Since January 1st, the Golden Knights were statistically one of the worst teams in the NHL. Over the last four months, Vegas finished in the bottom ten in; Wins, Regulation Wins, Goals For, Goals Per Game, 5-on-5 Shooting Percentage, Losses When Outshooting Opponents, Wins When Outshooting Opponents, Goals Scored in 1st Period, Goals Scored in 2nd Period, Power Play Percentage, Penalties Drawn, Hits, Shootout Win Percentage, and Wins When Trailing First.
Incredibly enough, they only finished a few points behind the final Wild Card spot.
We got to camp and we were never at full health. You’re tired of hearing it, I’m tired of talking about it for as much as we have but clearly it’s the overarching issue that dominated our season. -McCrimmon
The numbers not only show Vegas was a below-average team in the second half of the season but struggled in a myriad of offensive statistics. Leading the way was the Golden Knights’ now notorious inadequate power play. Yet the organization is looking beyond the numbers.
I have great faith in the coaching. I’m not absolving responsibility on us as coaches either. We’re going to look at everything and I think we showed that in what we did during the season. We changed responsibilities, we had different voices, different looks. We’re going to keep looking at this until we get it right and I’m confident we will. -Pete DeBoer
Of course, it was an unfortunate, injury-plaqued season but it’s fair to ask if coach Pete DeBoer and his assistants adjusted enough in the final four months. Did the staff design or tweak enough to help generate more offense in the first 40 minutes of games? Unfortunately, it felt like DeBoer stuck with having “great faith” in what most would consider status quo.
This year’s been even more trying obviously just because we saw the potential of what we thought we were capable of doing. I didn’t feel we ever had the opportunity to really get that and build on that. That’s the frustrating part. That’s hockey. Sometimes those are the cards you’re dealt. -DeBoer
From the period of February 1st to April 1st, Vegas was 25th in scoring per game. The Golden averaged 2.84 goals per game while allowing 2.92 goals per game. It was a forgettable stretch garnering only 25 points in 25 games. Considering the Golden Knights’ are blessed with deep resources, someone in the organization had to foresee the slow descent to postseason exile.
Back to the power play. In plain terms, it failed again under DeBoer and his coaches. Let’s be honest, the lack of creativity and success is on the coaching staff.
VGK PP Since January 1st (Rank)
0.46 PP Goals Per Game (27th)
22 PP Goals Scored (29th)
17.7% PP % (25th)
21 5-on-4 Goals For (28th)
Dating back to the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs Vegas’ power play has been painfully ineffective. Offensive special teams have not only cost them games it may have cost them a series or two. In 19 games against the Wild, Avalanche, and Canadiens, the Golden Knights had the lowest PP% of any postseason team. The Colorado Avalanche had triple the amount of power play goals in nine fewer games. To compare numbers with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored 21 power play goals in 20 games, Vegas got four in 19.
After failing to fix the power play again, it’s quite concerning to hear DeBoer say he has great faith in coaching.
I’d love the opportunity to have a chance to work with a healthy group here and see what we can accomplish. But that’s for other people to decide. At the end of a season, there’s an evaluation of everybody, and decisions are made. You’re either part of the problem or you’re part of the solution. We’ll see what those results come out as. -DeBoer
DeBoer is considered a detailed coach. However, it felt like a lack of details hurt Vegas at times. Consistently struggling to score on special teams and in the 1st or 2nd periods hints at a lack of adjustment and correction. The harsh reality is that the team failed and DeBoer’s boss never confidently confirmed if the coach would 100% be back for the 2022-23 season. Kelly McCrimmon said in his exit press conference that he would sit down with his coach this week but never tipped his hand.
The disappointing play since January 1st down should be judged by management but then again injuries will eat most of the blame.
Richie-Rich
Gallant was fired for much less, in my humble opinion, injuries not withstanding. The offensive coaching problems have been an issue for a long long time going back to when PDB was initially hired. That’s when the offensive decline began. The idea that injuries is to blame is an excuse that isn’t playing well with this fan.
Keeping PDB and his staff for another season is going to be another year of frustration. Worse, it will be another year before a better coach can be brought in to start on fixing the problems.
Beyond that, I find it even more frustrating that KM will likely also keep his job. That means the shitty way this management team treats players, overpays talent, and screws up the goaltending will continue into next year as well.
Just sitting here waiting to see what happens. Clean house and the next season just might be something to look forward to. Maintaining the status quo will be more of the same.
No thank you.
Semon
Amen…totally agree
DMR
Totally agree! If no changes are made (except with the players as the team will have to comply with the salary cap again) expect another year of futility.
VGK Fan
“Offensive special teams have not only cost them games it may have cost them a series or two. In 19 games against the Wild, Avalanche, and Canadiens, the Golden Knights had the lowest PP% of any postseason team. The Colorado Avalanche had triple the amount of power play goals in nine fewer games. To compare numbers with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored 21 power play goals in 20 games, Vegas got four in 19.”
Jason your comments above which are facts really makes it look bad on all those individuals who wrongfully blamed the third winningest goalie of all time on last years playoffs. You can’t argue with the facts but 1 or 2 people will the haters.
Skip
They will run it back sans some regulars we’ve grown to love. But DeBoer and McCrimmon should walk each other through the exit if the results are poor come halfway through next season.
Richie-Rich
They panicked. They took a great roster and head coach that went to a Stanley Cup FINAL and have completely dismantled it in several years.
What isn’t taken into account is the fact that it takes 16 wins in the playoffs to win a cup. The year 1 team had 13 in the bank when they were finally eliminated by the CAPS.
You don’t take a winning team like that and dismantle it the way they did.
Just think, if they had stabilized that roster and maybe had enough CAP space to bring in Eichel last year? No, they didn’t tweak the roster they threw the success out with the bath water for a statistical paper tiger team that has not produced.
Foley needs to fire KM and The Clown.
TS
RR, ABSOLUTELY! We damn well nearly won the CUP year one! So, instead of PERFECTING our Misfit team of winners, MGMT decided to totally DESTROY the team, trading most all away! WHO DOES THAT??? Hell, maybe there’s a TRAITOR in the Organization, sent by the Sharks, to screw the Knights!! And he did a pretty good job of it! ( OK, just a little crazy talk, but…WHO DOES THIS TO A WINNING CUP CONTENDER??)
Richie-Rich
MAC IDIOT.
Mk
McCRIMINAL!!
mulligan
Occasionally could we have an article or podcast of the glass half full. I know that you have many followers, many experienced hockey fans but also some novice hockey fans. Constantly knocking the franchise is not helping anyone become a bigger VGK fan. These players and this franchise do many positive things on and off of the ice. I would like to see some from both sides, both good and bad.
hdbiker7851
If I heard it correctly PDB has a contract for next year as far as he ias concerned from the press conference. Keeping KM is even a bigger mistake than keeping PDB
JD
Man these comments really crack me up..
A general manager who has put together a team you could argue is the best roster on paper in the entire NHL and a coach who never had a chance to coach said roster due to injuries… and people are really calling for one of them if not both to be fired? LOL
Granted yes, they should have made the playoffs, but with the lack of continuity and playing nowhere near our peak it’ll be a blessing in disguise not making the playoffs this year to light them on fire come training camp next season.
THE hockey GOD
JD wow
what courage to post that
meanwhile GM GM said this yesterday
Then when asked about it, he said “we don’t have a harmony or chemistry issue.”
which leads to lyrics of this song from the 70s.
‘ello, baby hello
Haven’t seen your face for a while
Have you quit doing time for me
Or are you still the same spoiled child
Hello, I said hello
Is this the only place you thought to go
Am I the only man you ever had
Or am I just the last surviving friend that you know
Harmony and me
We’re pretty good company
Looking for an island
In our boat upon the sea
Harmony, gee I really love you
And I want to love you forever
And dream of the never, never, never
leaving harmony
Hello, baby hello
Open up your heart and let your feelings flow
You’re not unlucky knowing me
Keeping the speed real slow
In any case I set my own pace
By stealing the show, say hello, hello
Harmony and me
We’re pretty good company
Looking for an island
In our boat upon the sea
Harmony, gee I really love you
And I want to love you forever
And dream of the never, never, never leaving harmony
Never leaving harmony.’
Bernie Taupin
Daryl
Being the best on paper means nothing in any sport! Yes VGK had a lot of injuries, but so did other teams. Other teams had major players out for extended periods of time and those teams still won. Even when this team was healthy, or even mostly healthy, nothing changed. The PP has been bad for years so you can’t blame that on injuries
JD
It’s like you can’t comprehend to the extent of injuries we had…
Obviously injuries hit every team one way or another.
But take out Colorado’s top 3 forwards, some depth players and 4 typical starting defenseman.
Their starting and back up goalies and then tell me they do any better than we did… lol
I’m disappointed we’re not playing in the playoffs but more than anything just frustrated that I never got to see that team on paper play even one single game healthy.
Daryl
The Pens were without Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Petterson, Blueger, Rust, ZAR, Zucker, and Jarry for extended periods of time. How did they fair this year? I used an actual team and not a what-if scenario that we don’t know how they would do.
And let’s not forget, all those players you mentioned would not be available to play if all healthy anyway as the team would have been way over Cap. You would lose at least 3 starters if all those you listed were healthy
JD
Philadelphia and Montreal are two teams that had some potential this year who weren’t even as crushed by injuries as bad as we were and look where they ended up in the standing.
JV
NHL top 5 teams, man-games lost to injury and health protocols
MTL 731- new NHL record by the way
ARI 627
PHI 585
VAN 578
BUF 555
https://mangameslost.com/nhl-2021-22-regular-season-man-games-lost-and-injury-metrics/
Galdom
But what about Pittsburgh. Darryl mentioned it and you just ignored it.
THE hockey GOD
@Galdom, pittsburg is way down on bottom, lower 1/3rd of list. Injuries were no impact on their performance because they didn’t have a significant number of man lost games.
Daryl
@thg….. yet ppl like you will continue talking about man hours lost even though some of those man hours included 3rd and 4th line players and more importantly, players that couldn’t even be on the ice due to salary cap restraints. Those games lost also include Eichel who was already out
THE hockey GOD
daryl not a single person sat this season, who was able to play, due to sal cap rules. Unlike last year, the team was able to play every game fully staffed.
Number of man games lost weighed heavily on organization lacking in substantial depth due to being in league a very short time. Unlike other teams who have been in league well over 40 years with well established depth.
Man games lost is a very important stat, all the teams above VGK were out of playoffs well before VGK.
Daryl
The ONLY reason VGK was able to play under the cap was because of the use of LITR
Hdbiker7851
JD – apparently you have taken over for optimistic PeteP. If l am wrong about the splash brothers and the team is successful l will be the first to say state l was wrong: however when they fail l also will.be the first to state l told you so
Injuries played a part in their issues but it wasn’t and is’nt their only problems and those problems start at the top – yes Foley part because of his playoff goal but not nearly to the extent the operation side which is splash brothers and PDB. There is deeper things more than what you recite.
DMR
The VGK are hardly the best team on paper. They should have made the playoffs, but they would not have won the Stanley Cup this year.
Galdom
That’s disappointing. So we didn’t win the team on paper cup? I guess I could stop celebrating now.
Howard
“A general manager who has put together a team you could argue is the best roster on paper in the entire NHL.”
Is this a serious post or some gag? A team lacking 3rd and 4th line depth.
Only an idiot would argue VGK had the best roster in The NHL.
Florida, Avs, Car, Tampa, Blues, Wild and more are deeper and better.
VGK in its lineup had/has only one 40 goal scorer ever – WK and that was a fluke. VGK never has/had a 100 point player ever.
You are insane to think VGK lineup is best in hockey and it’s not even arguable.
Frank
Paper is irrelevant. I would bet you a pretty penny that the first year team would beat the current roster (injury free) in a 7 game series. It takes heart, guts and identity to win a championship, something this year’s team lacked sadly.
Herby
This team will not make the playoffs next year neither if they are not learning from the mistakes that have been made this season and correcting at least a few of them.
Problems:
Top heavy
Eichel, Stone, Patches and Petro make 35.3 mio. on top of this they have 8 guys that make 5+ Millions which is another 41+ mio. This means 12 guys make almost 77 mio!! If we assume that they trade two 5+ mio. players they still end up with 67 mio. for 10 players. Leaving 25 mio for the remaining 13 players which is not enough to roll 4 lines and be a 4 line team as they used to be.
Possible solution: They need to trade either Eichel or Patches.
No prospects
They have close to no prospects in the lineup that can make the roster next season.
Possible solution: If they trade on of the expensive guys they need to get young prospects in return.
Special teams are not working
This is on the coaches. PP is not working for 3 seasons now and they did try to fix it with additional personel like Daddy and Eichel. Did not work.
Possible solution
Fire the coaches
Chemistry
The team has lost its chemisty. They sent too many glue guys away.
Possible solution:
Hard to fix. But less top heavy teams tend to have a better chemistry and chemistry comes with success on the ice.
Pistol Pete
Quite the bashing!
“a person who criticizes someone or something severely:
He’s a contributing editor, rock critic, and snarky celeb basher for a music magazine.”
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/basher
Galdom
Agree with the article and all of the comments. This team was a big bag of shit even as they got healthy.
Allen
Why fire Gallent and trade way player after player including vezina trophy winner Andre fleury He was the face of the franchise the inspiration the charismatic leader you simply don’t throw a player of that magnitude away Kelly McCrimmon did that inexcusable and he should be let go!
THE hockey GOD
@ allen face turned into farce
everyone knows it
back stabber
whinner
choke
farce of franchise, not a team player.
knights fan in minny
your the farce of sin bin hockey dunce great performance by fluery last night your hero lehner could not do that
THE hockey GOD
too bad he didn’t do that in the HABS game when he pulled billy buckner , in finals with the caps in which he let CAPS score at will or in that game with SJS when he lost it in last few minutes, moron.
Go stalk someone else you racist troll. And take your MAF love with you.
knights fan in minny
by the comments onthe different posts people are sick of your babble
knights fan in minny
are you angry at me hockey dunce
THE hockey GOD
only person babbling here is you
i have yet to see a single hockey comment when you harrass me
take your bull shit hate elsewhere
racist piece of shit
Daryl
We have your racist babble to contend with
Hockey dog
F km
Pistol Pete
Pacioretty/Eichel/Stone
Marchessault/Stephenson/Smith
Janmark/Howden/Amadio
Carrier/Roy/Kolesar
Pietrangelo/Hague
Theodore/Martinez
McNabb/Whitecloud
Lehner
Thompson
Coghlan
Patrick
Leschyshyn
Galdom
This lineup is not cap compliant. Your math is just as shitty as the front office math is. I could see why you love the Fo so much.
Galdom
Where is William Karlsson? Did you trade him? He has five more years on his contract at 5.9 million per year. What was your sales pitch to convince another team to trade for him?
Scored 43 goals half a decade ago. Has declined rapidly each and every single season since. Can now provide 12 to 14 goals and somewhat half decent defensively but not great. Prototypical third line centre but lacks physicality and has not thrown a body check since the Obama administration. He has five years left on his contract. The decline has been rapid in the past five years. Can you imagine how it will look in the next five years. I don’t see Filip Forsberg on your team so I guess you scrapped that idea. what exactly did you do to move Karlsson off the roster?
Galdom
FYI. DeBoer system did not make Karlsson shit offensively. Five straight years of decline. Guy gets set up for tap ins and can’t cash in.
Blitz
That bottom six isn’t winning any thing.
Galdom
The lineup is not cap compliant.
Pistol Pete
On Lehner it became clear listening to the Locker Cleanout audio that Lehner came back from the three week injury layoff still injured not 100%. He told DeBoer he was able to play and coaches esepecially with goalies let the player play if they say they are able. We can appreciate Robin’s enthusiasm but after coming back from injury he wanted to help the team win down the stretch but he should have faced the fact he was not 100% and could lose games on account of it. That surely happened vs. NJD. Lehner should have benched himself. Had he the VGK might have squeaked in.
THE hockey GOD
PP so much for Elliott’s Freakmans wide ranging conspiracy theory bull shit
trying to give the organization a black eye
VGK Fan
PP,
LOL you said ” Lehner should have benched himself.” Now that’s funny! Just an FYI its the coach’s job to pick the starting goalie. The problem is you can’t blame him for picking the wrong goalie to start because of your motto is coach and management are always right and should never be questioned.
Galdom
VGK Fan, you see how it works. ROTFL. If DeBoer picks the right goalie then he made the right choice if he picks the wrong goalie then it was the goalies fault for making him pick him.
Pistol Pete
I’ve been saying Stone is the single biggest piece of the failure this season. It’s just a no brainer they made the playoffs with a healthy Stone. Let’s just hope it’s not a career ending degenerative condition.
https://theathletic.com/3294310/2022/05/05/mark-stone-back-injury-vegas/?source=user_shared_article
THE hockey GOD
PP
having suffered through a back injury, they can take a very long time to heal. If ever. Sometimes longer than the short career span of a professional athlete.
I still remember what happened to johan franzen, and up .coming red wing star. He got a head injury and never , ever made it back. I know apples and oranges. But still it’s food for thought.
knights fan in minny
did you recover from your head injury yet its hard to tell
Obvious
Problem started day KM was hired. It’s been downhill ever since that day.
He screwed over gallant
He screwed over fleury ….. with PD pounding the table in favor of that one
And with those 2 things the culture evaporated and trust of management went out the window
Ken Boehlke
Note: Kelly McCrimmon was hired about 2 weeks after George McPhee. August of 2016.
Tim
You can argue who should be fired or not fired who should be traded or not traded but one thing you can’t argue is the following. We are a cut throat organization, where lying is a way of life, and we have zero home ice advantage.
THE hockey GOD
@ tim
“We are a cut throat organization”
define cut throat ?
if it is amount of turnover, over past five years VGK ranks below 80% which is league average and ranks below 50% of the teams.
‘The red wings lead at top of list, VGK comes in down below 50%
sort of debunks the bashers, haters, and negative nabobs. Head bobbing up and down to whatever the mad mob midget mental capacity leads them, like hook in nose, to path off the cliff. Like St patrick leading the snakes out of ireland. Emerald Island.
Tim
THG, Look around from last year you were in favor of business is business what what evert it takes to win. Look at the team make up after year one how many are left of the original misfits including the coach. You can do your numbers and say last year we had only a 20 % turnover of course they did all the damage in year 2 and 3 so by year 4 they were out of bullets. I know you to be an intelligent poster although you do go off the rails from time to time so you know what I’m saying. We have turned into an old slow team that can’t score and these old bodies have played a lot and are wearing down. So you of anyone always talking about fake news is actually spinning your old fake news. There in a pickle with no way out to many players you can’t move because of price or age and the return will be like the Fleury trade zippo. They tried and there plan failed and now were stuck and if you think different as we always say everyone has an opinion.
THE hockey GOD
Tim you can’t have it both ways
you can’t say on one hand ”
we are a cutthroat organization” because to much turn over and trades happened. Yet over a five you period VGK is in lower 50% of teams in turnover.
Now we are slower , older team and you need to make moves, and doing so would make you a cutthroat organization.
Can’t have it both ways.
We’ll see what the FO does in off season, I am sure as they say in the Bible on judgement day there will be much gnashing of teeth. Or maybe they’ll say when one door closes, another door of opportunity opens. Look at MAF. can’t say another door opened for MAF. Was that cutthroat move? I don’t think MAF would say so if you ask him today. He’s playing in playoffs !
Richie-Rich
KM has a roster with no legitimate proven threat, not a single 40 goal scorer, really not even close. This team went from contender to pretender in just a few short years under KM/PDB.
Tim
Kelly’s back can’t wait. THG as they say they shot there wad and now more desperation sets in. I’ve told you all many times this town will turn on you in a heartbeat. When they say DeBoer is staying that will be the beginning of the end. There’s no way we can make the top 3 in the Pacific next year to many younger better teams. The draft that had McDavid one and Eichel two is a no contest Eichel is light years behind McDavid not even close. For 10 million not sure he’s the real deal but trust management they know NOT.
THE hockey GOD
and last night’s NHL playoffs games results can be summed up as follows
RETURN
of the
EMPIRE !!
(or is it Sith?)
a page out of Boba Fett’s book.
Obvious
Excuses are just well planned lies
Richie-Rich
It takes 16 playoff victories to win a Stanley Cup. Half the teams don’t even get into the playoffs. The year 1 team won 13 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Kelly McIdiot the McCriminal began dismantling the roster as soon as he was given the keys to the Club. Now, after 5 years of regressing and not making the playoffs for the first time, he gets to use the “injuries” as an excuse for it.
-This team is in CAP hell.
-The team average age is much older than the year 1 or even year 2 team
-It’s Captain will likely be forced to retire due to his back injury, if not he will never play to the same level.
-The McIdiot fired the Coach that took the team to 13 Stanley Cup playoff victories.
-The McIdiot overpaid players and gave them unbelievable crazy terms.
-The McIdiot completely overpaid Robin Lehner who has only been able to play on average in 45 NHL games per year.
Yet, we are going to have to suffer through another year of Incompetence and a team coached by “The Clown” (credit to Gerard Gallant for than moniker).
Julie
I lit a candle with a prayer that Foley reads your post. 🙂
Obvious
On a positive note ;
Gallant
Reaves
Fleury
All enjoying the playoffs success
Richie-Rich
I was a lifelong Rangers fan and was happy when Gallant landed there, then Reavo. I thought that maybe Fleury might be headed that way too, but at $7 million it was a stretch.
It’s been difficult to watch this team screw up from the front office to the coaching the past several years. Injuries are a part of the equation on every team and the thought that this false 500+ games lost due to injury is a valid excuse is nonsense. Players were put on LTIR that were “hurt” because of the CAP. Don’t bullshit me. You can’t bullshit a bullshitter.
This team will still be good next year, but it is no longer a top tier team. It’s maybe a tier two team, if that now with a Clown for Coach.
THE hockey GOD
Bill Foley believes Golden Knights lost their identity
he has himself to blame for it, only himself. No one else.
VGK fan
Because he let two Mc’s get rid of GG, or approve the MAF trade or the bad cap situation?
One or more of the above or something else?
THE hockey GOD
@ VGK
because he’s a grape stomper from Texas who is clueless on how to run a sports franchise. He makes the final decisions. A smart owner is someone like Eugene Kline who owned race horse, and very successful ones. Which translated well into San Diego Chargers who were very successful when he owned them.
Hdbiker7851
Thg – Since you have unlimited hockey knowledge you acquired playing goalie in a pee wee league and obviously the same money Foley.has maybe you should be the owner. see how ridiculous that sounds. That’s like all your babble posts.
knights fan in minny
well said HDBIKER7851 the hockey dunce thinks he is better then all of us