Knights fans displeased with how the team has handled its star players

[Mickey Marner]

I mean, they’ve been a merc for hire team their entire existence. Surely he noticed the revolving door of teammates.

 

[MMC]

It's crazy to see how much rival fans love to obsess over everything VGK does.

This team has won a Stanley Cup already and is a constant threat every season... Thats the whole idea with professional sports, you want to win.

All these players get insane amount of money to play and unfortunately when players get older, it's smarter to let them walk rather than get handcuffed with a long contract that will eventually become a burden on the cap situation.

Every team have guys that follow the money and sign elsewhere and unfortunately their team can't afford to keep them(Ex Stephenson, Carrier etc)

Vegas will make a few deals soon and once again be a major contender.

I love VGK management and the fact they do every single thing in their power to put together the best product they can every year. Management and coaches from all teams demand hard work every second from their players and VGK is one of the rare teams in the league that their management ALSO follows that method.

As a Ducks fan I agree, I think the crying over Vegas having the audacity to trade away players, declining to offer outlandish UFA contracts to their expiring players, and using the salary cap exemptions to their advantage just looks completely pathetic

 

[LionsHeart]

Sports is a cutthroat business, and a salary cap (especially a hard one), makes it even worse.

 

[danny90]

Eh I don't agree. If someone busts their ass for you and brings you a Cup and is a Conn Smythe trophy winner just a season ago, you owe it to them to treat them with a higher level of respect than some random cap casualty to be kicked to the curb. We're not talking about like 2-3 years ago even here, dude was the Conn Smythe trophy winner 12 freaking months ago, lol.

Other players around the league are going to start to take notice of this stuff, it was one thing when it was MAF but now it's piling up.

According to him and management they did try more so than any other player on the team

 

[Maninthebox87]

It’ll be interesting to see how the whole Stamkos/Tampa Bay situation works out. As a Pens fan my team has went with loyalty over a total rebuild.
I don’t know who else to ask besides maybe Dallas Stars fans with Mike Modano playing for the wings even though he had already won a cup

 

[BB79]

Sports is a cutthroat business

That's why they wear neck protectors now

 

[Space umpire]

I think pretty much every NHL is guilty of this, and I agree, it has cost my team (Flames) multiple times, recently too.

I think Vegas (and Seattle) have an opportunity to shape the way they do business because they got a clean fresh start as a franchise. If Vegas sticks to their guns and becomes known as a team loyal to no player, it will serve them well IMO as long as everyone involved knows where they stand.

(Just an opinion) running things like that could be detrimental to the cap in more ways than it is positive.
A “bridge” deal is a very popular thing. In short the player generally takes a little less but the term (normally) ends when the player gets to be a UFA.
So now why would any player sign in Vegas for even a dollar less than his full market value?

 

[Bear of Bad News]

"The face-eating leopards will never eat *my* face."

- Marchessault, watching every single teammate of note work their way through the revolving doors at T-Mobile over the last few years.

I do agree with questioning the thread's premise, though - what fans are exactly displeased about this? To the extent that there are any hard feelings, I bet the Cup win takes the edge off.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

It’ll be interesting to see how the whole Stamkos/Tampa Bay situation works out. As a Pens fan my team has went with loyalty over a total rebuild.
I don’t know who else to ask besides maybe Dallas Stars fans with Mike Modano playing for the wings even though he had already won a cup

Mike Babcock decided to ruin that for everyone along with an unfortunate skate cut.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

I don’t want to hear about Vegas fans being upset about anything for at least another 50 years. Handed immediate success with no suffering. Win a cup already. Team bullshits injury timelines to cheat the cap. Oh…your feelings were hurt? Keep it to yourself

Sports fan gatekeeping is one of the most embarrassing behaviors a human being can engage in.

 

[WhataKnight]

I don’t want to hear about Vegas fans being upset about anything for at least another 50 years. Handed immediate success with no suffering. Win a cup already. Team bullshits injury timelines to cheat the cap. Oh…your feelings were hurt? Keep it to yourself

Isn’t it great that it isn’t your call to make?

 

[Vegas07]

You won a cup while your franchise was still in diapers while Buffalo, Vancouver and San Jose all still have yet to win one. Go away

Maybe those franchises should get their heads out of their asses and win a cup then. If Vegas can do it in 6 years then what’s their excuse?

 

[Vegas07]

The team is not losing 42 goals. Marchessault did that in a contract year, and his last chance for a big contract.

In his other 4 seasons with the Knights with at least 76 games played he scored 27, 25, 30, and 28 goals (28 when the team won the cup).

So the team lost around 25-30 goals, and he is only getting older.

I still will miss him and he does perform in the playoffs though.

 

[MikeyMike01]

He should see how brutal the NFL is in this department.

 

[Curufinwe]

Yeah, NHL players with guaranteed contracts need to quit their whining.

 

[triggrman]

Maybe those franchises should get their heads out of their asses and win a cup then. If Vegas can do it in 6 years then what’s their excuse?

Honestly? You guys had some very favorible expansion draft rules and a clean slate on the salary cap. But good on Vegas for capitalizing on it. Lots of teams with advantages never do.

 

[Vegas07]

Honestly? You guys had some very favorible expansion draft rules and a clean slate on the salary cap. But good on Vegas for capitalizing on it. Lots of teams with advantages never do.

People were laughing at Vegas after the draft and thought the roster was a joke. However, it’s true some thought Vegas would suck and get more high picks as a result. But the latter didn’t happen.

 

[PaulD]

No tax teams don’t give a f***. They know their huge advantage over other teams in the League needs to be maximized. So franchise stars like Marchy and Stammer can go f*** themselves.

or they they can go make millions elsewhere

 

[banks]

Vegas established immediately that they are ruthless when it comes to player movement. They haven't hesitated once to make a change or a move if they felt it suits them.

Shipachyov brings his family from Russia? Put him in the AHL anyway, let him walk.
Draft Suzuki in the first round? Trade him anyway.
Spend big for Tatar? He's not instantly successful, trade him for Pacioretty.
Patches isn't an immediate success? Dump him for future considerations.
MAF plays great? But he's old, go get Lehner.
Lehner isn't in playing shape? Give him a cap-endectomy and LTIR him.
Reilly Smith is a team fixture from the start? Dump him for a 3rd rounder.

I know there's more to each of these stories. But there's even more stories like this. The city of Vegas even names streets after players form their first season, but the team ditched or let a bunch of them walk.. The theme is clear. VGK doesn't care about individual players or their legacy with the team. They just want to win.

 

[hangman005]

Vegas established immediately that they are ruthless when it comes to player movement. They haven't hesitated once to make a change or a move if they felt it suits them.

Shipachyov brings his family from Russia? Put him in the AHL anyway, let him walk.
Draft Suzuki in the first round? Trade him anyway.
Spend big for Tatar? He's not instantly successful, trade him for Pacioretty.
Patches isn't an immediate success? Dump him for future considerations.
MAF plays great? But he's old, go get Lehner.
Lehner isn't in playing shape? Give him a cap-endectomy and LTIR him.
Reilly Smith is a team fixture from the start? Dump him for a 3rd rounder.

I know there's more to each of these stories. But there's even more stories like this. The city of Vegas even names streets after players form their first season, but the team ditched or let a bunch of them walk.. The theme is clear. VGK doesn't care about individual players or their legacy with the team. They just want to win.

I'm not disputing your overall narrative but I mean he was here 4 seasons. Once you've outlived your usefulness, we're not afraid to give you up for nothing.

 

[Il Stugotz]

Screw sentimentality. You play to the win the game.

Take a look, ya'll:

Spoiler

 

[ClydeLee]

Go ask Vegas and Tampa fans how they feel about the way Marchy/Stamkos were handled. It matters to the fans, you know the ones that support the market/team.

Again like I said, Vegas is a cut throat organization, they'll always do what they feel is best for their teams success. But fans want their stars, especially the ones that have delivered a Cup, to be respected by the organization. No one is faulting Vegas for moving on, that's what's best for you guys ? Cool, but the way it was handled wasn't the best.

You should ask Vegas fans how they feel about Fleury. Because that was the big issue... do they wish they didn't consider their future goaltending situation and kept Fleury into his 40s or spent cap elsewhere and won a cup?

Ask Tampa fans about Anton Stralman. I recall Leafs fans upset he was suddenly this great #2 in Tampa helping them get to the final in 2015, then they let him go right before their cup victories? Are they upset they didn't show him loyalty?

The loyalty you're talking about is why teams often don't stay champions repeatedly and usually get old and bad after cup wins if they give it out. I mean, do you want Marner to get a 12+million extension for loyalty and what he's done?

 

[AvroArrow]

You should ask Vegas fans how they feel about Fleury. Because that was the big issue... do they wish they didn't consider their future goaltending situation and kept Fleury into his 40s or spent cap elsewhere and won a cup?

Ask Tampa fans about Anton Stralman. I recall Leafs fans upset he was suddenly this great #2 in Tampa helping them get to the final in 2015, then they let him go right before their cup victories? Are they upset they didn't show him loyalty?

The loyalty you're talking about is why teams often don't stay champions repeatedly and usually get old and bad after cup wins if they give it out. I mean, do you want Marner to get a 12+million extension for loyalty and what he's done?

We're talking about the guy that led Vegas to their first ever cup just 1 year ago, and a Conn Smythe winner.

 

[ClydeLee]

We're talking about the guy that led Vegas to their first ever cup just 1 year ago, and a Conn Smythe winner.

Do they want to win another cup or not? Why does it matter he won the Conn smythe vs the any huge successful pieces let walk. Fleury won a vezina just the season he was traded.

Why should Vegas have this loyalty, there's no evidence fans actually are even upset. Fans want this based on what? Fans want winning. If those fans got over Fleury being replaced and shipped for nothing but capspace, I don't see a justification to be mad at this. That is if they want the team to still win cups in this window.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

We're talking about the guy that led Vegas to their first ever cup just 1 year ago, and a Conn Smythe winner.

Big whoop.

Won. Past tense. Looking forward is what VGK should be doing.