‘Harsh meetings’ paved way for aggressive VGK offseason

Ask the Vegas Golden Knights about their success last season, and they will likely tell you that none of it mattered.

Winning a fourth divisional title in eight seasons sounds nice, but it gets erased quickly when the season ends by way of back-to-back shutouts by Stuart Skinner and the Edmonton Oilers. Fortunately, the Florida Panthers prevented the Knights’ hated rival (and professional Vegas menace Evander Kane) from hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. Ironically, the Golden Knights are the last team to beat the aforementioned Panthers in a best-of-seven series, but the past two postseasons have seen Vegas stray from the ‘hurts to win’ identity that got them to the promised land.

From everything coming out of the Golden Knights this offseason, it is clear that that will no longer be tolerated.

The frustrating end to last season may have created a monster in Vegas.

On the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman made it clear that the Golden Knights were ticked off by what happened against the Oilers, ranging from management all the way down to the players.

“One of the things I heard, those were some pretty harsh meetings during and after that series,” Friedman said. “They were disappointed; I think everybody was disappointed. Not necessarily that they lost, but they got manhandled. I think the management was mad, I think the coaching staff was mad, I think the players were mad, and I heard it was B-L-U-N-T blunt.

“Some of those guys were really beaten up,” the insider continued. “I think everybody knew how everybody felt the way they got dominated by the Oilers. It will be motivating for them.”

If the Golden Knights were already making plans for an aggressive offseason before the Oilers series, the 4-1 loss was more than enough to set those in stone.

Retaining the likes of Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith was a good start, and the losses of Nic Hague, Nicolas Roy and Alex Pietrangelo were at least somewhat offset by adding 2023-24 hits leader Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons. Then, the Golden Knights hooked the big fish, bringing in superstar forward Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs to create a devastating pairing with Jack Eichel. General manager Kelly McCrimmon might not be done yet either, with reports currently seeing Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson having eyes on signing in Vegas long-term, suggesting another blockbuster trade in the works.

An improved Golden Knights squad was already going to be a handful, but adding extra motivation is guaranteed to put the NHL on notice.