Before the Golden Knights, there were the Panthers.
In 1993-94, expansion Florida shocked the hockey world by finishing just one point out of the playoffs. This season, Western Conference-leading Vegas is literally blowing up every conceivable expansion record.
I spoke with then-Panthers GM Bobby Clarke last month to get a front office perspective of Florida's surprising first-season success and how that relates to the Knights.
Now, with the player's perspective, is original Panther
Bill Lindsay. Lindsay, who was selected in the Expansion Draft from Quebec, played seven seasons for the Cats. He's also been part of their broadcast team since 2007.
Lindsay talked about the parallels between the two expansion squads, what Vegas can learn from Florida, whether or not the Golden Knights are Cup contenders, and Reilly Smith's struggles last year.
HockeyBuzz: What parallels do you see between these Golden Knights and your Panthers?
Bill Lindsay: You have a [quality] GM. We had Bobby Clarke. You have George McPhee.
At the top of the list, you have character. You see a lot of character in Vegas. Our team exuded character. There were all kinds of players in that room with tremendous work ethic.
We were cast-offs, like many in Vegas would consider themselves. We all wanted to prove something.
The second parallel -- they did go through five goalies (laughs) -- we had Vanbiesbrouck, who was the star of team, the backbone of the team. Now Marc-Andre Fleury is healthy, he's the same thing.
HB: What was the importance of Clarke to the locker room? Did you guys trust him, feel good as an organization in his hands?
BL: We gained a measure of respect and trust for Bobby Clarke just looking across from each other and recognizing what we had in that room. Did a pretty good job of getting hockey players in here, but also character, guys who would want to be immediate friends and play for each other. When your GM brings in those kinds of players, you realize, Man, we've got a great group. This is fun!
I think George McPhee had a similar philosophy.
What was happening in our dressing room, I'm sure it's happening in Vegas probably ten-fold is how enjoyable the game was. For me, just trying to scrape in the NHL, I was solidified as an NHL player. Vegas is similar, they have all kinds of players in situations they were never in before, and they're like, This is the opportunity of a lifetime. That's what we felt in our dressing room.
HB: Bobby Clarke did something unusual for an expansion team: He added players throughout the season.
He traded for Stu Barnes, Bob Kudelski, Mike Foligno, Geoff Smith, among others. These were meaningful players: Barnes and Kudelski were among your leading scorers. In some cases, he sent out draft picks for these players.
What did it mean to the locker room, that he was adding and not subtracting?
BL: It was galvanizing. It was aggressive. We felt that he wanted to make us better.
HB: The Golden Knights are now in a place to add players too.
BL: I think George McPhee did such a good job over the summer, they're already stockpiled with all kinds of picks. If you have a good core, a good nucleus, how many more picks do you actually need?
They're loaded, they're in a good position. George McPhee is in a position of power, whether it's buying or selling. The flexibility is limitless.
HB: Back to 1993-94, the Panthers beat the Islanders late in March. With nine games left, you were in eighth place, four points ahead of the Flyers, six ahead of the Islanders. But then, you went 1-4-4 to end the season. New York caught you. What happened?
BL: I think pressure, maybe. Starting to realize, wow, what's happening. We're on the cusp of the playoffs.
We're just rolling along, having fun with the games, but all of the sudden, it got ramped up. We got thrown under the microscope. Maybe as a team, we weren't familiar. We felt the pressure a bit, didn't handle it well.
We handled it well two years later, [making it to the Finals]. So this helped us with that experience.
HB: At that point, were you guys looking at the standings, maybe a little too aware of the history that you guys were about to make?
BL: We were aware of the history. But it's hard to make it into the playoffs. Everybody's trying to make it in that time of the year. It basically becomes playoff hockey for the last 10 games. Basically, we just lost a playoff series.
You guys have had a great run, but there's going to be stretches through this second half where you're going to have to do some soul-searching and go through some times. It's been a magical run, but there's going to be some bumps on the road like there was for us.
HB: So for a team like Vegas, they're riding high, locker room's feeling good right now, you've seen this before for an expansion team. What's your advice for avoiding a letdown?
BL: The biggest thing is just not feeling the highs too high and the lows too low. Consistency. If they have a five-game winning streak, find your way out of it, just believe you're a good hockey team.
We'll see how Vegas handles adversity. When those lows do come, we'll see how they battle out of it.
Just try to stay in the moment. At that practice, at that game, try to keep the outside noise outside.
The thing with Vegas, if you didn't know anything of the history, if you were to evaluate every team this year as a blank slate, you would have to think Vegas is a Stanley Cup contender.
HB: Do you think the Knights can do in one year what you guys did in three?
BL: It has to be a possibility. Nashville went into the Stanley Cup Finals last year as the last seed, not only in their conference, but in the NHL. They made it as a 16th-seed. So how can a team at top of the West not have a chance? The label of an expansion team is there, but for Vegas, it's nothing but that.
HB: People have forgotten that Florida really embraced hockey in the beginning. It certainly helped that you guys made the Finals in your third year there. But since then, support hasn't been nearly as strong. What happened and what can Vegas learn from this? Of course in Vegas, everybody's in love with hockey right now too.
BL: You're going to go through a honeymoon phase like we did.
But if you win down here...A couple years ago, when we made the playoffs, it was rocking, people were back. But you gotta win. You gotta do it consistently. If you don't do it, you hurt your fanbase.
You have to win. You have to win their trust back. That's where we're at now.
You have to win hockey games for people to come back. It's not Montreal. It's not Toronto.
If they're not winning hockey games in 5-10 years, they're not going to have people in the seats.
HB: Talking about tonight's game, the big news is obviously the return of Gallant, Marchessault, and Smith in Florida. Getting to the bottom of why the Panthers wanted to get rid of Smith's contract is interesting. How did Reilly perform last season in Florida?
BL: Not good. I watched every game. What we saw in 2015-16, what we saw last year, I shook my head.
Just watching from my vantage point, it looked like a guy going through the motions at times. It was frustrating as a fan.
Whether he wasn't happy in the situation or whatever, the way he played last year is nothing like how he's played this year.
HB: What's happened this year to Reilly?
BL: Maybe he realized, I might not get too many more kicks at this.
That's what happens a lot with an expansion team. [The players have] got let go by a lot of teams, and they want to prove now that they belong. It's a second lease on life for a lot of these guys.
That's probably happening to Reilly Smith, realizing I might only have so many shots at this. I better make the most of it.
HB: It's going to be a tough game tonight for the Florida fans, right?
BL: Yeah, it'll be tough. But it is what is.
If you look at the past, you're buried, man. You're just digging yourself more of a hole. What can you do about it?
The only focus we have is looking forward. The rearview mirror kills you.
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