrestling realized this a long time ago, when the WWE shifted the focus from Hulk Hogan telling kids to eat their vitamins to Stone Cold Steve Austin chugging beers and giving the middle finger. And the NHL, thanks in part to Vegas and Carolina, is finally starting to come around.
In their first season in the NHL, the Golden Knights dubbed themselves the "misfits," a reference to the expansion draft where they were forced to select players who were discarded by their former teams. Since then, Vegas has leaned into its Sin City roots, often going against league norms, whether that meant trading away fan favorites (Marc-Andre Fleury), acquiring players with significant baggage, and sending coaches to the scrapyard, all in pursuit of one thing: winning.
With three trips to the Stanley Cup final in nine years, it's difficult to argue with the results.
"Best gives no s---s HOCKEY team in the league," tweeted @Centrist1344.
"I hate that it's Vegas he is doing it with but the Marner thing playing out the way it is is exactly what I hoped would happen for him," tweeted @ConAirNcCagevid.
"People really hate a winning organization lmao," tweeted @vgkpetey.
Indeed, there's a long list of Stanley Cup winners who haven't been well-liked over the years.
Fans hated the Boston Bruins in 2011 for having too many pests. They hated the Florida Panthers in 2024 and 2025 for taking advantage of being in a no-tax state.
In 2021, Nikita Kucherov fully embraced his role as a cap-circumventing villain by wearing an "18M over the cap" T-shirt during the team's Stanley Cup parade.
Even Carolina wasn't always beloved by fans — or certain broadcasters.
There was a time when Don Cherry labelled the team a "bunch of jerks" for their choreographed post-game celebrations. The Hurricanes, which in the past had been criticized for being too boring, leaned into the hate and printed T-shirts with Cherry's insult.
Every sport needs a bad guy, someone you love to root against. It's that level of emotion and passion that ultimately makes sports fun to watch. As much as we all love the underdog, we tend to love the villain even more.
So boo the Golden Knights. Chances are, they are embracing the hate and are using it as fuel.
After all, few believed this team was going to make the playoffs — much less go deep — when they changed coaches in the final weeks of the season. Even fewer probably believe they have a chance at beating a Hurricanes team that has lost just one game in three rounds to get to this point.
Maybe that's it. Maybe the Golden Knights have made it look far too easy since coming into the league in 2017. That's a valid reason.
And yet, it's also an excuse to get another T-shirt printed: "Nobody likes us. We don't care."
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