By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up Season 4 Saturday with media Zoom interviews with coach Pete DeBoer and players.
It was a season of 56 regular season games, plus another 19 playoff games that ended with a disappointing Game 6 loss to the Montreal Canadiens two days ago.
Owner Bill Foley, along with other sports team owners, saw annual revenues drop because of the pandemic.
But the National Hockey League hopes to return to “normal” when the Knights’ Year 5 begins in a few months.
Some players’ quote highlights from today’s sessions:
Forward Reilly Smith: “I think we’re really close. It’s just upsetting because I think everyone in this organization feels like we had the group this year to win.”
Goaltender Robin Lehner: “I’ve played with some really good goaltenders in my career and playing with Marc-Andre (Fleury) is a privilege. We’ve grown a lot closer to each other and it’s been a pretty special couple of seasons here.”
He said the relationship was “blown out of proportion.”
Defenseman Alec Martinez said he played with a broken foot in the playoffs. He said he needs another month to fully understand what it will take for the VGK to take the next step from going to the NHL semifinals to winning the Stanley Cup. the Montreal vs Tampa Final starts Monday.
Fleury: “I haven’t given much thought to the future but I hope I can stick around and finish my career here.”
Fleury on his daughters making artwork for Lehner before VGK-Montreal game. “My two girls love arts & crafts and they love writing letters. They give me lots of those. It was a big game in Montreal for Game 6 and in their hearts they wanted to send Robin some love. It was very sweet of them.”
Alex Tuch: “It was very different this year. I do miss going out east, going to Canada, going all over the country. It will be nice to get back to it and not have it as condensed as well. I think the entire team misses that and it will be nice to get back to a normal schedule.”
Mark Stone: “I think our group is learning to win different games. Obviously there’s going to be some reflection on the year as you go throughout the summer and offseason, but I do think we’re close. Now it’s about building that little extra chemistry to get us over the hump.”
VGK coach Pete DeBoer: “I think the whole world is looking to get back to normal. We want full buildings. We want to see other teams. From a coaching perspective, I want to be able to practice. I feel like we played every other night since we dropped the puck in January.”
There’s been some fantastic moments here. We obviously want more and we want the ultimate moment. Unfortunately there’s 31 other teams and there’s a process to get there. We’re going to keep moving it toward that direction. — VGK coach Pete DeBoer
Max Pacioretty: “We played a good series against Colorado and then not as well against Montreal. That stings and it will take a little while for it to settle in and get over it. At some point, you have to use it as motivation to get ready for next year.”
Alex Pacioretty: “It was certainly a fun year for us even though we fell short. It’s fun coming somewhere and getting to know your teammates. We adjusted well, obviously it was different at first for me and my family but as things progressed we felt more and more comfortable.”
DeBoer on the VGK fans: “Our fanbase is one of our biggest advantages here. There’s big expectations and there should be. Our owner has big expectations as he should. He spends to the cap every year. He’s willing to do what it takes to win.”
VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon: “We had a really consistent, successful year. We had 40 wins, we tied for first overall with Colorado with 82 points. We beat a really good Minnesota team in the first round who was ninth overall in the NHL…We beat the President’s Trophy winner in the second round. We had some great moments as an organization winning both of those series on home ice. That was incredible for our fans.”
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