By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley described it as “infuriating” to see the five-minute major penalty on VGK forward Cody Eakin in the third period of a decisive Game 7 between the San Jose Sharks and the Knights two days ago and said Thursday a NHL senior executive called him to apologize about the ref’s call that paved the way for the Sharks to score a stunning four power play goals on the VGK and knock the Golden Knights out of the playoffs with an eventual 5-4 overtime win.
Foley said a ref’s call like that in the third period should be subject to instant replay review, with a coach allowed to challenge the referee’s call. Foley chatted with the media at the team’s training facility and headquarters after General Manager George McPhee, coach Gerard Gallant and the players met reporters for the final time for the 2018-19 season. Foley said he was told by the NHL executive — the VGK owner declined to identify the league official — that the 5-minute major call was a “bad call” and a “mistake.”
“We had a road to get back to the Stanley Cup,” Foley said.
And that third Golden Knights jersey? Likely will happen in Season 3, Foley said.
On the team’s revenue performance, Foley said game day revenues were up eight percent in Season 2 over Season 1 and ranked forth or fifth in the National Hockey League.
“Not bad for an expansion team,” Foley said.
Foley also noted that current Golden Knights sponsors are expanding their business partnership deals with the VGK and that the sponsorships at the team base at City National Arena in Summerlin where the team trains are hitting $3 million a year alone. He said the number of sponsorships has hit 129.
Though Foley was clearly irritated by the ref’s call, he said he had adopted McPhee’s outlook — one accepted by the players, too — to look at the penalty on Eakin in the rear view mirror. “Everybody is taking the high road,” Foley said of the Golden Knights’ reaction to the blown ref’s call. Here are more Foley comments from his 12:30 p.m. media session.
From a business standpoint, Foley said his goal is to make the Golden Knights a global brand. The Knights recently launched a global fan club called “VGK Worldwide.”
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The Golden Knights players met with Foley and McPhee in the morning and also had their final interviews with the media. McPhee set the tone for the theme of the player comments when he said there will be no “pity party” over the Game 7 call and that there will be no whining or wallowing in response to the Round 1 series loss to the Sharks, which moved on to play the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2 starting Friday. Here’s Eakin at his locker.
Here is a Facebook Live video of McPhee’s 16-minute chat.
And Gallant talked with the media for about 10 minutes.
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While the ref’s call in Game 7 in the OT loss is drawing all the attention, VGK forward Alex Tuch said, “It just wasn’t one play. You move on.” Tuch said the team’s response to Eakin was simple: “We’re all there for him.”
Tuch said he played better in the first half of the season and slowed down in the second half. His comments:
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Eakin, the Knights’ solid 200-foot player, talked about what happened after the penalty was called on him.
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Defenseman Nate Schmidt chatted about living in Las Vegas.
Ryan Carpenter, the scrappy two-way forward picked up by the Golden Knights after the Sharks let him go in VGK Season 1, praised the home arena crowd: “It’s electric playing in T-Mobile Arena. We always have that extra jump.”
Meanwhile, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare put it in simple terms for VGK Season 3: “We have to make sure we are stronger next year.”
Tough guy forward Ryan Reaves said the team supported Eakin by telling him: “It’s not on you.”
And Tuch said of this year’s off-season: “It’ll be a little longer than last year, which is not a good year.”
And a relaxed-looking Paul Stastny put it this way, “I’ve already turned the page.” He noted, “It would be better to lose 6-0 than to lose the way we did.” He called the penalty was a “fluke play” and discussed the face-off that led to the major penalty.
Tough defenseman Brayden McNabb, always a man of few words, put it simply, “It’s over and it’s done.”
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LVSportsBiz.com had a chance to touch base with the VGK trio that had a special season in Year 1 and a strong last few games in the Round 1 series against the Sharks. The line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith.
Karlsson said the painful Game 7 loss and penalty will be used “for motivation.”
Smith lamented the “wasted opportunity” to advance to Round 2 and make a potential run to the Stanley Cup.
Marchessault, who called the ref’s major penalty decision “embarrassing” during a postgame interview in San Jose, said it’s “time to turn the page.” He also chatted about his linemate, Karlsson, in this video.
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The Golden Knights players are a humble bunch and few personify that trait more than scrappy defenseman Jon Merrill. I’ve talked with him many times about hiking in Red Rock Canyon, which he enjoys to visit. Here’s Merrill’s final interview.
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