Current Events > Are the Vegas Golden Knights the best expansion team ever?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Conference finals in their first year of existence
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Isn't hockey set up in a way that new teams basically get first dibs on all the best free agents to ensure they will immediately be competitive?
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tbf, they had the best expansion draft rules I can ever remember.

but yeah, mathematically, they are far and away the best expansion team (at least, in the NA leagues)
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I'd say so.

Roster had me feeling like they'd have a rough go for a few years at the minimum. Instead they're making a real stride for the cup.
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Do the Colorado Avalanche count?
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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Isn't hockey set up in a way that new teams basically get first dibs on all the best free agents to ensure they will immediately be competitive?

For this expansion draft it kind of was. But even then they got lucky getting freebies from Columbus and Florida. Plus you know, that future hall of fame goalie.

In the past though, definitely not. The best expansion team NHL wise before this was Florida, and they missed the playoffs and had a losing record, and were only good because they got Vanbiesbrouck in the expansion draft and trapped like hell.
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yeah, i think the panthers had the previous record for point percentage, and the bulls the only other team to make the playoffs year 1.

edit: big 4, anyway. I think the MLS had some good expansion teams, but I'm not finding easy info and too lazy to dig myself.
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electricbugs2 posted...

AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Isn't hockey set up in a way that new teams basically get first dibs on all the best free agents to ensure they will immediately be competitive?

For this expansion draft it kind of was. But even then they got lucky getting freebies from Columbus and Florida. Plus you know, that future hall of fame goalie.

In the past though, definitely not. The best expansion team NHL wise before this was Florida, and they missed the playoffs and had a losing record, and were only good because they got Vanbiesbrouck in the expansion draft and trapped like hell.

There are so many wrong things in this post that I don't even know where to begin.
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thelovefist posted...

There are so many wrong things in this post that I don't even know where to begin.

How so?
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Do the Blues count?

Without question and there isn't a close second. In fact, they are the best expansion team and to even compare another would be ridiculous.
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Medussa posted...

too lazy to dig myself.

i dug.

1998 Chicago Fire.
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1trained_n00b posted...

Do the Colorado Avalanche count?

They wouldn't. It was just a team that moved to a different town but had basically the same roster. Golden Knights got to cherry pick players from other teams.

So while its exciting for them to doing this well in their first year, it isn't exactly like they were given scraps of other teams and expected to build up over the years.
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Dampproof posted...

1trained_n00b posted...

Do the Colorado Avalanche count?

They wouldn't. It was just a team that moved to a different town but had basically the same roster. Golden Knights got to cherry pick players from other teams.

So while its exciting for them to doing this well in their first year, it isn't exactly like they were given scraps of other teams and expected to build up over the years.

What they got to choose from were unprotected players. They were literally scraps.
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teams could protect no more than 11 players, and there were still more restrictions (automatically having to protect all players with no-move contracts was a big one)

the 2000 draft let teams protect up to 15 players.
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