Vegas Golden Knights doing their bit to help navigate COVID-19 crisis

We live in strange and difficult times right now and the Vegas Golden Knights are playing their part to help the community navigate murky waters.

With no hockey due to COVID-19, the Vegas Golden Knights are instead switching their focus to helping those in need.

From donating money to supporting those who aren’t able to work due to the pandemic to providing meals to those brave healthcare workers who are risking their own health on the front line, the Golden Knights are stepping up in a big way.

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Of course, sports teams and athletes from all walks of life in America have done their bit in the fight against COVID-19, including New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees and his wife donating $5 million to a host of charities that will prepare and deliver 10,000 meals per day throughout Louisiana.

A truly incredible gesture.

But this is a website covering the Golden Knights and, as such, we wanted to recognize the sterling work being done by this franchise amidst the coronavirus crisis.

The Golden Knights have already carried out a bevy of initiatives in order to help those being directly impacted by COVID-19, and we are going to highlight a few here.

Cousins The Pizza Guy

Let’s start with the latest show of good will by the Golden Knights.

Nick Cousins, who was acquired by Vegas at the Trade Deadline from the Montreal Canadiens for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, has taken Sin City to his heart and he has now stepped up to help his community.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Cousins announced that he will donating 21 pizzas a week for the next three weeks to local hospitals.

That will ensure those working on the front line are fed while also helping local businesses, so this was a real admirable move by Cousins who is making a hell of an impact both on and off the ice for the Golden Knights already.

Karlsson’s Vegas Heroes

Franchise center William Karlsson is taking to Instagram every single day to give a shout out to those brave people who are risking their own health in order to fight COVID-19.

Using the Story feature on Instagram, Karlsson takes to the social media platform each day to highlight a local hero in Nevada, shining a light on the role they are playing in this fight against the virus.

It is a pretty cool thing for Karlsson to do and you can only imagine the boost it must give people who are going above and beyond in order to help keep others safe.

Three Stars of the Week

In the NHL it is tradition after each game for the league to honor the Three Stars of each game, with the best player on the night earning First Star honors.

So, in keeping with that tradition, the Golden Knights recently launched a ‘Heart of Gold’ initiative, which will honor the Three Community Stars of the Week.

Every week members of the community can vote for someone who is making a real difference in Nevada in the fight against COVID-19, with a panel of judges from the Golden Knights then selecting their Three Stars of the Week who will get their deserved moment in the spotlight each Friday.

I love this idea.

Just as players who dominate a game get recognized, those performing heroics on the frontline will now get the chance to be saluted for the superb work they are doing.

Meals & Support

Vegas Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley has stepped forward to ensure that the Golden Knights are doing their bit to help those in need.

Firstly, with hundreds of people directly impacted by no sports, Foley pledged a minimum of $500,000 to help those arena workers and other T-Mobile Arena employees that are currently out of work.

Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury also donated $100,000 of his own money in order to help staff ranging from third-party vendors to food and beverage employees, retail staff and many, many more.

This will be of huge help to so many people while easing the stress of worrying where the money is going to come from while out of work.

Huge stick taps to both Foley and Fleury for this move.

The Golden Knights have also started to donate 300 meals a day to local hospitals five days a week, with local chefs from MacKenzie River Pizza making all meals.

Players including Deryk Engelland, William Karlsson and Jon Merrill have all chipped in to help with this effort, which supports those in need of regular meals as well as supporting a local business.

In total, over 7,500 meals will be donated to doctors, nurses and other health care workers who are all working day and night to help combat COVID-19.

Owner Bill Foley, along with the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation, have also donated $1 million to the Task Force set up by Governor Sisolak.

The money donated will go towards purchasing vital supplies including surgical masks, medical gloves and medical gowns.

These kind of supplies are in high demand so the fact that the Golden Knights have made such a sizeable donation really underlines the key role they are playing in the community right now.

Stick Taps

We also wanted to give a shoutout to the Vegas Golden Knights media department, as well as team broadcasters who are all doing a brilliant job.

Being stuck at home can get boring very quickly and, if you have kids, it can be hard to find new ways of keeping your little ones entertained.

Plus, mental health is also a huge factor at times like these and, if you don’t feel comfortable going outside, it can be hard to keep the brain active.

But huge stick taps to the Golden Knights who are doing their bit in order to help those stuck at home.

From releasing Golden Knights themed worksheets every week for children to filming home workouts and putting them on the team’s social media channels, the Knights are making this current situation a lot easier for fans.

Overall, the Vegas Golden Knights have really stepped up to the plate in more ways than one when their community needs them the most and that has to be applauded.

And these are just some of the ways the franchise is helping those in need, so we urge you to follow the Golden Knights on Twitter in order to see all the other fantastic work they are doing during these uncertain times.