RALEIGH, N.C.— With the Stanley Cup Final beginning in just over 24 hours, Raleigh, North Carolina, has become the temporary hockey mecca of the world. On Monday, hundreds of journalists, broadcasters, and other media members flocked to the Lenovo Center for the annual pre-Final media availability day.
For the players, this probably all seems like one big distraction that they’re contractually obligated to attend. But this is the third time in the past nine years that the Vegas Golden Knights have been a part of this dance, and they aren’t fazed.
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“Well, most of our team is used to it,” said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella. “A lot of our team has traveled this road and found a way to win. We know what today is. We’ve talked about it, and we’ve baked it in as far as how we handle it. This is no problem for us at all.”
It’s true– most of the team is used to it. Of the 20 players the Golden Knights made available to the media, 11 have played in a Stanley Cup Final. Nine won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023.
From the top to the bottom of the roster, the Golden Knights are winners. This isn’t groundbreaking news– variations of this phrase have been said thousands of times over the last nine years.
Because of their nature, the Golden Knights have also earned the reputation of being a team in perpetual ‘win-now’ mode. They’ve demonstrated a willingness to mortgage their future for a chance to win in the present, trading countless picks and prospects for players who will aid them in their quest to capture another Stanley Cup.
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“The way that our organization was founded as an expansion team, one of the most important things we did was put together our pro scouting staff,” said McCrimmon. “Our amateur staff, who have drafted a lot of good players— and sometimes we trade those players, right?— have enabled us to be able to make some deals where we include players that we’ve drafted previously… That’s been the nature of our staff. We’ve had very close to the same staff in place since day one. We’ve got some great people in our organization, and that’s how we’ve built our teams.”
Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella is a firm believer in the importance of having the right mindset. He’s repeatedly stated that mental toughness is crucial to winning the most important games, and right now, his team has that in spades.
“They know how to do it,” said head coach John Tortorella. “They have experience. This organization, since its inception, the amount of playoff hockey they’ve played, and the amount of people that are in that room from 2023… They know how to do it.
“I think X’s and O’s are very important in today’s game,” Tortorella continued. “But nothing is more important than a mindset, a mental toughness, and a will that you need in certain situations and in the playoffs. Our guys get it, and I think that’s the major piece of foundation that we have in the organization.”
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Over the last decade, no team has enjoyed success more consistently than the Golden Knights. Since their inception in 2017, they lead the league in both postseason wins (74) and games played (122).
“It’s exhilarating to win,” said general manager Kelly McCrimmon. “We’re super proud to be back in the finals for the third time in our nine-year existence. It’s a privilege, and we don’t take it for granted. We work real hard; you have to get lucky along the way at times also. That’s been our objective right from the opening season.”
