Have you ever looked at something and wished it worked out for you? It could be that one ol' flame that you had, where it didn't work out between the two of you. Sometimes, you yearn for their soul to be near you.
It could also be the one stock you wished you had invested in. Perhaps it was an NVIDIA or a Palantir that you missed the mark on, leaving you missing out on thousands of dollars. Whatever the case, it's best to move on and have a short-term memory before it eats your heart away. Otherwise, you'll end up like Jazz Chisholm in the Home Run Derby.
Believe it or not, the Vegas Golden Knights have been there before. They've had such players that would've been a perfect fit. The only problem was that they ultimately went to other teams and found success with them.
Now, did they win Stanley Cups? Well, some did while others didn't. That's the best way to put it.
With that, three players come to mind here. Personally, they would've done enough to push the Golden Knights over the edge and give them another Stanley Cup for their growing collection. If one is nice, why not do it twice?
1.) Joe Pavelski
I was scrolling through Facebook on Sunday (okay, I was 'doom-scrolling' as the kids put it) when I saw Joe Pavelski's face. He won the bloody American Century Championship! I never knew he was an excellent golfer in his free time.
That's awesome to see, though. Congratulations on finally winning a championship, Joe Pavelski. This is your Stanley Cup. Maybe you can teach Charles Barkley how to swing a golf club.
Anyways, the former Shark has acted as an ageless wonder in the NHL. He left San Jose in 2019 to pursue bull riding and the Cowboys in Dallas. In five seasons, he scored 121 goals and 186 assists. Four of those five seasons saw him score more than 20 goals.
He would've been a solid top-six forward that provided a scoring touch on the power play. Four of those five seasons also saw Pavelski score more than 10 power play goals. If the Golden Knights got the legendary center, it would've been a... hole-in-one.
2.) Brad Marchand
Yes, I know that Marchand was a trade candidate in the past season. I get that he wanted a longer deal. Of course, he got that in Florida (six years and $31.5 million) and won a Stanley Cup.
But hear me out! What if you got everyone's favorite Dairy Queen-munching rat to Las Vegas to bolster the special teams units? During the Panthers' Stanley Cup run, Marchand scored 10 goals. One of those came on the power play, while another came short-handed.
On top of that, he buried the overtime-winner in Game 2. Yes, multiple people didn't score during the Oilers series. However, it would've helped Vegas against their heated rivals. It hurts more that they nearly acquired him at the trade deadline to join Reilly Smith.
3.) Timo Meier
Once upon a time, the San Jose Sharks were looking to offload Timo Meier. It was part of a long strategy to build their future team with draft picks galore. The Golden Knights were one of the teams mentioned because, why not? Kelly McCrimmon's always sticking his nose around on certain players.
Ultimately, the New Jersey Devils got him and have enjoyed the fruits of his labor. The Swiss forward has 63 goals and 56 assists during his three years in the Garden State, making him one of the team's more important players.
The Golden Knights also won the Stanley Cup the year that Meier was traded. However, having that scoring depth piece would've done wonders to fill in holes in the forward unit in the past two years. He scored a combined 54 goals in those last two seasons, too.