Every year, the 32 NHL teams have a very specific goal: to win the Stanley Cup. Of all of them, only one has a second mission: to defend his championship title.
This season it is the Vegas Golden Knights who have to play as the reigning champions. Even though it has only been a few months since the players lifted the 17 kilogram trophy above their heads, all teams will start the 2023-2024 marathon on the same starting line.
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“Now we have to turn the tide,” William Karlsson told NHL.com. It’s a blank page and we have to go in search of the trophy again.”
The desire to defend your own title is obvious, but doing so is a completely different challenge. Only four teams have won the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive year since the early 1990s: the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998, Pittsburgh again in 2016 and 2017, and then the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Conversely, since the 1967 expansion, only five teams have not participated in the playoffs after their conquest of the Holy Grail: the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens, the New Jersey Devils, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Los Angeles Kings.
The barometer team
No one knows how the Golden Knights will handle the pressure that comes with the newest Stanley Cup ring. One thing is certain: the other teams will not hesitate to give their best in the game against Vegas.
“A win inevitably has a goal in mind,” forward Jack Eichel told the ESPN network. Nobody will take us lightly. […] Everyone will want to beat us and compete against us by doing their best. This will encourage us to be consistent and do our best every night.”
“That’s part of being champions,” added head coach Bruce Cassidy. That’s a good print. That leaves us no choice but to be ready.”
The 2023-2024 season will be the Golden Knights’ seventh in Vegas. In their first season, they reached the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Washington Capitals. Vegas has only missed the playoffs once, in 2021-2022.