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Las vigas. “In six years we will be Stanley Cup champions,” declared owner Bill Foley, as the Vegas Golden Knights entered the best hockey league in the world.
Last night this prediction came true.
It is nothing short of the most amazing true story in NHL history.
Much has been said of the fairy tales of the Stanley Cup playoffs that, after two months of hellish strife, came to a close at T-Mobile Arena on the Strip in Las Vegas last night — but then it was primarily Florida. The Panthers’ unlikely journey to the final did as intended.
It was really something for the history books, and no one can take that away from them. They hurried to the playoffs in the final rounds of the regular season, overturned a 1-3 deficit against the Boston Bruins in the first round, then lost heavyweight after heavyweight in the most stunning manner.
The Cats ran out of fuel.
But in the end they have little fuel left – and many broken core players. Here driver Matthew Tkachuk – the one who decided on more dramas than anyone could count – missed the final due to something terrible like a broken sternum and after the final whistle in this last dance, it turns out that the Finnish game industry genius Alexander Barkov also played the entire final. with a broken foot.
With those superstars out of contention, the finale has become a “mission impossible” even for the Cats who seem to have fate on their side.
Instead, in the end, it was Vegas who completed the Cinderella saga.
He kept his word
Many laughed that night when Bill Foley—the billionaire who, against all odds, succeeded in creating an NHL team in the middle of the Nevada desert—determined that his Golden Knights would conquer the legendary Hump faster than any other expansion team in history.
“A Stanley Cup champion in six years…or, like,” We laughed.
But the Knights shocked the general public by going to the Finals already in their first season and with tonight’s 9-3 strike at T-Mobile Arena, Foley’s prophecy came true as well.
How does that happen?
Well, he had an exceptionally talented staff who first built a reliable core of players – including Swede William Carlsson – and then complemented them with just the right kind of base. and broad theatrics, many of which he brought to Sin City via daring and sometimes controversial lines.
In this playoff game, new coach Bruce Cassidy was a good deal, and he was able to put an absolutely perfect team on the ice, a team that everyone contributed to in so many ways.
It is worth noting that those who had the honor of voting for the Conn Smythe Award – the playoff’s most valuable prize – had great difficulty agreeing on a favorite. I had eventual winner Jonathan Marchesault at first, Jacques Eichel second and unexpected goalkeeping sensation Aden Hill at third, but I would have preferred to include captain Mark Stone – who completed a hat-trick in the last final – and reserve. Alex Pietrangelo and Swede William Carlsson.
Historical Swedish
That he, the “Wild Bill” of the night, become the 43rd Swede in history to raise the Holy Grail of hockey above his head, with his happy son Beckham watching, is pretty remarkable.
On the one hand, the 30-year-old from Marsta is an extraordinarily friendly and down-to-earth personality, and on the other hand, as I said, he belongs to those first-timers to Vegas, displaced by his former team.
Now he can call himself the champion of the Stanley Cup.
It’s almost like a fairy tale…
15Photo: John Locher/AP