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Bellemare’s Emotional Connection To Las Vegas Runs Deep

Former Vegas Golden Knights player Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare as a VGKer.

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare remembers Las Vegas well.

Sure, the crafty 37-year-old fourth line center and penalty killer plays for two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay after two seasons with Colorado.

Bellemare went from Vegas to Colorado before hooking on with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

So, there’s a newsy hook there as Colorado and Tampa Bay play for the Stanley Cup. That’s why he was among the most popular players sought for an interview at the Stanley Cup Final Media Day at Ball Arena in Denver Tuesday.

Bellemare at practice today at Ball Arena in Denver.

But the still-painful mass shooting on the Strip that killed 58 country music concert fans Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas is still fresh in Bellemare’s memory when he talked with LVSportsBiz.com today.

“We had to answer what the town needed,” Bellemare recalled, noting the team’s red-hot start to its inaugural season propelled the Vegas Golden Knights to the final against Washington.

“Even if we didn’t win the Stanley Cup, it was an amazing year,” Bellemare said.

Bellemare at Media Day Tuesday.

“There was a special bond between the players, the organization and the fans,” Bellemare said.

He has a special affection for Las Vegas, recalling his two children were born there.

After Bellemare joined the Colorado Avalanche after VGK Year 2, the popular ex-Misfit came back to T-Mobile Arena and scored a goal on his old pal, former Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

“I felt bad about that,” Bellemare said with a straight face. “I didn’t cheer. I tried to be respectful.”

Bellemare even said he talked with Flower after the game and was a true gentleman after scoring on his former Vegas teammate.

“I didn’t want to rub it in,” Bellemare joked.

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The Vegas Golden Knights announced today that fired Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is the franchise’s third coach in six seasons.


LVSportsBiz.com Stanley Cup Coverage presented by ISM bicycle seats and real estate agent Liz Lane

Alan Snel: Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.
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