Maybe that's because TB did it once, blatantly, and got a TON of shit thrown their way because of it. No NHL season since has been complete without questioning the legitimacy of what Vegas does and usually when there's smoke for 4 years there's fire. I remember people were questioning it way back when Vegas acquired Eichel and if I remember they were stashing players on LTIR just to find ways to fit Eichel under. It's never been simply about putting playiers on LTIR for Vegas but about them doing so primarily for the purpose of bringing in more high-priced players from other teams.
I mostly post about my disdain for what the team is doing and how I find it difficult to understand how some can view the situation without at least a shred of skepticism . Most Vegas posters are posting "LMAOOOOO OTHER FANS SOOOO SALTYYYYY" without it being about hockey in the least.
I don’t know who you’re referencing with the latter, but the 3-5 names I know from the VGK board posting in here seem to have a more resigned/composed take. Speaking only for myself, I try to stick to waving a red cape between the fans and the actual root of the problem - the CBA - especially having become a fan of this team after the quality of their broadcasts compared to those for the local team (cough…..Avs) don’t require both an additional TV package and large quantities of amyl nitrate to sit through.
I’m more surprised and annoyed that this slipped through nearly 3 dozen legal teams over weeks of negotiations, and THIS was the cleanest answer - though considering how many times people suggest a “game 82 or gtfo” clause should be added only for it to be re-explained how it isn’t a fitting solution, maybe I shouldn’t be. Hell, much of the reason I support all teams approaching “load management” this way is because the combo of total number of regular season games and physicality of the sport make other methods of adjustment incongruent. If this was a known mechanism - which I can’t believe it wasn’t given the legal juice it takes to make a CBA - it was only a matter of time before it was exploited.
At the end of the day, I view what’s happening now similar to the pre-2005 league. Detroit/NYR aren’t getting any asterisks for how they’d stack teams before the cap came about. They used the physics of the environment. Vegas/TB are similar. As for skepticism, I’d have to go as far as assuming that injuries were overblown or faked, which I can’t given the amount of diligence. For me, it comes down to fast & loose load management at worst, until it is proven definitively that someone’s faking it. I didn’t call TB cheaters so much as state surprise at this slipping through the last CBA without any mechanism of restraint, and actually would
look forward to this being more common, as it can be said to force lazy owners to be more aggressive.
Call it a side effect of liking this team before VGK’s legal arm decided to prioritize the legally permissible and ignore contempt. I’m curious what the next round of CBA negotiations will bring about, and I’m all for a solution that allows for fluidity and encourages teams to make bold moves. For now, for better or worse, VGK is willingly standing in the line of fire that the league is due for its inability to make a better solution. I just balk at accusations of “cheating” when the CBA permits it - making it an owner/GM-level decision today, and a matter to be corrected in 2026 with the next CBA.
Every one-sided thing the Vegas Golden Knights have done ended with a “handshake” from second and third parties. Except for one.
