Golden Knights out to prove last season was no fluke
Vegas reloads after losing Neal, Perron to free agency
The Vegas Golden Knights stunned the league with a run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, and almost seemed to be leading a charmed existence. But the storybook season ended with the Washington Capitals hoisting the Cup on Vegas’ home ice and the bitter taste remains, which is driving the defending Western Conference champions as they prepare for season No. 2. “We didn’t win anything last year, so we have every reason to be hungry and motivated going into the season,” said William Karlsson, whose breakout season included him finishing third with 43 goals. “There’s a lot of people saying we can’t do it again, that it was all luck. So that’s just extra motivation for us.” Karlsson, who along with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith form one of the top lines in the league, said the Knights are well aware other teams will be gunning for them this season. That includes Pacific Division rival San Jose, which was ousted by the Golden Knights in the conference semifinals and traded for two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenceman Erik Karlsson on the eve of training camp. Vegas also did a bit of reloading after losing forwards James Neal and David Perron to free agency. The Golden Knights bolstered their offence with the additions of Max Pacioretty and veteran centre Paul Stastny. Pacioretty and Stastny figure to upgrade the second line, where they’ll likely be joined by Alex Tuch, who emerged for the Golden Knights during his rookie season last year. Marc-Andre Fleury agreed to a three-year contract extension worth an average of $7 million a year and is back for his 15th year in the league after winning 29 games last season. “We can’t be thinking it’s gonna be easy to get back there again,” Fleury said. “It’s really hard and the parity is so good around the league. We’re not going to duplicate last season. “I think it’s all about staying even keel and keep that same one-game mentality. Try to win, try to get two points.”