Eleven months after piecing together a hockey team, the Vegas Golden Knights have become one of the most improbable underdog stories in pro sports history.
Never has an American expansion franchise excelled like the Knights, who blistered their way through their debut season to inexplicably reach the Stanley Cup Final.
No team in modern NHL, MLB, NBA or NFL history managed a winning record in their maiden season, according to ESPN's FiveThirtyEight, which is perhaps why Westgate Sportsbook gave the Knights 500-1 odds to win the Cup this season.
How did it happen?
The most important pick Vegas made in June's NHL expansion draft was the goaltender exposed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury had just won his third Stanley Cup, appearing in 15 playoff games while Matt Murray recovered from injury.
Fleury, with a 1.68 goals-against average in the playoffs, is a leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Knights general manager George McPhee and head coach Gerard Gallant made other savvy selections in the draft, such as forwards William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. Karlsson, 25, had posted single-digit goal tallies the previous two seasons with Columbus, but he scored 43 goals for Vegas this season, third-highest in the league. Marchessault, at 5-foot-9, had just played his first full season in the NHL, producing 51 points run 75 games for Florida. He finished as Vegas' second-leading scorer with 75 points, and had seven points in the five games it took Vegas to dispatch Winnipeg in the Western Conference final.
Yet if there's a lesson to be learned from Vegas' success, it's that there's risk in pre-arranging selections in the expansion draft. Teams had a choice of protecting either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender, or one goaltender and eight skaters regardless of position. Only Florida, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Arizona and Los Angeles opted for the eight-skater choice.
Ten teams pre-arranged with Vegas who the Knights would select. Most notably, the Minnesota Wild, determined to avoid Vegas picking young defenseman Matt Dumba off the unprotected list, traded Alex Tuch to Vegas in exchange for selecting Erik Haula in the draft. Both finished in the top eight among Vegas' scorers.
Here is a look at how the Knights' expansion players and other additions performed this season. Players are listed alphabetically within their field.
Key acquisitions
G Marc-Andre Fleury
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Pittsburgh Penguins.
Golden buzz: Posted a 29-13-4 record with a 2.24 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 46 games. In playoffs, he is 12-3 with a 1.68 GAA and .947 save percentage.
F Erik Haula
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Minnesota Wild.
Golden buzz: Pre-arranged selection in exchange for a prospect Alex Tuch. Haula had 29 goals and 26 assists for 55 points in 76 games. Has three goals and four assists in 15 playoff games.
F William Karlsson
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Columbus Blue Jackets.
Golden buzz: Had 43 goals and 35 assists for 78 points in 82 games. Has six goals and seven assists in 15 playoff games.
F Jonathan Marchessault
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Florida Panthers.
Golden buzz: Had 27 goals and 48 assists for 75 points in 77 games. Has eight goals and 10 assists in 15 playoff games.
F James Neal
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Nashville Predators.
Golden buzz: Had 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points in 71 games. Has four goals and five assists in 15 playoff games.
F David Perron
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from St. Louis Blues.
Golden buzz: Had 16 goals and 50 assists for 66 points in 70 games. Has seven assists in 11 playoff games.
F Alex Tuch
Path to Knight: Part of the trade condition that saw Vegas select Erik Haula from Minnesota in the expansion draft.
Golden buzz: Called up from the AHL on Oct. 15. Had 15 goals and 22 points for 37 points in 78 games. Has six goals and three assists in 15 playoff games.
D Brayden McNabb
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Los Angeles Kings.
Golden buzz: Had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 76 games. Has five points in 15 playoff games.
D Nate Schmidt
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Washington Capitals.
Golden buzz: Had five goals and 31 assists for 36 points in 76 games. Has two goals and four assists in 15 playoff games.
F Reilly Smith
Path to Knight: Traded Jun. 21 by the Panthers because of salary cap issues in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2018.
Golden buzz: Had 22 goals and 38 assists for 60 points in 67 games. Has two goals and 14 assists in 15 playoff games.
Supporting cast
F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Philadelphia Flyers.
Golden buzz: Had six goals, 10 assists for 16 points in 72 games. Has one assist in 15 playoff games.
F Ryan Carpenter
Path to Knight: Claimed off waivers Dec. 13 (placed by San Jose).
Golden buzz: Had nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 52 games. Has five assists in 13 playoff games.
F Cody Eakin
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Dallas Stars.
Golden buzz: Had 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 80 games. Has three goals, one assist in 15 playoff games.
D Deryk Engelland
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Calgary Flames.
Golden buzz: Had five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 79 games. Has no points in 15 playoff games.
D Brad Hunt
Path to Knight: Signed as a free agent July 1.
Golden buzz: Had three goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 45 games.
F Oscar Lindberg
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from New York Rangers.
Golden buzz: Had nine goals and two assists for 11 points in 63 games. Has one assist in three playoff games.
D Jon Merrill
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from New Jersey Devils.
Golden buzz: Had one goal and two assists in 34 games. Has no points in eight playoff games.
D Colin Miller
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Boston Bruins.
Golden buzz: Had 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points in 82 games. Has three points in 15 playoff games.
F Tomas Nosek
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Detroit Red Wings.
Golden buzz: Had seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 67 games. Has one goal and two assists in 12 playoff games.
F Ryan Reaves
Path to Knight: Via Feb. 23 trade from Pittsburgh in exchange for Tobias Lindberg.
Golden buzz: Had four goals and six assists for 10 points in 79 games. Has one goal in six playoff games.
D Luca Sbisa
Path to Knight: Expansion pick from Vancouver Canucks.
Golden buzz: Had two goals and 12 assists for 14 points in 30 games. Has two points in seven playoff games.
G Malcolm Subban
Path to Knight: Claimed off waivers Oct. 3 (placed by Boston).
Golden buzz: Posted a 13-4-2 record with a 2.68 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 22 games.
F Tomas Tatar
Path to Knight: Via Feb. 26 trade with Wings in exchange for a first-round pick in 2018, a second-round pick in 2019 and a third-round pick in 2021.
Golden buzz: Had four goals and two assists in 20 games. Has one goal in six playoff games, and otherwise has been a healthy scratch, including the last two games.
D Shea Theodore
Path to Knight: Traded June 21 by the Ducks as part of arrangement that Vegas select Clayton Stoner in expansion draft.
Golden buzz: Called up from AHL on Oct. 30. Had six goals and 23 assists for 29 points in 61 games. Has two goals and five assists in 15 playoff games.
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