The Vegas Golden Knights may be new, but they’ll get under some teams skins at some point.
It’s hard for an expansion team like the Vegas Golden Knights to find a rival right out of the shoot. It could take a couple of years to find a real adversary for the NHL’s newest franchise. However, all it could take is one playoff series to start a long-standing rivalry.
When the Vegas Golden Knights finally break ground in September, they’ll land in the NHL’s Pacific Division. Unfortunately for Vegas, the Pacific is among one of the toughest groups of teams in hockey. The majority of teams in that division will give the Golden Knights a hard time, especially in their early years.
Next year the NHL’s Pacific Division will consist of the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and of course, our Golden Knights. That is a violent group of teams to compete with on a nightly basis.
It remains to be seen which of these teams the Golden Knights and their fans will loath the most. I’m going to give a list of three teams the Golden Knights could perhaps start a rivalry with in the future.
Los Angeles Kings
Can’t you just see this one coming? Two cities filled with glitz and glamor, duking it on a consistent basis. Golden Knights fan’s better get used to seeing Drew Doughty a ton with the minutes he logs. He’s an easy player to root against for what he does to get under the oppositions skin.
Indeed, some Kings fans in Las Vegas have now switched sides to root for their new home team. But I would also assume that some Kings fans in Vegas will stay on board with their team instead of jumping on the Golden Knights bandwagon. This rivalry not only could get nasty on the ice but maybe in the stands as well.
Here’s a little fun fact: The Kings were also the first “home team” to take the ice at T-Mobile Arena during the 2016 preseason.
Arizona Coyotes
Here’s another prime example of other teams fan’s switching sides to become a fan of the Golden Knights. Geographically, the Vegas Golden Knights closest opponent is the Arizona Coyotes. That means you could see a ton of Coyotes fans in Vegas turn in their brick-red jerseys in for steel-gray, black and gold ones.
Another reason this rivalry could work is the Coyotes don’t have an arch rival either. Think about it, the Coyotes have been irrelevant for a long time and haven’t made the playoffs since 2012. And to have a rivalry with another team you have to step up and get wins off your division rivals.
When you’re considered as the cellar dwellers of the NHL and every team is beating you up, it’s hard to find a rival for the Coyotes. But that’s where the Vegas Golden Knights come in. A clean slate for both teams and I can see both teams trading wins off one another. A future playoff series between these two teams in the desert would be must watch.
Edmonton Oilers
The future NHL powerhouse is already making a statement in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This team hasn’t even reached their prime yet, and they already look scary. For the Golden Knights to reach their ultimate goal in six years, at some point they’ll have to knock off the Edmonton Oilers.
I can see the die-hard Oilers fans always making the trip out to Las Vegas twice or three times to root for the Oilers and take over T-Mobile Arena. You have to think one of the Canadians teams in the Pacific will constantly be a thorn in the side of the Golden Knights.
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Other teams in the Central Division could step on the NHL’s 31st teams toes such as the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild, but that’s simply just too hard to project at this time. It may take some time to figure out who the Golden Knights biggest rivals are. But I do expect it won’t be long till the Golden Knights give some team a hard time.