List of Vegas Golden Knights general managers

The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey expansion team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team began play in the 2017–18 NHL season, a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team is owned by Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley,[1][2] and plays its home games at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.[3]

George McPhee served as the Golden Knights' first general manager from 2016 to 2019, and continues to serve as president of hockey operations.

There have been two general managers in franchise history. George McPhee, who had most recently served as an advisor to New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow, was named the first general manager in franchise history on July 13, 2016.[4] McPhee led the franchise through its expansion draft in 2017, followed by a historic inaugural season that resulted in a Pacific Division championship and an appearance in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals;[5][6] he subsequently received the NHL General Manager of the Year Award after the season.[7] During the 2018–19 season, McPhee additionally acquired future captain Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators via trade.[8] Following McPhee's second season as general manager, the franchise promoted assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon to general manager amidst rumors of interest from the Edmonton Oilers,[9][10] with McPhee retaining his role as president of hockey operations.[11]

In the following five seasons under McCrimmon, the Golden Knights reached the playoffs a further four times,[12] including two Pacific Division titles,[13][14] but also missed the playoffs for the first time in 2021–22.[15] McCrimmon became known for aggressive trades during his tenure;[8][16][17] while general manager, Vegas traded away three of their four first-round prospects drafted between 2019 and 2023,[18] as well as the franchise's first-round picks in 2022, 2025, and 2026, in order to acquire players such as Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Noah Hanifin, and Tomas Hertl.[a] McCrimmon's actions sometimes caused controversy, including trading away Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury in order to create salary cap space for other contracts,[23][24] as well as a voided trade, with an attempt to send Evgenii Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks falling through due to non-compliance with Dadonov's no-trade clause.[25] Ultimately, McCrimmon led the Golden Knights to their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2023,[26] resulting in their first Stanley Cup victory,[27] and becoming the fastest expansion team in NHL history to win the Cup.[28]

General managers

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General managers of the Vegas Golden Knights
No. Name Tenure Accomplishments Ref(s)
1 George McPhee July 13, 2016 – September 1, 2019 [4][29]
2 Kelly McCrimmon September 1, 2019 – present [11][12]

Notes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Introducing the Vegas Golden Knights". Vegas Golden Knights. November 22, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 22, 2016). "Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Mitanis, Marcus (February 19, 2016). "T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to Open Spring 2016". Skyrisecities. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Burnside, Scott (July 13, 2016). "McPhee named GM of Las Vegas expansion team". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Schoen, David (March 31, 2018). "Golden Knights win, 3–2, clinch Pacific Division title". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Emily (June 12, 2018). "Fifteen days that defined the Golden Knights' season". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "Golden Knights' George McPhee named general manager of the year". Sportsnet.ca. June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Emerson, Justin (June 13, 2021). "Golden Knights' aggressive roster-building again has them in Stanley Cup semifinals". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Leavins, Kurt (January 27, 2019). "Kelly McCrimmon the front-runner to become the new Oilers GM and other assorted NHL All-Star break musings: 9 Things". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Friedman, Elliotte (April 30, 2019). "31 Thoughts: Penguins' big decisions include what to do with Malkin". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved September 5, 2024. Now that the Under-18s are over, we're going to find out if Ken Holland and Kelly McCrimmon are legitimate possibilities for the Oilers... As I write this, Vegas has not yet granted official permission for Edmonton to meet with McCrimmon, although an answer is expected at some point this week. He is, however, expected to ask for autonomy, and it will be interesting to see how the Oilers respond to that.
  11. ^ a b "Kelly McCrimmon named General Manager of the Vegas Golden Knights". National Hockey League. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  12. ^ a b "Kelly McCrimmon - NHL General Managers". NHL.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Futrell, Ron (May 26, 2020). "NHL Commissioner announces 'Return to Play Plan', Knights crowned Pacific Division Champs for 2019-2020 season". KLAS 8 News Now. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Delos Santos, Paul (April 14, 2023). "Golden Knights defeat Kraken, win Pacific Division, Western Conference". NHL.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  15. ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (April 28, 2022). "Golden Knights eliminated from playoff contention; injuries costly". NHL.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Delos Santos, Paul (June 3, 2023). "Golden Knights front office aggressive in pursuit of Stanley Cup". The Hockey News. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  17. ^ Yost, Travis (March 11, 2024). "The Golden Knights have turned roster building on its head". TSN.ca. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  18. ^ Webster, Danny (June 2, 2024). "Who are the Golden Knights' 1st-round picks and where are they now?". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Kaplan, Emily (November 4, 2021). "Buffalo Sabres trade Jack Eichel to Vegas Golden Knights". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Clark, Ryan S. (February 26, 2023). "Blues continue overhaul, deal Ivan Barbashev to Golden Knights". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  21. ^ "Hanifin traded to Golden Knights by Flames for draft picks, Miromanov". NHL.com. March 6, 2024.
  22. ^ "Hertl traded to Golden Knights by Sharks for Edstrom, 1st-round pick". NHL.com. March 8, 2024.
  23. ^ Emerson, Justin (January 8, 2022). "Marc-Andre Fleury returns to Vegas for first time to oppose Golden Knights". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Emerson, Justin (July 27, 2021). "Golden Knights trade Marc-Andre Fleury to Chicago". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  25. ^ "Dadonov Trade Canceled". media.nhl.com. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  26. ^ Hawkins, Stephen (May 29, 2023). "Golden Knights reach 2nd Stanley Cup Final after Game 6 win over Stars". The Associated Press. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  27. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 13, 2023). "Golden Knights win Stanley Cup with Game 5 victory against Panthers". NHL.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  28. ^ Butler, Alex (June 14, 2023). "Golden Knights become fastest NHL expansion team to win Stanley Cup". UPI. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  29. ^ "George McPhee - NHL General Managers". NHL.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.