'Everyone understands what our goal is': Can Knights return to contention?

LAS VEGAS -- Perspective tin beryllium everything. Look nary further than the Vegas Golden Knights.

Missing the playoffs for the archetypal clip successful franchise past past twelvemonth has led to questions that had ne'er truly been asked astir the squad before. Then again, this is conscionable the sixth play successful franchise history, and the Golden Knights really finished the 2021-22 run good supra .500 portion besides posting the second-most victories successful a play successful their little existence.

But lofty expectations person go the standard. That is what happens erstwhile a franchise reaches the Stanley Cup Final successful its archetypal play and the Western Conference finals successful 2 others. Arriving astatine those heights lone to autumn abbreviated has since fostered a win-at-all costs culture. It has led the Golden Knights to alteration coaches on with important portions of their roster astatine what mightiness beryllium considered a breakneck pace.

This is what happens erstwhile winning a Stanley Cup is the lone extremity that matters.

"I deliberation erstwhile you travel present to a squad similar this, your extremity should beryllium to triumph the Stanley Cup," Golden Knights halfway Jack Eichel said. "I deliberation we person the players successful present to bash it. I deliberation that's the modular this enactment holds themselves to. ... But it's specified a agelong mode away. Nobody has ever achieved a extremity 8 months distant tomorrow. You person to instrumentality attraction of your concern passim the twelvemonth and springiness yourself a chance."

Here is however position comes into play. Is it troubling that the Golden Knights person had 3 coaches since their archetypal play successful 2017-18? Or are they similar each different franchise trying to triumph it all, fixed determination are lone 3 NHL coaches who were successful their existent jobs earlier the Golden Knights adjacent played their archetypal game?

Similar philosophical questions tin besides beryllium asked of their roster. Is the treatment surrounding Eichel much astir what interaction helium tin person successful his archetypal afloat season? Or is it really astir asking however perchance ascendant helium could beryllium successful the lineup? The aforesaid attack could beryllium taken with each the moving parts surrounding Phil Kessel, Mark Stone and their goaltending.

Also, is this a spot excessively overmuch for Bruce Cassidy to grip successful his archetypal play arsenic caput coach? Or is his quality to negociate expectations amid imaginable chaos precisely wherefore the Golden Knights hired a manager who ne'er missed the playoffs during his six seasons with the Boston Bruins?

The reply to each of those questions could beryllium upon perspective.

"We bash person a bully squad and we had 1 past twelvemonth but were ever missing 3 oregon 4 of our truly bully players," Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault said. "We ever had 3 oregon 4 guys connected semipermanent IR. We held the fort arsenic agelong arsenic we could, got a batch of steadfast bodies backmost by the extremity and we could not fig retired however to triumph hockey games. ... No 1 talks astir america excessively much, truthful possibly it's bully that we spell backmost arsenic a small spot of an underdog team. Maybe we tin beryllium a surprise."

The content was the Golden Knights were going to triumph the Pacific Division past play portion being 1 of the teams that challenged for the Cup. The world is they missed the playoffs by 3 points and it led to the earliest offseason successful their abbreviated yet mostly palmy history.

It has since led to discussions astir the Golden Knights being strangers successful a unusual onshore erstwhile it comes to the Western Conference landscape. The Pacific appeared to go much hard considering the Edmonton Oilers are a morganatic Stanley Cup contender aft they reached the league finals past season. Both the Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings, who besides made the playoffs retired of the Pacific, reinforced their rosters successful the offseason. The Vancouver Canucks were 5 points shy of the playoffs. But the advancement the Canucks made nether Bruce Boudreau creates the content they could astatine slightest situation for a wild-card berth.

Now adhd the Central Division to that equation. Five teams from the Central made it to the 2022 playoffs, including the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. It is imaginable those aforesaid 5 teams could instrumentality to the postseason. And portion the Winnipeg Jets indispensable reply questions of their own, they look to inactive person the unit needed to endanger for a playoff spot.

So wherever bash the Golden Knights acceptable into each of this? Or bash they adjacent acceptable successful astatine all?

"People emotion to hatred us," Stone said. "People emotion to hatred this team. But erstwhile you spell to the Cup Final your archetypal year. I mean, I was successful Ottawa. I didn't emotion seeing a first-year squad going to the Cup Final! But present that I americium connected this team, I recognize wherefore they went to the Cup Final. We've had occurrence and that makes radical privation to spot america fail."

But doesn't this each look a spot bizarre? Being a Cup contender that missed the playoffs does make origin for immoderate concern. That is to beryllium expected. Yet to perceive immoderate talk, it sounds similar the Golden Knights are this squad astatine a proverbial crossroads erstwhile each they needed were the points from 2 victories to marque the playoffs.

They added Kessel connected the cheap. They hired a manager who won the Jack Adams Award wrong the past 3 seasons. They were besides flexible capable to commercialized for goalie Adin Hill truthful they could person different enactment upon learning Robin Lehner would miss the full regular season.

Exactly however bash players similar Stone grip each of this erstwhile they person been successful erstwhile situations that person been acold much dire?

"It is simply a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league and we didn't marque the playoffs past year," Stone said. "So radical are penning america off, and that's fine."

Nobody successful the Golden Knights' dressing country is ducking the information they missed the playoffs. But they are besides not hiding their optimism either. Veterans specified arsenic Marchessault and Stone are arrogant of the turnout they had for captain's skates earlier the squad broke for camp. Usually, they volition person astir 10 players who travel successful aboriginal anterior to the preseason.

This year, the Golden Knights had 20 players connected the crystal for those informal skates.

"It tells maine they similar each other, different they would not amusement up that early," Cassidy said. "Once you are typically backmost to wherever you are playing from your offseason home, you are with the guys. ... You are astatine the gym with the guys, astatine the rink with the guys and astir apt socializing with the guys. It tells maine they are a tight-knit radical that wants to settee successful and focus."

Cassidy maintained passim campy that the lineups were taxable to change. But helium has kept Eichel with Kessel connected a enactment that besides has Reilly Smith. Chandler Stephenson is anchoring a enactment that has Marchessault and Stone connected the wings. William Karlsson is the centerpiece of the 3rd line, portion homegrown players specified arsenic Paul Cotter support adding to the content the Golden Knights could person much bottom-six guardant extent than astir realize.

Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore are each back. So is Zach Whitecloud. Nicolas Hague remains connected injured reserve. But determination is extent successful the signifier of Ben Hutton and others they tin telephone up from the AHL. And akin to the concern with Cotter, determination are homegrown talents the Golden Knights judge they tin spot erstwhile called upon.

"I deliberation determination are astir apt a batch of teams successful the NHL that look astir the country and they person a batch of extent and a batch of bully players and a batch of bully pieces," Eichel said. "They consciousness similar they tin beryllium competitory each year, but it's astir however you enactment it together. It's astir however your squad jells. You gotta enactment healthy. It's important to bash that. Obviously, arsenic we recovered retired past year. You request a batch of bully things to spell your way."

Like, say, possibly goaltending?

The concern surrounding Laurent Brossoit, Michael Hutchinson, Logan Thompson and Hill comes with its ain acceptable of questions. Brossoit is inactive recovering from offseason hep country with the thought helium could instrumentality astatine a aboriginal date. Golden Knights wide manager Kelly McCrimmon precocious said the squad volition transportation 3 goaltenders to commencement the regular season.

"I'd accidental [goaltending] and the powerfulness play are what radical are talking astir here," Cassidy said. "But the goaltenders and however we person handled it? We've discussed it with each of them who are here, including LB, who's hurt: 'This is astir apt the champion accidental you are going to person to beryllium a No. 1 goaltender successful the National Hockey League.'"

Cassidy explained to the radical the Golden Knights did not suffer Lehner and regenerate him with idiosyncratic who has antecedently been a No. 1 elsewhere. They person told each 4 goaltenders that determination is simply a contention and that they are the ones who volition find what happens next.

Does 1 of them look arsenic the outright No. 1? Or could Cassidy beryllium inclined to usage a tandem approach? The mode Cassidy views it, that each depends connected however his goaltenders respond to what is successful beforehand of them.

"I don't deliberation it's the contented everyone makes it retired to be, but I recognize why," Cassidy said. "When you are not playing, however bash you look astatine a team? You look astatine them connected insubstantial due to the fact that you cannot look astatine them immoderate different way. But games are not won connected paper."

So far, the Golden Knights person started the play 4-2. Thompson has started 4 games and Hill two. It's a tandem that has stopped 92.9% of combined shots faced portion posting a corporate 2.17 goals-against average.

Eichel has 7 points -- 3 goals and 4 assists -- portion Kessel has conscionable 1 assist. Stone has a extremity and 4 assists to commencement the play portion playing the benignant of relentless hockey that has made him a Selke campaigner successful caller years.

Again, it each goes backmost to perspective.

Those who are optimistic volition constituent retired however it is simply a amended commencement than past season, erstwhile the Golden Knights mislaid 4 of their archetypal 5 games. That aforesaid assemblage volition accidental winning 3 consecutive games astatine the commencement of past play could person made a quality successful the combat to scope the postseason lone to miss out.

Skeptics volition antagonistic by saying a team's individuality is thing that could beryllium determined by American Thanksgiving astatine the earliest. That has go the de facto demarcation constituent for teams that are either playoff-bound oregon reasoning astir the draft. That radical volition besides accidental portion the 4 wins are nice, 2 of them person travel against a imaginable lottery challenger successful the Chicago Blackhawks and the Seattle Kraken, a squad that was successful the lottery past season.

But for now? Anything seems possible.

"Guys are connected the aforesaid page, and everyone understands what our extremity is and what it's going to instrumentality to get determination and the benignant of committedness and buy-in that we need," Eichel said. "For us, it is important to instrumentality unneurotic arsenic a group, proceed to jell, travel together, and past erstwhile it comes clip to bash it connected the ice, you person to out-compete who you're playing against. I deliberation that we are a assured radical and we tin triumph immoderate hockey crippled [on] immoderate night."