What have we learned from the Vegas Golden Knights as they now stand 3 wins away from the improbable?
This is without a doubt the most amazing sports story in quite some time or possibly ever. But what has it taught us about today's NHL and the state of hockey as we know it?
I must say that when Vegas made their initial selections, I watched and thought as many others did, that the team assembled was not going to be very good. That was only one of my failed predictions and thoughts of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Watching those selections it appeared that they were not taking the best available talent, despite the numerous one sided deals George McPhee had pulled off prior to the expansion draft.
Even after the season began and the Knights got off to an incredible start, I still thought that it was smoke and mirrors. But they kept winning despite having to use five different goaltenders, while having to dig deep into their system just to dress a healthy goaltender.
McPhee himself made the statement that Malcolm Subban was not ready but dealt Calvin Pickard to Toronto. That to me seemed like the beginning of the end for Vegas. The GM was not fully onboard and the expansion team would take the normal course of the majority of their expansion predecessors.
All along I had traded messages and texts with many in the hockey world with my thoughts that the wheels would come off for sure and it was just a matter of time. I must say that all that I spoke with, shared the same sentiments, all except my buddy Mike Naslund in Chicago (Blackhawks fan turned VGK supporter from the start), who disagreed with me right from the start, and to this day brings up my quotes quite frequently.
So I was wrong, along with many others in the hockey community, that was made very clear long ago. But what is happening in the playoffs, has taken this Vegas story to a whole new level of amazing.
How has this happened? And what do other teams need to do to replicate that success? Or is it even possible?
I have my theories on how this happened. Yes the Golden Knights were given the best scenario as far as building a competitive team right from the start. Big deal, that really has little to do with the level of success that this team is experiencing.
Yes they got a proven top tier goalie and a couple guys that had scored some goals in this league, in James Neal and David Perron, but their defense was nothing spectacular on paper and the rest of the supporting cast was average at best.
But the one thing this team has that no other team could replicate was an internal competition for every position on the squad. There was no pecking order on day 1. When the players showed up the slate was clean and the opportunity was wide open for every player to show exactly what he could do.
We like to think that players earn their roles every day, but that is not at all the case. Coaches know who their go to guys are and they use them accordingly. Along those same lines, players have egos that get in the way of team success. While management often, has their say, to justify the contracts they have negotiated.
Now that Paul Fenton is in place as the Wild GM, how can he create somewhat of a clean slate? Fenton has no ownership to anyone on this Wild team. The slate is clean as far as he is concerned, but will he have the fortitude to instill that clean slate attitude on his head coach?
Bruce Boudreau is without a doubt one of the league's better head coaches, that is not in question. What is in question, is can Boudreau wipe the slate clean in his own mind and open the competition for the entire roster regardless of contract, experience, or previous position?
The Wild have been to the playoffs six straight seasons. They are a good team, not great though. What they need is a change in mindset. The last six seasons have seen essentially the same team navigate through the regular season good enough to qualify for the post season. But once they hit the playoffs the bar was significantly raised to a level far exceeding that of the Wild.
Fenton is here and he has made it clear that he is looking to better the roster through "hockey trades" and that is exactly what this team needs. There should be no one that is off limits, and even the Suter and Parise deals could be worked through in a trade scenario. Yes it would require the no movements to be dealt with and some creative finances, but no one should be considered untouchable or untradeable.
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