THN.com/podcast. Chandler Stephenson and Jack Eichel [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4NjY0OTE3MDE0ODE2NTE5/usatsi_20887171.jpg] Chandler Stephenson and Jack Eichel It was a moment for the misfits. With the Stanley Cup in the building for Game 5, Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy decided to scrap his regular lines and instead “reward the originals, the guys who laid the foundation” by putting Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore out on the ice together. Along with William Carrier, these six players formed what is affectionately known as the Original Misfits. They were the castoffs, the guys who were left exposed in the expansion draft six years ago and were a huge part of why the Golden Knights shocked the hockey world by going to the final in Year 1 — and then won a championship this season. For George McPhee, the GM-turned-president of hockey ops who built this team literally from scratch, it was the kind of gesture that should have put a smile on his face. Instead, it had the opposite reaction. “I didn’t like it, actually,” McPhee told The Hockey News after the game. “I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, and we’ve never done that sort of thing. Good for them, but I would’ve put them out the last shift. At least at that point we knew we might win.” For anyone paying attention to how the Golden Knights built a championship in such a short period of time, McPhee’s reaction was hardly surprising. Gimmicks have no place in the Golden Knights’ playbook. Apparently, neither do emotions. Or loyalty. This is a team that traded away fan favorite Marc-Andre Fleury immediately after he won the Vezina Trophy. Vegas fired coach Gerard Gallant less than two years after he won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year and then disposed of coach Peter DeBoer a year after reaching back-to-back conference finals. Of the players the Golden Knights selected in that fateful expansion draft six years ago, only six remain. “This team has nothing to do with expansion,” said GM Kelly McCrimmon. “Jack Eichel has nothing to do with expansion. Mark Stone has nothing to do with expansion. Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Nic Roy, you can go through the list. This is a team that’s been built to get better and better.” Not that the Golden Knights should make any apologies for their shrewd tactics. Like the city they play in, the house always wins. A big reason for that is that is because Vegas bases its hockey decisions on the bottom line. It is a lesson that a lot of teams, particularly the Toronto Maple Leafs, can learn from. There is no Core Four in Vegas. One year, the core might include James Neal, David Perron and Alex Tuch. The next, it might be Max Pacioretty and Robin Lehner. Even Marchessault, who was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner after finishing with 13 goals and 25 points in 22 playoff games, is not safe, considering his contract runs out at the end of next season [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-free-agency-top-15-pending-ufas-for-2024-who-can-sign-extensions]. If there is a trade that can make the team better, the Golden Knights will make it. And if they have to turn around and trade the player they acquired for someone better, they’ve shown that they will do that as well. We have seen that again and again in the decisions they have made, whether it’s in parting ways with Pacioretty or scratching Phil Kessel for most of the playoffs. And while a lot of the impatience probably comes from owner Bill Foley, who famously said that the team would win a championship by Year 6, it’s a philosophy that McPhee and McCrimmon — and the players — clearly have embraced. “We are trying to win,” said McCrimmon. “The players in our organization appreciate that we are trying to win. We’re not trying to make the playoffs. We’re not rebuilding. We are trying to win. And to do that in a flat cap world is challenging. So that’s part of how we got here tonight.” “We never had a mandate from Bill … it wasn’t something that hung over us. The other misnomer is we’re not doing this because Bill is cracking the whip and saying, ‘We’ve got to win.’ George McPhee and I want to win.” Six (not-so-long) years later, the Golden Knights have won. And don’t be surprised if they find a way to win again — even if it’s with a much different cast of players than the ones who hoisted the Cup this season.
