Background and establishment The NHL has had a presence in Las Vegas since 1991; that year, the city hosted the
first outdoor game between two NHL teams – a preseason exhibition between the
Los Angeles Kings and
New York Rangers outside
Caesars Palace. The Kings would subsequently organize "
Frozen Fury" – a series of annual preseason games in Las Vegas against the
Colorado Avalanche. The
NHL Awards ceremonies have been held in Las Vegas since 2009. In 2009, the media speculated about a plan involving
Hollywood producer
Jerry Bruckheimer to move the
Phoenix Coyotes to Nevada. Rumors of a Las Vegas expansion team surfaced again in August 2014, pointing to a
new indoor arena on the Strip (built as a joint venture between
Anschutz Entertainment Group, owners of the
Los Angeles Kings, and
MGM Resorts International) as the potential home arena, although these rumors were denied by the league. In November 2014, an unconfirmed report stated that the league had selected billionaire businessman
Bill Foley and the
Maloof family (former owners of the
National Basketball Association's
Sacramento Kings, and founders of the
Palms Casino Resort) to lead the ownership group for a Las Vegas expansion team. In December 2014, the NHL's board of governors decided to allow Foley to hold a season ticket drive to gauge interest in a Las Vegas team, though league commissioner
Gary Bettman also asked the media not to "make more out of this than it is". The season ticket drive began in February 2015, with interested parties placing ten percent deposits for the 2016–17 season. The drive drew 5,000 deposits in its first day and a half, and reached its goal of 10,000 deposits by April 2015. In June 2015, the league officially opened the window for prospective owners to bid on expansion teams. By this point, Foley had secured more than 13,200 season-ticket deposits. Two expansion applications were submitted: Foley's application for a Las Vegas team, and a bid from
Quebecor to revive the
Quebec Nordiques at a
new arena in
Quebec City. Later in the same month, both bids proceeded to Phase III, which involved a review of ownership financials. At the league owners' meeting on June 22, 2016, in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas expansion bid was approved by a unanimous vote, with play to begin in the
2017–18 NHL season. The team became the first
major professional sports franchise to be
based in Las Vegas, and the first NHL expansion team since
2000. Foley committed to pay the league's $500 million expansion fee and began the process of hiring the team's principal staff and determining its official identity. Foley announced that former
Washington Capitals general manager
George McPhee would be the franchise's first general manager. On November 22, 2016, the name was revealed as the Vegas Golden Knights.
Start of operations and the inaugural season (2017–2018) On March 1, 2017, the team completed its expansion fee payments and filings, making it eligible to formally begin operations such as free agent acquisition, and participation in league meetings. Five days later, the Golden Knights made their first personnel move by signing
Reid Duke to a three-year entry-level contract. The team announced inaugural head coach
Gerard Gallant on April 13, 2017. Over the next two months, the Golden Knights developed their
farm system, announcing affiliations with the
Chicago Wolves of the
American Hockey League and the
Quad City Mallards of the
ECHL. The team participated in the
2017 NHL expansion draft on June 21, 2017, selecting an available player from all 30 teams in the NHL. The draft picks were announced at T-Mobile Arena during the
NHL Awards ceremony. Some notable selections included goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury from the
Pittsburgh Penguins and winger
James Neal from the
Nashville Predators. At the
2017 NHL entry draft,
Cody Glass was the first player selected by the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights played their first game on October 6 against the
Dallas Stars with Neal scoring the franchise's first two goals en route to their first victory. The team's inaugural home game at
T-Mobile Arena was played on October 10, 2017, hosting the
Arizona Coyotes as the second game of a home-and-home series. In the aftermath of the
October 1 mass shooting, the pre-game ceremonies honored the victims of the attack, and the team issued an appeal for donations to its charitable arm. With their 5–2 win, the Golden Knights increased their unbeaten streak to start the season to 3–0, an NHL record for an expansion team. The Golden Knights are the first team in NHL history to start their inaugural season winning eight of their first nine games. During their tenth game, goaltender
Oscar Dansk was injured becoming the third Golden Knights' goaltender to be injured during the season after losing starters Fleury and the recently acquired
Malcolm Subban, forcing the team to start a fourth goaltender in 11 games with
Maxime Lagace. Fifteen games into the season,
Vadim Shipachyov became the first player to retire from the NHL as a Golden Knight when he decided to return to the
Kontinental Hockey League. In December, the Golden Knights set another NHL expansion team record of six straight wins, a record they previously missed when they lost their tenth game of the season, and established a new NHL record with eight straight wins. On February 1, 2018, the Golden Knights set the expansion team record for wins in a debut season with 34 wins after only 50 games, and then on February 21, 2018, set a record for most points by an expansion team in the inaugural season with 84. Clinching a berth for the
2018 playoffs on March 26, the Golden Knights became the first team since the
Edmonton Oilers and
Hartford Whalers in the
1979–80 season to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in the league. On March 31, the Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division title, becoming the first true expansion team in the
four major sports to win its division in its inaugural season (not counting all-expansion divisions, as was the case in the
1967–68 season). Vegas' inaugural season was widely considered the most successful of any North American expansion team, with much attention given to the breakout seasons of their expansion draft selections, dubbed the "Golden Misfits." On April 11, the franchise won its first playoff game in a
1–0 victory over the
Los Angeles Kings in the first game of the series. Six days later on April 17, the franchise earned their first playoff series win against the Kings, winning the fourth game by a 1–0 score, which also became their first playoff series sweep. The Golden Knights became the first team in NHL history to sweep their first playoff series in their inaugural season. On May 6, 2018, the Golden Knights defeated the
San Jose Sharks four-games-to-two, becoming the third team in NHL history to win multiple playoff series in their inaugural season, and advanced to the conference finals. On May 20, Vegas defeated the
Winnipeg Jets to win the conference finals in five games, becoming the third NHL team to advance to the
Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season, after the
Toronto Arenas in
1918 and the
St. Louis Blues in
1968. The Golden Knights were defeated in the Stanley Cup Final by the
Washington Capitals in five games; despite this loss, the team won 13 postseason games that year, breaking the record for the most wins by an expansion team in their first playoff appearance. filling the roster holes left by the free-agency departures of
James Neal and
David Perron. Additionally, Vegas acquired future captain
Mark Stone from the
Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline, subsequently signing him to an eight-year extension. Despite dropping to 93 standings points from the prior season's 109, the Golden Knights returned to the playoffs as the third seed in the Pacific Division. They ultimately suffered
their first-ever first-round elimination, losing to the
San Jose Sharks in seven games
after leading the series 3 games to 1. Game seven was particularly notable; after taking a 3–0 lead into the third period,
Cody Eakin delivered a
cross-check to Sharks captain
Joe Pavelski, resulting in a controversial 5-minute major penalty call that saw the Sharks score four goals and take a 4–3 lead. The Sharks would eventually win the game, after a late game-tying goal by
Jonathan Marchessault for Vegas followed by
Barclay Goodrow's series winner in overtime. respectively, with recently signed
KHL standout
Nikita Gusev also sent to the
New Jersey Devils. The team additionally acquired center
Chandler Stephenson from the
Washington Capitals in early December 2019. After an up-and-down start resulting in a 24–19–6 record and capped by a four-game losing streak, the team fired head coach Gallant, replacing him with recently fired former Sharks head coach
Peter DeBoer on January 15, 2020. During the following month in the lead-up to the trade deadline, Vegas further acquired defenseman
Alec Martinez from the
Los Angeles Kings, forward
Nick Cousins from Montreal, and goaltender
Robin Lehner from the
Chicago Blackhawks, and officially concluded on May 26; Vegas, holding the 3rd-best points percentage in the Western Conference, automatically qualified for the
restructured playoffs, playing in a round-robin to determine the top four seeds in the Western playoff bracket. proceeding to defeat Chicago in the first round in five games. In the second round, Vegas defeated the
Vancouver Canucks in seven games, despite once again having previously led the series 3–1. Their playoff run would end in the conference finals, however, as the Golden Knights lost to Dallas in five games. Prior to the shortened
2020–21 season,
Mark Stone was named the first
captain in franchise history. Additionally, alternate captain and team leader
Deryk Engelland retired, stepping into a front-office role with the team. The Golden Knights further overhauled the roster in the off-season, notably signing defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year contract, as well as trading
Paul Stastny to Winnipeg and original Golden Knight
Nate Schmidt to Vancouver. The shortened schedule saw a temporary realignment where teams only played against their own division in the regular season, with Vegas being placed in a new eight-team
West Division. The Golden Knights ultimately finished second in both the division and league; despite being tied in points with the
Colorado Avalanche, the Avalanche had five more regulation wins than Vegas. In first round of
the playoffs, Vegas was forced to a game seven for the third consecutive year after leading 3–1, but defeated the
Minnesota Wild thanks in part to a hat trick from trade-deadline acquisition
Mattias Janmark. In the second round, the Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche in six games despite initially going down 2–0; however, Vegas' playoff run would again end one round short of the Stanley Cup Final, as the Golden Knights were then upset by the
Montreal Canadiens in six games in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury was named the winner of the
Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender at season's end, with he and Lehner also sharing a
William M. Jennings Trophy win for allowing the fewest goals against of any team. The 2021 off-season began with a swap of former first-round picks, as Vegas acquired
Nolan Patrick from the
Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team trade that sent
Cody Glass to the
Nashville Predators. Vegas also acquired forward
Brett Howden from the
New York Rangers, later sending
Ryan Reaves to the Rangers in a separate trade. Most controversially, Fleury was traded to the
Chicago Blackhawks for minor-league forward
Mikael Hakkarainen due to salary-cap constraints. Vegas later traded for
Ottawa Senators forward
Evgenii Dadonov, as well as signing
Laurent Brossoit to back up
Robin Lehner. Approximately one month after the start of the
2021–22 season, Vegas acquired star center
Jack Eichel from the
Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for
Alex Tuch,
Peyton Krebs, and two draft picks. During the course of the season, the Golden Knights suffered a rash of injuries across the roster, with a total of 478 man-games lost; owing to this,
Ben Hutton,
Michael Amadio,
Adam Brooks, and
Derrick Pouliot were signed or claimed off waivers for depth, while rookies such as
Jake Leschyshyn,
Jonas Rondbjerg, and
Logan Thompson received significant playing time. The trade deadline also witnessed a voided trade, as an attempt to send Dadonov to the
Anaheim Ducks fell through due to non-compliance with his no-trade clause. Due in part to the injuries, as well as lackluster play, the Golden Knights ultimately missed the playoffs for
the first time in team history, replacing him with former
Boston Bruins head coach
Bruce Cassidy one month later. Besides the hiring of Cassidy, the Golden Knights experienced comparatively few changes during the off-season; most notably,
Mattias Janmark left in free agency, while
Max Pacioretty and
Dylan Coghlan were traded to the
Carolina Hurricanes, and
Evgenii Dadonov was traded to the
Montreal Canadiens. The team also signed veteran forward
Phil Kessel to a one-year contract. Change did occur in the goaltender's net, however; with starting goaltender
Robin Lehner ruled out for the season due to hip surgery, and backup
Laurent Brossoit set to miss time due to surgery of his own, the team turned to rookie
Logan Thompson as starter. Additionally, the Golden Knights acquired
Adin Hill from the
San Jose Sharks to serve as Thompson's backup. The Golden Knights began the
2022–23 season leading the Pacific Division, losing just two games during the month of October, and holding a 17–6–1 record at the end of November. However, the team slowed down afterwards, posting a combined 12–12–3 record through December and January, including a 1–5–2 slump in the eight games prior to the
All-Star break. The Golden Knights recovered after the break, however; despite a variety of injuries sidelining Thompson, Hill, and a returning Brossoit for varying periods, the Golden Knights went on a tear through the final three months of the season, finishing out 22–4–5. In addition, the team acquired forwards
Ivan Barbashev and
Teddy Blueger at the trade deadline for scoring depth, as well as longtime
Los Angeles Kings goaltender
Jonathan Quick to address the multitude of goaltender injuries. During this period, the Golden Knights also became the first team to win four consecutive games with four different starting goaltenders, After clinching a playoff berth on March 30, 2023, Vegas defeated the
Seattle Kraken in their final regular season game on April 13, narrowly beating out the
Edmonton Oilers for both the Pacific Division championship and first seed in the Western Conference.
Joe Biden at the
White House following their Stanley Cup victory in 2023. In
the playoffs, the Golden Knights faced off against the
Winnipeg Jets in the first round, in a rematch of the 2018 conference finals; after a 5–1 loss in game 1, the Golden Knights won four straight to win the series in five games. Proceeding to the second round, Vegas defeated the division rival Oilers in six games, despite an injury to Brossoit in game 3 necessitating Hill taking over as goaltender. The conference finals saw a rematch of the
2020 series, as the Golden Knights faced the
Dallas Stars once again; avenging their prior loss, Vegas won the series and their second Western Conference championship in six games, despite Dallas forcing two additional games after Vegas led the series 3–0. The Golden Knights ultimately faced the
Florida Panthers in the
Stanley Cup Final. as well as Las Vegas' first championship in any of the "
big 4" North American sports leagues.
Jonathan Marchessault, who led the team in playoff goals, would win the
Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. Additionally, the Golden Knights fulfilled the prediction of owner
Bill Foley, who had previously stated the franchise's goals were "playoffs in three, cup in six," with the 2022–23 season being the franchise's sixth. The Knights became the youngest team to win the Stanley Cup since the NHL's first major expansion in
1967, beating the previous record set by the
Philadelphia Flyers, who won the Cup in
1974, their seventh season. The Golden Knights entered the
2023–24 season retaining the majority of their Cup-winning roster, agreeing to extensions with Barbashev, Hill, and
Brayden Pachal several weeks after the Stanley Cup Final. However, Blueger, Brossoit, and Quick departed in free agency, while original Golden Knight
Reilly Smith was traded to the
Pittsburgh Penguins, ending his six-year tenure with the franchise. For the second consecutive season, Vegas started the season at the top of the Pacific Division, going 11–0–1 over their first twelve games, with no regulation losses in October; their seven-game season-opening win streak set the record for the longest season-opening winning streak of any defending champion, surpassing the record of five previously set by the
1985–86 Edmonton Oilers and
1920–21 Ottawa Senators. The team again faltered in the months afterward, though, with another rash of injuries between November and February resulting in the NHL debuts of
Lukas Cormier,
Mason Morelli, and
2020 first-round pick
Brendan Brisson. January also saw the Golden Knights compete in the
2024 Winter Classic on
New Year's Day, facing off against Seattle at
T-Mobile Park in their second outdoor game; Vegas ultimately lost 3–0, becoming the first team to be shut out in the Winter Classic. Business changes also occurred mid-season, as the
Maloof family sold the bulk of their shares to majority owner Foley in early January, with only
Adrienne Maloof maintaining a minority stake. as well as Pachal's loss to the
Calgary Flames on waivers, the team celebrated its first
1,000th-game ceremony on February 12, 2024, as defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo played his 1,000th NHL game. However, the team slumped heavily after the
All-Star break, recording a 2–8–1 record between February 12 and March 7, endangering their playoff chances. In an attempt to bolster the roster, the Golden Knights acquired
Noah Hanifin,
Tomas Hertl, and
Anthony Mantha at the trade deadline, later signing Hanifin to an eight-year extension to begin the following season; this was followed by a 6–0–1 surge through late March, culminating in the Golden Knights clinching a playoff berth on April 12. As the second
wild card, Vegas again faced off against the
Central Division champion Dallas Stars in a rematch of the past year's conference finals; despite winning the first two games of the series, the Golden Knights would ultimately lose the series in seven games, ending their title defense in the first round. ==Team identity==