From the MLS to the NFL, every major sports league has added an expansion team to
their league at some point. The expansion team always has a major disadvantage at the start of
the year. They don’t have any great players or high draft picks to improve their team.
It is known around the leagues that the expansion team is seen as a newcomer, an easy
win, or just a practice game for some because the competition just isn’t as good. An example of
this would be the 1974 Washington Capitals (8-67-5), The Vancouver Grizzlies (15-67), or The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14). The Las Vegas Golden Knights are an exception to these other
teams.
The Knights are Las Vegas’ first major sports team. To have a professional sports team in
a city that is already known for its fun and excitement is the icing on the cake for the city. Going
into the season, many expected Las Vegas to play as a classic expansion team would, a lot of
losing and not a lot of winning. But the Knights did the exact opposite.
The Knights were 8-1 in their first 9 games and ended the season with the 3rd most wins
in all of the NHL. In addition to this, they also won their division and defeated their cross-state
rivals, the LA Kings 4-0 in the series, a clean sweep. After that they also defeated the San Jose
Sharks in a 4-2 series win.
For an expansion team to have a positive record in their first season is almost unheard of,
but for a team to win its division, have the 3rd best record in the NHL, and defeat two of its
rivals in the playoffs is just crazy! The Golden Knights will now play in the Western Conference
Final and have a chance to go to the Stanley Cup.
So, how did the Golden Knights have so much more success than other teams in the
NHL? To figure that out we have to know how the NHL Expansion Draft works. The expansion draft is
when an expansion team can pick any player from another team that isn’t protected or not
available to be selected by that expansion team. The current teams in the league have two
different options to protect their players, they can protect 7 forwards, 3 defenseman, and 1
goaltender, or they can protect 8 skaters and 1 goalie.
This draft is definitely in favor of the current teams and not the expansion. The Knights
will not get to select a franchise player, or even a starter, at most they will get a role player on
their team that they will have to try to develop or trade. So instead of picking the best players
available, the Golden Knights did something that no other expansion team thought about. They
would draft young players that had potential and a few a veterans to help lead their team.
An example of one of these young players is William Karlsson, center. The former Blue
Jacket was traded to the Knights because he was not seen as a real difference maker to
Columbus, but to the Knights he was a franchise player. In just his first season, he has 43 goals
and 35 assists and is seen as a potential MVP candidate.
The Golden Knights are to play in the Stanley Cup Finals and will have a chance to win it all.