The Vegas Golden Knights capped off a remarkable postseason run on Tuesday night, winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in only its sixth season in the NHL. While Vegas’ accomplishment is impressive in-and-of itself, one stat points to their improbable win as one of the more dominant efforts in Stanley Cup history.
According to OptaStats, the Golden Knights are the first team to win the Stanley Cup Final with multiple victories of five goals or more without dropping a game by more than one goal.
The Golden Knights overwhelmed the Florida Panthers in a mostly one-sided series. Vegas outscored the Panthers 27-11 over five games, with only two contests decided by fewer than two goals. Along with a 5-2 win in Game 1, the Golden Knights also trounced the Panthers twice, winning Game 2 by a 7-2 score and the deciding Game 5 on Tuesday by a 9-3 score.
Vegas’ quick rise to the top and their “Cup in six” motto have rubbed some the wrong way. The Golden Knights have come under particular fire for using a loophole made popular by the Tampa Bay Lightning (winners of back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021), to their advantage.
Vegas placed players on long-term injured reserve and spent to the cap with the savings, only to have many of those players return in time to make an impact in the playoffs – when the cap is irrelevant. While it may be more salt in the wound for those triggered by Vegas’ title, their use of LTIR space is perfectly legal and a practice in which any NHL team can engage.
What is the price for a Stanley Cup? Well, for the Golden Knights, it might be a quick downward trend in 2023-24. While there is much to be decided between now and next season’s puck drop, the Golden Knights will enter the offseason with 10 expiring contracts and only $3.4 million in cap space, per Cap Friendly.
Oddsmakers see the writing on the wall as well. The defending Cup champions currently have the seventh-best title odds (+1300) for the 2024 season.
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