Every Vegas Golden Knights’ First Time Stanley Cup Winner

The Vegas Golden Knights are now Stanley Cup Champions in their sixth season of existence and although they had a few key players who have hoisted the hardest trophy to win in sports before, there are many first time winners. Players like Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Ivan Barbashev, Chandler Stephenson, Phil Kessel, and Jonathan Quick have all won with the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, or St. Louis Blues, but 20 new players now get their name engraved on the Cup. Let’s break them up.

The 6 Golden Misfits

The first year Golden Knights team that went all the way to the Cup Final against the odds were nicknamed the Golden Misfits. Only six players remain from that team, but only four were acquired directly from the expansion draft, the other two were acquired via trade. Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb, and William Carrier were chosen in the draft, while Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore were traded for.

The Golden Misfits were heavily involved in the team bringing home the first Stanley Cup in their history and it’s fitting that one of them won the Conn Smythe Trophy as well – Marchessault. He was absolutely dominant from the second round and on, scoring almost every night. Karlsson’s production might have flown under the radar since there were five forwards who put up more points, but he finished with 11 goals in 22 games. McNabb was solid as he always is on the back-end and after leading the team in game-winning goals in the regular season, Carrier scored another one in their playoff run. His role on the fourth line was huge.

The Playoff Performers

If it wasn’t Marchessault hoisting the Conn Smythe trophy, it easily could have been one of three other players who hadn’t yet won a Stanley Cup – Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, or Adin Hill. Eichel led the Golden Knights in points with 26 in his first playoff appearance. The goal total probably held him back from lifting two trophies that night. Stone was dominant at both ends of the ice and finished second on the team in goals (11) and points (24) in the playoffs. The third and final playoff performer that came out of nowhere is Adin Hill. He didn’t even start in net at the beginning of the playoffs, but took over in goal after Laurent Brossoit’s injury and finished 11-4 with a .932 SV% and two shutouts.

The Rest of the Field

The remaining group is filled with mostly depth guys, but Nicolas Roy, Brett Howden, and Michael Amadio contributed quite a bit offensively, each recording 10 or more points. Keegar Kolesar played the least amount of minutes per game for the team, but also led them with 50 penalty minutes, providing a ton of physicality and toughness. And on defense, Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud made up the third pairing, providing value at both ends of the ice.

Related: 3 Golden Knights Who Won’t Be Back Next Season

There were four players who played in under half of the playoff games for the Golden Knights who haven’t won yet and got their name on the Cup – Teddy Blueger, Laurent Brossoit, Ben Hutton, Paul Cotter, and Logan Thompson. The Golden Knights used five goalies throughout the regular season and only two in the playoffs, but four of them got their name on the Cup despite Hill playing in 16 of the games and Brossoit playing in eight. Thompson deserves his name on the Cup because he met the criteria of 41 games during the regular season either in goal or serving as the backup. He played 37 regular season games and got injured for the rest of the season.

Blueger was a deadline pickup that was meant to help out their fourth line. Although he got into six games, Carrier, Roy, and Kolesar ultimately played the majority of the games there. Ben Hutton got into just two games, one in the first round and one in the second round, while Cotter suited up for 55 games in the regular season and none in the playoffs.