Vegas Golden Knights 17-18 season

[Kgbeast 195]

I am a CBJ fan and have been watching all of their games, but one day I gave a looksee to VGK game and was pretty impressed. They should be an underdog, but they did pretty exceptionally so far. I have watched quite a few of their games since and my biggest thing about them is how hard they play. They actually remind me last years Blue Jackets. Nothing gets to them, they just go in hard and keep chipping away, using every player they have. There are no blockbuster names, no superstars, just a bunch of hard working guys with plenty of skill to find more wins that many have expected. William Karlsson who was pretty average in CBJ last year, is a really dynamic forward with VGK, plays like a leader, lots of D, lots of  front of the net action. David Peron is pretty outstanding and also becomes a leader in the club. Marchessault who had very good season last year is looking like he might do just as well this season. And basically, the entire team is doing their jobs even they are on an AHL goalie #4 and their backup is a kid from WHL. I am waiting for them to start an NHL goalie, but I guess they got what they got. (Not sure what shape Ilia Bryzgalov is in at this point, but if he'd keep it up, I would not mind the comic relief.). Anyway, with all the problems, they still at #8 now, which is better than CBJ, Ducks, Preds, Sens, Caps, Sharks, Hawks, Oilers, and few other to be elite teams. Obviously season is young, and things will change, but a very impressive start for a brand-new team.

Obviously a disappointing and somewhat sad case of Vadim Shipachov who is an excellent forward as seeing in his KHL seasons as well as last year WCOH performance, but he could not get it going here, perhaps was not really given a chance, now he is pretty much banished from NHL because of his personal pride coupled with a crappy contract that he had with VGK. Well, he is a bit more whiny than I thought so off he goes. He could have played 5 games in AHL and I am sure he would have been back in NHL, but we will never know now.    

[chippa13 1844]

The Shipachyov situation will just further discourage NHL GMs to draft or chase after Russian players. Had he put in a little time in Chicago to acclimate to the North American rink then he could have been good but we'll never know. There have been too many cases of Russian players bolting for the KHL rather than put some time in at the AHL level to get going on the smaller sheet for GMs to roll the dice on them anymore.

[Kgbeast 195]

Great job by Knights against Jets. Pack away another 2 points. Seems like they are off a very good start for the first season ever.

[Kgbeast 195]

who knew... 7 game winning streak, kicked some LA Kings butt last night. Very impressive and fun to watch.

On a different note, I like the way DP skates look, love that white lacing system on black boot look.

[Kgbeast 195]

... pretty outstanding work by VGK during Thanksgiving week. Adding to Kings defeat, they now bagged quite formidable Ducks and San Jose Sharks and doing that in a highly watchable manner.

[FlyChicaga 21]

These guys are a blast to watch. They're flying out there, beating other teams to pucks continuously. They definitely have something to prove.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I'm curious... I'm a die hard Maple Leafs fan, and also adopted the Kings as my western team after I moved to California in 2010. Is it just me, or is every fan of every team rooting for the Golden Knights? I mean, how can you not? This is an incredible story. I feel like everyone is backing them, which is pretty cool to see.

So tell me... are you rooting for them?

[marka 518]

Howdy,

1 minute ago, IPv6Freely said:

I'm curious... I'm a die hard Maple Leafs fan, and also adopted the Kings as my western team after I moved to California in 2010. Is it just me, or is every fan of every team rooting for the Golden Knights? I mean, how can you not? This is an incredible story. I feel like everyone is backing them, which is pretty cool to see.

So tell me... are you rooting for them?

 

I know a number of Pens fans that are rooting for Vegas, given both Fleury going there and the Pens seemingly unable to wake up this year.

Its a great story for sure.  I'm also curious if them doing well is a bit of a wake up call that in the age of salary caps, spending a ton on a couple "superstars" vs. spreading it out more across a more balanced team of "pretty damn goods" is a good way to fly...

Mark

[chippa13 1844]

Because of the salary cap era, some of the players exposed to the expansion draft (and some of the contingency deals surrounding it) moved some well established, big contracts (or anticipated big contracts). It is a great story that the team is doing as well as they are, but make no mistake, the cap era gave them a much better opportunity than any previous expansions.

All that said, I've enjoyed watching them all year. The circumstances surrounding their home opener and how they responded to them make it impossible not to root for them to do well.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

55 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

Because of the salary cap era, some of the players exposed to the expansion draft (and some of the contingency deals surrounding it) moved some well established, big contracts (or anticipated big contracts). It is a great story that the team is doing as well as they are, but make no mistake, the cap era gave them a much better opportunity than any previous expansions.

All that said, I've enjoyed watching them all year. The circumstances surrounding their home opener and how they responded to them make it impossible not to root for them to do well.

It was pretty much the perfect home opener. The way it was handled, the lack of advertisements on the boards, and then the way they came out of the gate and just absolutely CRUSHED their opponent in the first 10 minutes. 

[Kgbeast 195]

I am rooting for them and watch almost every game they play. I also see a couple of kids in the local rink (Ducks and Kings country) wearing their uniforms. Quite impressive season thus far. It was especially impressive to me how well they've done even with the extended goalie injuries. I think they had one bad loss this season, always manage to keep them tight.

[FlyChicaga 21]

After watching them play my Blackhawks last night, here's my take on this team: They are to me this year what the Predators were to me last year in the playoffs. A cool story, a fun team, good guys. But when all is said and done, they're another team in the west, and I'm not going to root for them over any other teams I'm a fan of.

I'm a Blackhawks fan through and through, and the Leafs are my team in the east. If Vegas was in the bottom six in the standings this year I'd probably be giving them very little attention. I won't be buying any Vegas t-shirts. But when I watch their games it's fun and I enjoy seeing them winning.

 

Regardless of the above, being a gear whore I did get some Vegas gloves, pants, and a practice jersey. 

[IPv6Freely 2082]

52 minutes ago, FlyChicaga said:

After watching them play my Blackhawks last night, here's my take on this team: They are to me this year what the Predators were to me last year in the playoffs. A cool story, a fun team, good guys. But when all is said and done, they're another team in the west, and I'm not going to root for them over any other teams I'm a fan of.

I'm a Blackhawks fan through and through, and the Leafs are my team in the east. If Vegas was in the bottom six in the standings this year I'd probably be giving them very little attention. I won't be buying any Vegas t-shirts. But when I watch their games it's fun and I enjoy seeing them winning.

 

Regardless of the above, being a gear whore I did get some Vegas gloves, pants, and a practice jersey. 

I look at them like the Kings. I root for LA unless they're playing Toronto. I'm good with feeling the same way about Vegas. I generally feel the same way about the Blackhawks too (it's been a good decade for me!) 

I'd wear a Vegas t-shirt. I bought a Jets t-shirt when they came back as well. We're also looking at taking a day trip to Vegas to see a game. 

[FlyChicaga 21]

I'd definitely go to a game in Vegas to see the atmosphere. Same thing for Nashville.

[adam14 182]

On 05/01/2018 at 1:16 PM, marka said:

Howdy,

 

I know a number of Pens fans that are rooting for Vegas, given both Fleury going there and the Pens seemingly unable to wake up this year.

Its a great story for sure.  I'm also curious if them doing well is a bit of a wake up call that in the age of salary caps, spending a ton on a couple "superstars" vs. spreading it out more across a more balanced team of "pretty damn goods" is a good way to fly...

Mark

They did take a very "Moneyball"esque approach to building this team. Not necessarily taking the best available, but best suited for what Vegas needed from them, and everybody has bought in.

 

I love watching them, and hope they do well.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Looks like they might be having some legal issues...

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/vegas-golden-knights-nhl-army-challenge-1.4483897

Apparently the US Army doesn't like the name... 

[Kgbeast 195]

42 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Looks like they might be having some legal issues...

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/vegas-golden-knights-nhl-army-challenge-1.4483897

Apparently the US Army doesn't like the name... 

Wow... I thought they have figured it by now. Army put this claim over a year ago. Did they got ignored by VGK?

[chippa13 1844]

Ok, there are some humorous statements coming out of this. First, the Army's assertion:

“The public,” the Army asserts in the legal filing, “is likely to be confused as to whether the U.S. Government or the Applicant [Black Knights] controls the quality and nature of the services or endorses or sponsors the Applicant’s services.”

The Vegas Golden Knights response:

"We strongly dispute the Army's allegations that confusion is likely between the Army Golden Knights parachute team and the Vegas Golden Knights major-league hockey team," the team said. "Indeed, the two entities have been coexisting without any issues for over a year [along with several other Golden Knights trademark owners] and we are not aware of a single complaint from anyone attending our games that they were expecting to see the parachute team and not a professional hockey game."

Now let's be real about all of this. There are plenty of organizations, inside and outside of sports, who use similar color schemes and names. For years, nobody in St. Louis showed up at a Cardinals baseball game thinking they were on their way to a Cardinals football game. NHL teams don't sue over junior, college, high school, or other hockey organizations using their color schemes. The closest I've seen to an actual complaint was when Harry Sinden bitched about the Penguins going to the black and gold color scheme and nothing ever came of that.

[chk hrd 164]

It is all because of Bill Foley's ego. From day one he had no intention of calling it anything other than Golden Knights. When the team was forming they did the usual "what should we call the team" promotions. The majority of people in Las Vegas loved the name Silver Knights because Nevada is the silver state. When they announced Golden Knights a lot of people were stunned. There are some minor teams that have that name but it would be a lot easier to pay them some money than fighting the Army over it. I support the team but not the owner, I think it is a new toy to him.

[chippa13 1844]

Would you rather it is the owner's trust fund? Fans should be thrilled that the owner is interested in the team for more than just the profits. This Bruins fan would trade owners with you any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[chk hrd 164]

I would rather have an owner considered how the fan base who will make or break a team feels over one who says something to appease the fan base only to do what they originally planned anyway. If you were going to call them the Golden Knights from day one then just say that, not try to play it off. Las Vegas Silver Knights would have meant a lot more to the town. It's a good thing the team is winning or the controversy would be a bigger deal. I'm all for the Owners being involved and in it for the city and fans, just not for owners who use it as their toys. 

[chippa13 1844]

Lakers fans don't seem to mind that Los Angeles isn't dotted with lakes. 

[chk hrd 164]

The Lakers got their nickname from the state of Minnesota, where they began their operations in 1947. Lots of lake there.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

29 minutes ago, chk hrd said:

The Lakers got their nickname from the state of Minnesota, where they began their operations in 1947. Lots of lake there.

I think the point he's making is that if it was that big a deal they would have renamed the Lakers when they moved. 

At least your team has an owner that cares, the fans of many other franchises can't say the same. 

[chippa13 1844]

5 hours ago, chk hrd said:

The Lakers got their nickname from the state of Minnesota, where they began their operations in 1947. Lots of lake there.

Correct, yet nobody cared about the name when the team showed up in LA. People weren't crying about how the team name didn't represent the area. Just like noone cares about the Utah Jazz.