Vegas Golden Knights fans, it's time to embrace these final moments as the most recent Stanley Cup champions. The NHL will award the coveted trophy to the Edmonton Oilers or Florida Panthers no later than June 24. It's sad to see the beloved prize leave for a new victor, yet here we are. Fans will hope for Vegas to bring home the title next season, with a revitalized squad (and hopefully the return of an "Original Misfit").
Will NHL fans hear "La Bamba" when it's all said and done? Or will the hockey rink become infested with a wave of plastic rats after the victor's decided? Will Golden Knights fans even care? It's tough to have a rooting interest when your team isn't in the final round. Why bother when fan favorites like Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault aren't even on the ice?
Fear not, dear reader, for this is a brief guide on what both teams offer. There are some significant players formerly of Vegas lore playing, after all. With that, there are some potential routes for fans in Sin City to take here. Here are three possibilities for Vegas Golden Knights fans to take with the Stanley Cup Finals set in stone.
The case for the Florida Panthers
If Golden Knights fans don't like rooting for Connor McDavid and company (there's going to be plenty), the Florida Panthers offer a safe alternative. They're a franchise that's never won a Stanley Cup in franchise history. With a star-studded roster featuring Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart, this is perhaps their best opportunity to continue the Sunshine State's dominance in the NHL world.
Believe it or not, there's actually a former Vegas hockey player on the Panthers this season. Tobias Bjornfot, who spent two games with the Vegas Golden Knights, was later claimed by the Panthers on March 8. Oddly enough, he was claimed by Vegas from the Los Angeles Kings on January 3.
Sadly, there's little to no chance Vegas hockey fans will see the Swedish defenseman play in the Stanley Cup Finals. The lineup is stacked with outstanding talent, leaving no room for the 23-year-old. Still, if fans are experiencing McDraisaitl fatigue, Florida presents itself as the perfect, All-American alternative to rooting for Canada.
The case for the Edmonton Oilers
Now, hear me out. There are not one, but two players with significant history with the Vegas Golden Knights playing for the Edmonton Oilers. One is Mattias Janmark, who spent two seasons with Vegas (2020-2022). The center scored 10 goals and 20 assists in 82 games before leaving for Edmonton the next season. If there's a haven for fans to root for the Oilers, it's Janmark on the fourth line.
The other is Calvin Pickard, the backup goaltender with some Golden Knights history. He was the first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, set to become the backup to Marc-Andre Fleury. Of course, that went out the window when Malcolm Subban came on board, with the current Oilers backup waived and traded to Toronto before the season started.
Fans don't have to root for Connor McDavid, nor Leon Draisaitl, to succeed. Instead, they can hope that either Janmark scores a goal or Pickard comes in for Stuart Skinner and does well. Believe it or not, Skinner hasn't been perfect this postseason, so the possibility is more likely than one would realize.
The case for neither
Of course, it doesn't matter if either team wins since the Vegas Golden Knights aren't defending their Stanley Cup. The bittersweet loss to the Dallas Stars in the first round still has a bad taste in the mouths of some fans, which takes away from being a passionate hockey fan.
The Florida Panthers were last year's adversaries, with Tkachuk rubbing some fans the wrong way. His sucker punch to Nicolas Hague in last year's Stanley Cup Finals was brutal, costing Florida the series. Still, seeing the Panthers superstar hoist the trophy might be too much.
As for Edmonton, well, there's some bad blood between both the Oilers and Golden Knights. Even with Janmark and Pickard being a part of Vegas's hockey history, is it worth seeing McDavid and Draisaitl win it all? That's something that might not be pleasant, which will lead fans to be indifferent.
But it comes down to whether your team is left standing after everything's said and done. Vegas isn't one of them, which leaves many fans to not care who wins, let alone even watch the Panthers and Oilers play. Life isn't the same without the Vegas Golden Knights playing and the rest of the month will prove that.
