The Vegas Golden Knights organization, with general manager Kelly McCrimmon at the helm, wants much more after winning the first Stanley Cup in its history last spring, and its goals are clearly defined.
Led by the performances of Quebecer Jonathan Marchessault, a 2023 Conn-Smythe Trophy recipient, the Golden Knights had surprised some observers in the playoffs and expectations were clearly high heading into this season. They have also responded so far, as they are one of three teams in the National Hockey League to score 31 points, the highest point total in the round.
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This may make McCrimmon even more optimistic, who did not hesitate to talk about the league’s recent dynasties in a conversation with the Edmonton Sun newspaper. Does Vegas have the tools necessary to achieve this rank? Its CEO believes so.
“You win one and you’re still a champion, and it’s still a select club.” However, if you can get two, can we talk about the dynasty? Tampa Bay made it, as did Chicago and Pittsburgh, he said. We won the cup in two months, but the process took six years. I think so. We worked long hours, which explains why we were aggressive in setting up our training. We tried to get the right people in the locker room.
A crucial fourth trio
So if the arrival of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo provided the talent and leadership needed to reach the top, the Nevada club relied on quality support players to pull off victories at the right times. And that will still be the case in 2023-2024.
“Honestly, the fourth trio has been the hallmark of our team all along. Once it was William Carrier, Tomas Nosek and Ryan Reaves. In recent years it has been Carrier, Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar. Thanks to the good performance of our four trios and this combination, we had a good identity. “Our depth is a big part of our success,” assessed McCrimmon.
“Roy’s trio starts games and periods. His players care about playing in the defensive zone. They are big and heavy and do a good job of protecting windows in enemy territory.”
The Knights have a meeting with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night on TVA Sports.