Las Vegas: Finally, a team of their own
LAS VEGAS — Miguel Narvaez stands in the searing heat outside the home of the Vegas Golden Knights a couple of hours before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, sporting a custom-made jacket with the signatures of his favourite players embroidered on the back.
A few metres away, Chris Gawlik wears a Knights hard hat adorned with a goal light to complement the “CUP for 4LV” Nevada licence plate dangling from his neck.
They’re just two examples of the crazed hockey fans that have fallen in love with the expansion Knights during their improbable run to the Cup final against the Washington Capitals, and the bond forged with this city.
“I’ve been waiting for a team forever, and to get what we got is just amazing,” said Narvaez, a Las Vegas native. “These guys are incredible.
“The minimum was we wanted to have something cool to go to every week, something different than what’s on the strip.”
They got a lot more than that. With a roster of players the league’s 30 other teams no longer were able to keep due to the nature of the draft, the Knights stunned the hockey world with a 109-point season to win the Pacific Division.
After that, they rolled through the Western Conference playoffs. They had decisive victories over the Los Angeles Kings (four games), San Jose Sharks (six games) and the Winnipeg Jets (five games).
“You can’t put into words what’s happened,” said Gawlik, who moved to the desert in 2008 after growing up in Chicago. “It’s historic, it’s fun, it’s amazing to see it from the ground up. Vegas is our team, it’s my team, it’s everyone’s team.
“We’ve all taken some level of ownership.”
The Knights, who lost 3-2 to the Capitals in Wednesday’s Game 2 to sit tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series, are the first expansion club to make the Cup since the 1968 St. Louis Blues, but that year a new club was guaranteed a spot in the final after the NHL grew from six to 12 franchises.
With the US$500-million price tag owner Bill Foley paid to get Vegas, its first major professional sports team, the expansion draft rules were altered to give the Knights a shot at being competitive. (The CFL had a team, the Las Vegas Posse, for one year in 1994, quarterbacked by Anthony Calvillo).
Not even the most optimistic fan expected anything close to this.
“Once in a lifetime,” said Nick Constantin, a California native dressed up like a king. “Expansion team, a whole bunch of people that nobody wanted.”
Gawlik took issue with the feeling in some circles that the Knights’ run is unfair or bad for hockey.
“It’s kind of funny because everyone that was saying we weren’t going to be any good at the beginning are now saying the expansion draft was set up for us and coming up with all these excuses,” he said. “You can’t have it both ways.
“It’s been amazing, it’s been a blast ... beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.”
But before the Knights played their first regular-season game, the team and the city found itself in a nightmare after a gunman opened fire from a highrise hotel room onto an outdoor concert below on Oct. 1, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.
A sombre ceremony at the Knights’ home opener nine days later included an emotional speech from veteran defenceman Deryk Engelland and 58 seconds of silence to honour the victims.
“It’s never far from your mind, but they came in with their backs against the wall dealing with that,” said Stephanie Rayl-Hayes, who moved to Vegas from Buffalo, N.Y., five years ago. “They made us heal, and we’re still healing.
“If we can give them the support they gave us at that time in need, then that’s what we’re here to do.”
“It meant everything,” said Constantin. “Them winning has brought everyone together. It’s been great for the city.”
Narvaez said the connection the team has made with Vegas is a bond that won’t be broken.
“They’ve been non-stop, they’ve been strong, shown support in the community,” he said. “All-around great guys. You can just tell that they’re very kind people. They work hard for us.
“We’re just trying to work hard for them.”