One of the few expansion franchises to experience immediate success, the Golden Knights qualified for the
Stanley Cup playoffs in their first four seasons and reached the
Stanley Cup Finals in their first season. Their 13 playoff wins en route to the
2018 Stanley Cup Finals are the most for a team during their inaugural postseason run.[8] In
2023, the club returned to the Stanley Cup Finals and won their first Stanley Cup championship, defeating the
Florida Panthers in five games.
Rumors of a Las Vegas expansion team surfaced again in August 2014, pointing to a
new indoor arena on the Strip (built as a joint venture between
Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the
Los Angeles Kings, and
MGM Resorts International) as the potential home arena,[11] although these rumors were denied by the league.[12][13][14] In November 2014, an unconfirmed report stated that the league had selected billionaire businessman
Bill Foley and the
Maloof family (former owners of the
National Basketball Association's
Sacramento Kings, and founders of the
Palms Casino Resort) to lead the ownership group for a Las Vegas expansion team.[15][16] In December 2014, the NHL's board of governors decided to allow Foley to hold a season ticket drive to gauge interest in a Las Vegas team, though league commissioner
Gary Bettman also asked the media not to "make more out of this than it is".[17][18] The season ticket drive began in February 2015, with interested parties placing ten percent deposits for the 2016–17 season.[19] The drive drew 5,000 deposits in its first day and a half, and reached its goal of 10,000 deposits by April 2015.[19][20]
In June 2015, the league officially opened the window for prospective owners to bid on expansion teams.[21] By this point, Foley had secured more than 13,200 season-ticket deposits.[22] Two expansion applications were submitted: Foley's application for a Las Vegas team, and a bid from
Quebecor to revive the
Quebec Nordiques at a
new arena in
Quebec City.[22] Both Las Vegas and Quebec were invited to move into Phase II of the league expansion bid in August 2015, which involved providing additional details about the Las Vegas market to the league.[23] Later in the same month, both bids proceeded to Phase III, which involved a review of ownership financials.[24]
At the league owners' meeting on June 22, 2016, in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas expansion bid was approved by a unanimous vote, with play to begin in the
2017–18 NHL season.[25][26] The team became the first
major professional sports franchise to be
based in Las Vegas, and the first NHL expansion team since
2000.[27] Foley committed to pay the league's $500 million expansion fee[28] and began the process of hiring the team's principal staff and determining its official identity. Foley announced that former
Washington Capitals general manager
George McPhee would be the franchise's first general manager.[29] On November 22, 2016, the name was revealed as the Vegas Golden Knights.[30]
Start of operations and the inaugural season (2017–2018)
On March 1, 2017, the team completed its expansion fee payments and filings, making it eligible to formally begin operations such as free agent acquisition, and participation in league meetings.[31] Five days later, the Golden Knights made their first personnel move by signing
Reid Duke to a three-year entry-level contract.[32][33]
The team participated in the
2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 21, 2017, selecting an available player from all 30 teams in the NHL. The draft picks were announced at T-Mobile Arena during the
NHL Awards ceremony. Some notable selections included goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury from the
Pittsburgh Penguins and winger
James Neal from the
Nashville Predators.[37][38] At the
2017 NHL Entry Draft,
Cody Glass was the first player selected by the Golden Knights.[39] The Golden Knights played their first game on October 6 against the
Dallas Stars with Neal scoring the franchise's first two goals en route to their first victory.[40]
The team's inaugural home game at
T-Mobile Arena was played on October 10, 2017, hosting the
Arizona Coyotes as the second game of a home-and-home series. In the aftermath of the
October 1 mass shooting, the pre-game ceremonies honored the victims of the attack, and the team issued an appeal for donations to its charitable arm.[41] With their 5–2 win, the Golden Knights increased their unbeaten streak to start the season to 3–0, an NHL record for an expansion team.[42][43][44] The Golden Knights are the first team in NHL history to start their inaugural season winning eight of their first nine games.[45] During their tenth game, goaltender
Oscar Dansk was injured becoming the third Golden Knights' goaltender to be injured during the season after losing starters Fleury and the recently acquired
Malcolm Subban, forcing the team to start a fourth goaltender in 11 games with
Maxime Lagace.[46] Fifteen games into the season,
Vadim Shipachyov became the first player to retire from the NHL as a Golden Knight when he decided to return to the
Kontinental Hockey League.[47] In December, the Golden Knights set another NHL expansion team record of six straight wins, a record they previously missed when they lost their tenth game of the season, and established a new NHL record with eight straight wins.[48][49][50] On February 1, 2018, the Golden Knights set the expansion team record for wins in a debut season with 34 wins after only 50 games,[51] and then on February 21, 2018, set a record for most points by an expansion team in the inaugural season with 84.[52] Clinching a berth for the
2018 playoffs on March 26, the Golden Knights became the first team since the
Edmonton Oilers and
Hartford Whalers in the
1979–80 season to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league.[53] On March 31, the Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title, becoming the first true expansion team in the
four major sports to win its division in its inaugural season (not counting all-expansion divisions, as was the case in the
1967–68 season).[54] Vegas' inaugural season was widely considered the most successful of any North American expansion team,[55][56][57] with much attention given to the breakout seasons of their expansion draft selections,[58] dubbed the "Golden Misfits."[59]
On April 11, the franchise won its first playoff game in a
1–0 victory over the
Los Angeles Kings in the first game of the series.[60] Six days later on April 17, the franchise earned their first playoff series win against the Kings, winning the fourth game by a 1–0 score, which also became their first playoff series sweep. The Golden Knights became the first team in NHL history to sweep their first playoff series in their inaugural season.[61] On May 6, 2018, the Golden Knights defeated the
San Jose Sharks four-games-to-two, becoming the third team in NHL history to win multiple playoff series in their inaugural season, and advanced to the Western Conference finals.[62] On May 20, Vegas defeated the
Winnipeg Jets to win the Western Conference finals in five games, becoming the third NHL team to advance to the
Stanley Cup Finals in its inaugural season, after the
Toronto Arenas in
1918 and the
St. Louis Blues in
1968.[63] The Golden Knights were defeated in the Stanley Cup Finals by the
Washington Capitals in five games;[64] despite this loss, the team won 13 postseason games that year, breaking the record for the most wins by an expansion team in their first playoff appearance.[8]
Continued contention and first Stanley Cup championship (2018–present)
In May 2019, Vegas modified their front-office staff, with the promotions of
George McPhee from general manager to president of hockey operations and assistant general manager
Kelly McCrimmon to general manager.[73] During the remainder of the off-season and
2019–20 season, the Golden Knights' roster experienced considerable turnover. In June, original Golden Knights
Erik Haula and
Colin Miller were traded to the
Carolina Hurricanes and
Buffalo Sabres,[74][75] respectively, with recently-signed
KHL standout
Nikita Gusev also sent to the
New Jersey Devils.[76] The team additionally acquired center
Chandler Stephenson from the
Washington Capitals in early December 2019.[77] After an up-and-down start resulting in a 24–19–6 record and capped by a four-game losing streak, the team fired head coach Gallant, replacing him with recently-fired former Sharks head coach
Peter DeBoer on January 15, 2020.[78] During the following month in the lead-up to the trade deadline, Vegas further acquired defenseman
Alec Martinez from the
Los Angeles Kings,[79] forward
Nick Cousins from Montreal,[80] and goaltender
Robin Lehner from the
Chicago Blackhawks,[80] as well as trading original Golden Knights
Cody Eakin and
Malcolm Subban to the
Winnipeg Jets and Chicago.[81][80] Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL regular season was suspended on March 12, 2020,[82] and officially concluded on May 26;[83] Vegas, holding the 3rd-best points percentage in the Western Conference, automatically qualified for the
restructured playoffs, playing in a round-robin to determine the top four seeds in the Western playoff bracket.[83] After sweeping the round-robin round over the
Dallas Stars,
St. Louis Blues, and
Colorado Avalanche, Vegas earned the first seed,[84] proceeding to defeat Chicago in the first round in five games.[85] In the second round, Vegas defeated the
Vancouver Canucks in seven games, despite once again having previously led the series 3–1.[86] Their playoff run would end in the Western Conference Finals, however, as the Golden Knights lost to Dallas in five games.[87]
Prior to the shortened
2020–21 season,
Mark Stone was named the first
captain in franchise history.[88] Additionally, alternate captain and team leader
Deryk Engelland retired, stepping into a front-office role with the team.[89] The Golden Knights further overhauled the roster in the off-season, notably signing defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year contract,[90] as well as trading
Paul Stastny to Winnipeg and original Golden Knight
Nate Schmidt to Vancouver.[91][92] The shortened schedule saw a temporary realignment where teams only played against their own division in the regular season, with Vegas being placed in a new eight-team
West Division.[93] The Golden Knights ultimately finished second in both the division and league; despite being tied in points with the
Colorado Avalanche, the Avalanche had five more regulation wins than Vegas.[94] In first round of
the playoffs, Vegas was forced to a game seven for the third consecutive year after leading 3–1, but defeated the
Minnesota Wild thanks in part to a hat trick from trade-deadline acquisition
Mattias Janmark.[95][96] In the second round, the Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche in six games despite initially going down 2–0;[97] however, Vegas' playoff run would again end one round short of the Stanley Cup Finals, as the Golden Knights were then upset by the
Montreal Canadiens in six games in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.[98] Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury was named the winner of the
Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender at season's end, with he and Lehner also sharing a
William M. Jennings Trophy win for allowing the fewest goals against of any team.[99]
During the 2022 off-season, Vegas fired head coach DeBoer,[115] replacing him with former
Boston Bruins head coach
Bruce Cassidy one month later.[116]
Adin Hill (left) and
Laurent Brossoit (right) during games against the
Seattle Kraken in October 2022 and April 2023, respectively. The two would combine to start all 22 of Vegas' 2023 playoff games, with Brossoit starting the first eight and Hill the final 14, including the entire
2023 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Golden Knights began the
2022–23 season leading the Pacific Division, losing just two games during the month of October, and holding a 17–6–1 record at the end of November.[124] However, the team slowed down afterwards, posting a combined 12–12–3 record through December and January, including a 1–5–2 slump in the eight games prior to the
All-Star break.[125] The Golden Knights recovered after the break, however; despite a variety of injuries sidelining Thompson, Hill, and a returning Brossoit for varying periods,[126] the Golden Knights went on a tear through the final three months of the season, finishing out 22–4–5.[127][128] In addition, the team acquired forwards
Ivan Barbashev and
Teddy Blueger at the trade deadline for scoring depth,[129][130] as well as longtime
Los Angeles Kings goaltender
Jonathan Quick to address the multitude of goaltender injuries.[131] During this period, the Golden Knights also became the first team to win four consecutive games with four different starting goaltenders,[126] as rookie
Jiri Patera became the fifth goaltender to start for Vegas during the season.[132] After clinching a playoff berth on March 30, 2023,[133] Vegas defeated the
Seattle Kraken in their final regular season game on April 13, narrowly beating out the
Edmonton Oilers for both the Pacific Division championship and first seed in the Western Conference.[134]
In
the playoffs, the Golden Knights faced off against the
Winnipeg Jets in the first round, in a rematch of the
2018 Western Conference Final; after a 5–1 loss in game 1,[135] the Golden Knights won four straight to win the series in five games.[136] Proceeding to the second round, Vegas defeated the division rival Oilers in six games,[137] despite an injury to Brossoit in game 3 necessitating Hill taking over as goaltender.[138] The Western Conference Final saw a rematch of the
2020 series, as the Golden Knights faced the
Dallas Stars once again; avenging their prior loss, Vegas won the series and their second Western Conference championship in six games,[139] despite Dallas forcing two additional games after Vegas led the series 3–0.[140] The Golden Knights ultimately faced the
Florida Panthers in the
Stanley Cup Finals.[139] Vegas won the Finals in five games, including a dominant 9–3 victory in game 5, to win their first
Stanley Cup championship,[141] as well as Las Vegas' first championship in any of the "
big 4" North American sports leagues.[142]Jonathan Marchessault, who led the team in playoff goals, would win the
Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs.[143] Additionally, the Golden Knights fulfilled the prediction of owner Bill Foley, who had previously stated the franchise's goals were "playoffs in three, cup in six," with the 2022–23 season being the franchise's sixth.[144] The Knights became the youngest team to win the Stanley Cup since the NHL's first major expansion in
1967, beating the previous record set by the
Philadelphia Flyers, who won the Cup in
1974, their seventh season.[145]
Team identity
Logos, colors, and uniforms
The team's primary logo is a
barbute helmet, superimposed on a black and gold shield, with a V-shaped opening.[146][147] The secondary logo is two crossing swords behind a red star, designed to resemble the star found on the landmark
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.[147]
The team's primary color is
steel gray, which is said to represent "strength and durability".[1][147] The other team colors are
gold,
red (found in the Las Vegas skyline and at
Red Rock Canyon), and
black (for "power and intensity").[1]
The first uniforms in Golden Knights team history were unveiled publicly on June 20, 2017. Home uniforms are steel gray with black, gold and red stripes, while road uniforms are white with steel gray, gold and red stripes. Shoulders feature the alternate swords logo.[148] On October 2, 2020, the Golden Knights introduced a gold alternate uniform, essentially a palette swap of the road uniforms with gold and white switching places.[149] On February 11, 2021, the Golden Knights debuted shiny gold helmets as an alternate to their home gray helmets.[150] Starting with the 2022–23 season, the gold uniforms became the primary, while the gray uniforms became the alternate.[151]
The Golden Knights also released a special "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform. Because the Golden Knights did not have a long NHL history to draw from, their retro design was inspired in part by
Manon Rhéaume, the first female NHL player, who played for the now-defunct
International Hockey League's
Las Vegas Thunder. The uniform employs a red base and features the "crossing swords" logo in front.[152] Their second "Reverse Retro" uniform was a faux-back design from 1995, featuring a black base and a diagonal "VEGAS" wordmark inspired by various vintage hotels in the strip. The wordmark also has a glow-in-the-dark feature when shown in a dark background.[153]
For the
2024 NHL Winter Classic, the Golden Knights wore faux-back 1917 vintage white uniforms with heritage gold stripes, gray pants and helmets. The crest is a stylized gray "V" with petal accents and gold trim.[154] Prior to its official unveiling on November 22, 2023, the uniform was accidentally leaked to the public four days earlier during an
All Elite Wrestling event, with AEW host
Renee Paquette wearing the uniform during the
Full Gear pay-per-view.[155]
Name
The team's name includes "Knights" as a homage to the
Black Knights of the
United States Military Academy, Foley's alma mater, and because
knights were, according to Foley, "the epitome of the warrior class".[146][156] Foley had hoped to name his team the Black Knights, but dropped that plan after encountering resistance from federal officials. Foley was unable to call the team the "Vegas Knights" because the
London Knights owned the "Knights" name in Canada.[156][157][158]
"Golden" was included in the name because
gold is, as Foley stated, the "No. 1 precious metal", and because Nevada is the
largest gold-producing state in the country.[147][156] "Las" was omitted from the team's name because, according to Foley, residents tend to refer to the city simply as "Vegas", and because a four-word name would have been too long.[147][2]
The Golden Knights'
mascot is a
Gila monster named Chance. He was unveiled at the team's second home game on October 13, 2017.[163][164] The team opted against using a knight for a mascot because it found that knight mascots used by other teams were not very child-friendly.[165] However, the team's pre-game show often includes a skating knight.[166]
The Golden Knights' designated television market includes Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of Arizona and California. In May 2023, amid plans by
Warner Bros. Discovery to exit the RSN business, the Golden Knights announced an agreement with the
E.W. Scripps Company and its newly-established Scripps Sports division, under a multi-year deal beginning in the
2023–24 NHL season. Scripps'
Laughlin station
KMCC will serve as
flagship station of the Golden Knights' television network. KMCC is a sister station to Las Vegas ABC affiliate
KTNV-TV, which may also air selected Golden Knights games by virtue of the NHL's broadcast television rights with
ABC, and has previously aired simulcasts of Golden Knights preseason games with ATTSN.[167][168] The Golden Knights also launched an in-market streaming service, KnightTime+, to carry the games. The service costs $69.99 a season or $6.99 a game.[169]
Outside of Las Vegas, the Golden Knights' regional television network includes other Scripps stations, outside one station in Reno;[169]
One game a week is also aired on
KENO 1460, a Spanish-language sports radio station, making the team one of only three in the NHL to offer Spanish-language broadcasts.[178]
Minor league affiliate
On May 16, 2017, the Golden Knights entered a multi-year affiliation agreement with a
minor league team, the
Chicago Wolves of the
American Hockey League. Like most NHL–AHL affiliation arrangements, the Golden Knights were able to transfer players to and from the Wolves.[35] Although the Wolves were the Golden Knights affiliate, the two teams do not share the same ownership. In addition to the Wolves, the Golden Knights were affiliated with the
Quad City Mallards of the
ECHL for the
2017–18 season,[36] however, the Mallards ceased operations after the one season.[179]
On August 21, 2018, the Golden Knights entered a one-year affiliation agreement with the
Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL for the
2018–19 season.[180]
On February 6, 2020,
Spurs Sports & Entertainment announced the sale of the
San Antonio Rampage franchise to the Golden Knights organization. It was later announced on February 28, that the Rampage franchise was approved to relocate to the Henderson/Las Vegas area by the AHL. On May 28, the name of the relocated franchise was revealed to be the
Henderson Silver Knights, mimicking the logo style and aura of their parent club. The shield-shaped logo features a silver-colored
Destrier, with eyes that are the same color gold used in the logo for the Golden Knights.[181] The Silver Knights began play in the 2020–21 season at
Orleans Arena, while
Dollar Loan Center was under construction.[182]
On May 19, 2022, the Golden Knights announced a one-year affiliation agreement with the expansion
Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL, through the
2022–23 season.[183]
Season-by-season record
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Golden Knights. For the full season-by-season history, see
List of Vegas Golden Knights seasons.
GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
The team is also not able to issue the jersey number 99 to any of its players as it was retired league-wide in honor of
Wayne Gretzky at the
2000 NHL All-Star Game.[191]
^
abc"Introducing the Vegas Golden Knights". VegasGoldenKnights.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. November 22, 2016.
Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2016. The team's colors – steel grey, gold, red and black – reflect the community and the focus of the team:...
^Dubow, Josh (May 7, 2018).
"Vegas Golden Knights cash Round 3 ticket". Toronto Star.
Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018. Vegas become just the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season.
^Emerson, Justin (December 22, 2020).
"Golden Knights leader Deryk Engelland retires from hockey".
Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 23, 2023. One of the original Golden Knights, the unofficial captain of the team's miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final and a Las Vegas local has called it a career.
^Gotz, Ben (June 17, 2023).
"Family affair: Knights celebrate Cup with kids, parents, loved ones". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 28, 2023. The fathers' trip after the All-Star break was one of the turning points of the season. The Knights' 2-0 swing to Minnesota and Nashville kicked off a 22-4-5 closing stretch that earned the team the top seed in the Western Conference.