Background and Institution
The NHL has had a presence in Las Vegas since 1991; this calendar year, the town hosted the first outdoor game between two NHL teams — a preseason exhibition between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers out Caesars Palace. The Kings would then arrange”Frozen Fury” — a series of annual preseason matches in Las Vegas against the Colorado Avalanche. The NHL Awards ceremonies are held in Las Vegas because 2009. [6] In 2009, the media speculated about a plan involving Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer to maneuver the Phoenix Coyotes to Nevada. [7]
Rumors of a Las Vegas expansion team surfaced again in August 2014, pointing to a new indoor stadium on the Strip (constructed as a joint venture between Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the Los Angeles Kings, and MGM Resorts International) as the potential home arena, although these rumors were denied by the league. [8][9][10] In November 2014, an unconfirmed report stated that the league had chosen billionaire businessman Bill Foley and the Maloof family (former owners of this National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings, and founders of the Palms Casino Resort) to direct the ownership group for a vegas expansion group. [11][12] In December 2014, the NHL’s board of governors decided to allow Foley to hold a season ticket push to judge interest at a Las Vegas team, though league commissioner Gary Bettman also cautioned the press to”[not] create more from this than it’s”. [13][14] The season ticket drive started in February 2015, together with interested parties placing ten percent deposits to its 2016–17 season. [15] The drive brought 5,000 residue in its first day and a half, also attained its aim of 10,000 deposits by April 2015. [15][16]
In June 2015, the team officially opened the window to get prospective owners to bid on growth teams. By this stage, Foley had procured over 13,200 season-ticket deposits. Two growth applications were filed: Foley’s application for a Las Vegas group, and a bidding from Quebecor to revive the Quebec Nordiques in a new stadium in Quebec City. Both Las Vegas and Quebec were invited to move into Phase II of this league expansion bid in August 2015,[17] and subsequently advanced to Phase III.
At the league owners’ meeting on June 22, 2016, at Las Vegas, the Las Vegas expansion bidding was approved with a unanimous vote, with play to start at the 2017–18 NHL season. [18] The team became the first major professional sports franchise to be established in Las Vegas, and also the first NHL expansion team since 2000. [19] Foley dedicated to pay the league’s $500 million expansion fee[20] and started the practice of hiring the group’s principal personnel and determining its own official identity. Foley announced that the former Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee are the franchise’s first general manager. [21] On November 22, 2016, the name was revealed as the Vegas Golden Knights.
Start of operations: 2017–current On March 1, 2017 (coinciding with the league’s trade deadline), the team completed its growth fee payments and filings, making it eligible to formally begin operations such as free agent acquisition, and involvement in league meetings. [22] Five days later, the Golden Knights made their first personnel move by registering Reid Duke to a three-year entry-level contract. [23][24]
Gerard Gallant coaching the Golden Knights throughout their inaugural 2017–18 season. Gallant was called the head coach in April 2017.
The team declared inaugural head coach Gerard Gallant on April 13, 2017. [25] On the next two weeks, the Golden Knights developed their plantation system, announcing affiliations with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL. [26][27]
The team participated in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 21, 2017, choosing an available player from all 30 teams in the NHL. The draft picks were announced at T-Mobile Arena during the NHL Awards ceremony. Some noteworthy selections contained goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pittsburgh Penguins and winger James Neal from the Nashville Predators. At the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Cody Glass was the first player selected by the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights played their first game on October 6 against the Dallas Stars with Neal scoring the franchise’s first two goals en route to their first success. [28]
The group’s inaugural home game was played on October 10, 2017, hosting the Arizona Coyotes as the second match of a home-and-home series. In the aftermath of the October 1 mass shooting, the pre-game ceremonies honored the victims of this assault, and the team issued an appeal for contributions to its charitable arm. [29] With their 52 triumph, the Golden Knights increased their unbeaten streak to begin the year to 3–0, an NHL record for an expansion team. [30][31][32] The Golden Knights would be the first team in NHL history to have started their inaugural season winning eight of the first nine matches. During their tenth match, goaltender Oscar Dansk was hurt becoming the third Golden Knights’ goaltender to be injured during the season after dropping starters Fleury and the newly acquired Malcolm Subban, forcing the team to start a fourth goaltender in 11 games with Maxime Lagace. [33] Fifteen games into this season, Vadim Shipachyov became the first player to retire from the NHL as a Golden Knight when he decided to go back to the Kontinental Hockey League. In December, the Golden Knights put another NHL expansion team record of six straight wins, a list they had previously missed once they lost their tenth game of the season, and launched a new NHL record with eight consecutive wins. [34][35][36] On February 1, 2018, the Golden Knights place the expansion team record for wins in a debut year with 34 wins after only 50 games,[37] and then on February 21, 2018, set a record for most points with an expansion team from the inaugural season with 84. [38] Clinching a berth for its 2018 playoffs on March 26, the Golden Knights became the first team since the Edmonton Oilers and Hartford Whalers in the 1979–80 year to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league. [39] On March 31, the Knights clinched the Pacific Division title, becoming the first true expansion group in the four main sports to acquire its division at its inaugural season (not counting all-expansion branches, as was the situation from the 1967–68 season). [40] They’d led the Pacific since December 23, 2017.
On April 11, the franchise won its first playoff game in a 1–0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the first game of this set. Six days later on April 17, the franchise made their first playoff series win against the Kings, winning the fourth game with a 1–0 score, which also became their first playoff series sweep. The Knights became the first team in NHL history to sweep their first playoff series in their first season. [41] On May 6, 2018, the Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks four-games-to-two, becoming the third team in NHL history to win several playoff series in their first season, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. [42] On May 20, Vegas defeated the Winnipeg Jets to win the Western Conference Finals in five games, becoming the third NHL team to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in its inaugural season, following the Toronto Arenas in 1918 and the St. Louis Blues at 1968. [43] The Golden Knights would lose the Stanley Cup Finals to the Washington Capitals in five matches. [44]
From the 2018–19 year, the Golden Knights returned into the playoffs as the next seed of their Pacific Division. They were defeated in the First Round in seven games by the San Jose Sharks, whom the Golden Knights defeated at the Second Round of the previous season. [45]
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