Here at SinBin.vegas we are well aware that the Golden Knights aren’t going to be hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018. We are even pretty sure they aren’t going to the playoffs. But because we don’t always want to be the bearers of bad news, we figured we would let someone else do it today.
The Hockey News’ Sam McCaig wrote an article predicting the 15 teams that won’t make the playoffs in 2017-18. Not surprisingly, the Golden Knights were in this group, but McCaig was even willing to go one step further.
Here are the 15 teams that are (much) more likely to win the draft lottery than the league title:
1. Vegas Golden Knights
The very first team out of the playoff picture, and the first team (much) more likely to win the lottery than the Cup.
Vegas loves a long shot, but the expansion Golden Knights will be wandering around the desert for at least a few years before they can contemplate the possibility of the post-season. -Sam McCaig, The Hockey News
Because we are a hybrid news/fan/bad jokes site, we’re obligated to call this is a DESPICABLE piece of literature and can’t believe someone would even begin to say anything other than “best expansion team ever.” However…
Nothing McCaig said is wrong, or even really all that close to being wrong. In fact, he’s kind of, dare I say… right. And actually, there’s a lot more chin scratching stuff in the articles trying to apologize for the Golden Knights than the ones saying it like it is. Compare this…
Their No. 1 center (Vadim Shipachyov) is a 30-year-old who has never played in the NHL, their next-best forwards are Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal and David Perron , and then it falls off pretty quickly after that. -McCaig
To this…
Can they be the best expansion team ever? It’s quite possible. The NHL added nine franchises between 1991 and 2001, and no team did better than the Florida Panthers, who went 33-34-17 and racked up an expansion team-record 83 points in the 1993-94 season. -Associated Press
Lack of NHL experience, lack of offensive firepower/talent, questioning Vadim Shipachyov’s transition, and pointing out the limited amount of point-producers after Marchessault, Neal and Perron. All that makes a lot more sense than “the Panthers were pretty good that one time.”
I know it’s a tough pill to swallow sometimes, and there’s no shame in reading this and wanting to throw a brick through Ken’s window. (It’s clearly his fault, not mine) But failing to make the postseason doesn’t mean a step in the wrong direction towards the growth of the Golden Knights.
Playoffs in three, Cup in six. Playoffs in three, Cup in six.
Just keep saying that, and hold your anger for better things, like #CoxBlocked.
RJ
I don’t know how anyone could be mad about this article. We appear to be the worst team in the NHL, and this guy wrote it down. We were always going to be pretty bad, at best we might have been in the 90pt area. The roster they put together is NOT that 90pt roster.
Foley and McPhee clearly decided that the top lottery odds are preferred to being entertaining on the ice. If (when) Neal, Perron, Marchessault, and other solid experienced players are traded away long before we are eliminated from playoff contention we’ll know for sure that they are committed to losing as many games as possible this season. Gallant will do his best, but Foley and McPhee will be rooting for the other team every night.
It seems to me like we are the worst team NHL on purpose, so this article alternately could be written as ‘nice work to McPhee on putting together this obvious tank job’. If you are among the many many Vegas Golden Knights ‘fans’ who hope we finish dead last this should be great news.
I’m 100% in on the 3/6 promise. Every move they make, every decision, every press release is going to be judged against the 3/6 plan. Does this move get us closer to playoffs in 2020 and Cup in 2023? Or does it get us farther away from the stated 3/6 promise?
Jeff
Playoffs year 1 with first round knockout.
Worst team in the league season 2
Just miss the playoffs season 3
Season 4 we start to become a dynasty,
PhiSig150
Why do you quotation marks around me ‘RJ’? That hurts. Need for Swede. Take On!
James
@RJ
‘It seems to me like we are the worst team NHL on purpose, so this article alternately could be written as ‘nice work to McPhee on putting together this obvious tank job’. If you are among the many many Vegas Golden Knights ‘fans’ who hope we finish dead last this should be great news.’
It is worth noting that the Colorado Avalanche ended up picking fourth … Tanking made more sense when you were guaranteed a top two pick – The Buffalo Sabres were guaranteed Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in a no-lose situation. The latest longer odd are a way to discourage tanking.
I don’t think that McPhee is going out of his way to finish dead last. He could have built a worse team. But on the other hand, he’s not going out of his way to make a playoff push. We could have signed Kevin Shattenkirk in free agency to quarterback the power play.
I’m rooting for the team to win, and let the chips fall where they may.
I’m quietly confident that the team will finish in the lottery … Maybe with the best odds of getting Rasmus Dahlin