Remember when the Vegas Golden Knights won the 2023 Stanley Cup? I mean, you should since it happened a couple of years ago. Not hard to miss.
Anyways, Kelly McCrimmon spoke about the key ingredient to winning the Stanley Cup with Daren Millard on the 100% Hockey Podcast. It's something that's needed universally across all sports, in fact.
"It’s been as important for us to understand that you need the depth to win. There’s lots of examples of teams that have star players, but when it gets to playoff time they don’t succeed based on the fact that they, you know, the game goes to your weakest link. So if your third pair of ‘D’ isn’t strong enough, that’s going to be your undoing. If your goaltending isn’t strong enough, that could be your undoing. If your, you know, fourth line can’t take the pace of NHL playoffs, if your team isn’t big enough."Kelly McCrimmon
Well, obviously. Without key players holding the fort down, the main star's doing all the work. That's been the problem with the Edmonton Oilers for the past couple of seasons, who didn't have sufficient goaltending and defense to win a Stanley Cup.
Do the Vegas Golden Knights have this key ingredient to win a Stanley Cup?
McCrimmon does address the 2023 team that won it all, talking about how much he valued his depth pieces.
"So there’s a lot of things that have to happen for your team to win. And we’ve really valued those players. And, you know, we won the Cup in 2023. And when you look at it, you know, some of these players I’ve talked about were such a big reason why we won."Kelly McCrimmon
Let's look at the Golden Knights roster itself, shall we? The forward group looks strong enough to win the Stanley Cup. Adding Mitch Marner instantly makes you a contender, especially when paired with Jack Eichel. But you also have strong lines across the board, whether it's the second or the fourth.
But what about the defenseman group? Well, this is the big one. How does this group adjust to losing size on the blue line? Will they protect Adin Hill and the goaltending group without having big bodies up front? That'll be the big question going into the season.
If they continue clogging lanes and taking away alleyways, they should be en route to Stanley Cup No. 2. If not, it'll become a glaring problem that holds them back. Not having Alex Pietrangelo around will hurt the team and adjustments must be made.
This Golden Knights group should contend for the Stanley Cup this season
Watching Training Camp in the past two sessions, I've noticed a couple of things. One, this team looks faster on the rush. Two, there's a sense of cohesiveness on the team. That should bode well for the Golden Knights heading into the 2025-26 season.
However, some obstacles remain. For example, the team that eliminated you last season still lurks. Sure, there might be growing whispers of Connor McDavid leaving. But that doesn't mean they won't contend this year.
Last season, the Oilers beat Vegas with speed and said depth at the forward position. When McDavid and Draisaitl weren't producing as much, guys like Connor Brown and Evander Kane stepped in. Making sure the depth guys step up to match that energy is a big must.
Otherwise, it'll be a question of how much longer does this team have. That's something that McCrimmon and the Golden Knights don't want to answer anytime soon, especially with fans expecting another title.