Golden Knights Lean Into Villain Role in League of 'Jealousy'
The Vegas Golden Knights may have lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes, but they firmly believe they are still the best team in the league.
They also believe that the rest of the NHL is jealous of their success, as the Golden Knights have made it to three Stanley Cup Finals in the nine seasons since they joined the league as an expansion team in 2017, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023.
They are firmly leaning into the villain role that they have been labeled, as the Golden Knights have become the enemy of the entire NHL and of other teams' fanbases, partly because of their cutthroat tactics, but mostly because they win so many games.
Kelly McCrimmon on 'Jealously' From Other NHL teams
Speaking to reporters at the Golden Knights' year-end press conference, Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon explained why he believes his team is the villain of the NHL.
In McCrimmon's view, the rest of the league and their fanbases are jealous of all the success Vegas has achieved in a short period of time, and that's why they are so hated.
It's jealously."
"For me, it's jealously and people are uncomfortable admitting that we've done a hell of a job. That's what I honestly think," McCrimmon said.
"Players love playing here. You talked to our players yesterday. Players love playing here. Jack (Eichel) made the point that there wouldn't be a player in the NHL who had Vegas on their no-trade list. The organization treats its players fantastic. The organization gives its players every resource to be the best that they can be, as a person and as a player. It's a great city to live in, as you all know. It's easy out here with traffic, lifestyle, all of those things that go into it.
"But all those players would tell you the No. 1 thing is they have a chance to win. So when you hear that a person from another organization is interested in coming to Vegas, the first reason they're interested in coming to Vegas is that we win. That's why they want to come to Vegas. Because if that wasn't the case, you could go back in the history of tax-free states, sunny locations with some teams that have struggled for years and years and years that nobody wanted to go to.
Related: Villainous Golden Knights Strike First in Stanley Cup Finals
"First and foremost, people come here because we try to win. They like being on teams that try to win. There are players in the NHL who are on teams that I don't think are confident that the team will win. So that, for me, is how I see it. I'm not going to apologize for it."
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Kelly McCrimmon Not Sorry His Team is a Winner
When the Golden Knights came into the league in 2017, they made several shrewd trades with other teams ahead of the expansion draft that put them ahead of the curve.
Several years later, the Seattle Kraken came into the league, but they were not able to pull off the same trades that Vegas did.
In McCrimmon's mind, it's not Vegas's fault that they were able to leverage the expansion rules in their favor, and he is not apologizing for his team being ultra successful in such a short period of time.
"I think people have a hard time explaining why we win as much as we do. We've been to the Stanley Cup Finals three times in nine years, and it's interesting that we went in 2018, 2023, and 2026. What that tells you is that it's three completely different teams. It's not like we went three times in four years with 90% of our nucleus remaining the same over the period of time," McCrimmon said.
"So you've heard it all the way through the nine years, that all the expansion rules were so favorable. Well, the Seattle Kraken had the same expansion rules, and everybody says, 'Oh, everybody wised up because of how well Vegas did.' Well, I would argue that Seattle had almost three years to get ready for expansion, while we had 11 months. When Seattle did expansion, the cap pressure across the NHL was completely different than what it was when we did expansion.
"Some people like to explain the first part of our history based on that. Then people think it's because we had (captain) Mark Stone get back surgery just for fun in February, and that's why."
You may not like the Golden Knights. Many fans do not, so you won't be alone if you are in that bucket.
But you cannot admit they aren't successful, and with a cutthroat executive like McCrimmon leading the way, there is no reason to think they are going to stop winning anytime soon.
Related: The Edmonton Oilers Should Hire John Tortorella
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:15 PM.