Upon securing the franchise, Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley stood before thousands of fans and told the reveling audience that his upstart team would bring a Stanley Cup to the city within six years.
It was a bold proclamation — indeed, one that probably had them giggling in their omelets and scoffing at Foley’s preposterousness in many NHL front offices at the time.
That was in 2017. Fast-forward to today, and Foley’s verbal manifesto still stands fully intact. In fact, the Golden Knights appear to be right on schedule, punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup final Monday night with a convincing Game Six victory over the listless Dallas Stars in this, the sixth year of the Golden Knights franchise.
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When the 78-year-old lawyer and financial magnate paid a then-record $500-million expansion fee for the Golden Knights, it dawned a new era in league business.
No longer would a first-year team wallow in misery for years to come with a subpar roster, as Vegas would be the first team in league history to be buoyed by favourable expansion rules, immediately providing them with a dressing room full of NHL-calibre players.
Plus, Foley hired the right people to run his team, namely George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon — both shrewd hockey administrators who essentially built Rome in a day. Within their inaugural season, they advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final, getting past Los Angeles, San Jose and Winnipeg to do so, before bowing to the veteran-laden, Alex Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals.
But this second finals appearance is different, as the Golden Knights are the favourites this time around over the underdog, wild-card entry, the Florida Panthers, and they understand that the expectations have changed from five years ago to now.
One item that hasn’t altered is the timeline of Bill Foley’s projection that his team would hoist the Cup within six years of starting up, and entering Saturday’s Stanley Cup final, they would boldly appear to be right on time.
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