LAS VEGAS — In one way, everyone is embracing a clean slate. A starting over point, as their new coach likes to call it. In another, there isn’t a player on the Golden Knights who wants to forget.
You can have it both ways, of course.
One doesn’t have to cancel the other.
Ryan Craig has begun his tenure as the Knights’ coach and yet the memory of coming within two wins of claiming the franchise’s second Stanley Cup last season over Carolina remains very much part of how players view a new season.
And it should.
Forge ahead but never forget.
“That one is going to sting for a long time,” said defenseman Brayden McNabb. “There’s motivation to get back there. New coach. We understand there’s not going to be a whole lot of change. I think he’s going to be great for us, the way he handles stuff. You could tell when he was an assistant for us that he would be a head coach some day. We’re all excited to work with him and get things going.”
Craig also doesn’t want his players putting too far into the rear-view mirror those feelings when you come so close to winning it all. He knows what it’s like to scale the mountain, an assistant on the team’s Stanley Cup championship side in 2023.
Talented again
It’s pointless to try and shove the emotions of losing to Carolina in six games in the Final to the back of one’s mind. They will always be there. And it’s not the worst thing.
The Knights again have a talented enough roster to contend for the Cup. That part hasn’t changed. That part never seems to change.
But rare is the side that doesn’t need some level of motivation to survive what can be a long, grueling season. Rare is the side that can win at a high level on skill alone.
Everyone needs something to push them in times of adversity.
And everyone goes through them at some point.
“It’s a long year,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “So many things can happen. It’s hard to get to the point we did last year. But much of the group here had done it before. We’ve got to start from square one, sure, but it’s important to take the positives from last year and make sure we bring it right away when the season starts and get off on a great foot.
“What happened (against Carolina) sticks with you, but it shows you when we click, how far we can go. It was a good learning experience to see what it takes to play your best hockey and just how hard it is to get the job done. Come back now. It’s very important we have a really good start to the year, to try and pick up where we left off as a team in the playoffs last season.”
They all believe in Craig, positive thoughts being spoken throughout the room as training camp began this past week. They know him. Understand what he wants out of them. Familiarity is a good thing with a shortened camp and preseason schedule.
There isn’t as much time now to get on the same page.
The season opener (Sept. 29 at home against Chicago) will be here in a blink.
Things get tough
Losing hurts. Losing in Game 6 of the Cup Final can be brutal. That’s why it’s impossible for the Knights not to bring some of those feelings into this season. And, strangely enough, it can be viewed in a positive light if used in the correct way.
“Absolutely, you’re thinking about it the whole summer,” said forward Ivan Barbashev. “But we have a lot to prove. We’re a really good team, and I think everybody is excited to get going. I think (Craig) is going to be great for us. Guys like him. He did a really good with (the Silver Knights) in Henderson and everybody here is excited to get things going with him.”
They are excited for a new season, a new coach, a new outlook.
But they won’t soon forget being two wins away. And they shouldn’t.
Everyone needs a little push when things get tough. And they always do.
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