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Golden Knights GM Pushes Back on an Untrue NHL Narrative
Delve into the Golden Knights narrative as McCrimmon challenges the notion of unfair advantages and selective trades in the NHL.
Following the trade acquisition of Rasmus Andersson, fans are once again looking at the Vegas Golden Knights and thinking they get everyone and have an unfair advantage over most other NHL teams. Kelly McCrimmon is well aware of the reputation surrounding the Golden Knights — and he’s pushing back on it.
Speaking recently about the perception that Vegas is involved in every major trade conversation, the Golden Knights’ general manager made it clear that the narrative doesn’t reflect reality. While Vegas is often linked to big names around the league, McCrimmon says the team is far more selective than people assume.
“I always believe you kind of manage the team in front of you,” McCrimmon said. “We like our team, we’ve been successful since inception. I heard just as I was coming on that we’re in on everyone. We are not in on everyone. We are in hard on guys we like.”
McCrimmon believes that distinction matters.
Around the NHL, Vegas is often viewed as aggressive, ruthless — even reckless — for its willingness to go after big fish, and trade draft picks and prospects for established players. The narrative that they get every big name is a narrative McCrimmon rejected outright. Instead, their strategy emerged from necessity. He explained that Golden Knights’ approach has been shaped by their unique expansion-era reality.
“We didn’t have the luxury of a deep farm system when we started,” he said. “We had success right out of the gate and that kind of changed our approach.”
The Golden Knights Have Paid High Prices To Build Their Team
McCrimmon pointed to a long list of players acquired using first-round picks — Jack Eichel, Ivan Barbashev, Noah Hanifin, and Tomas Hertl among them — as evidence that Vegas has consistently turned future assets into core contributors. In his view, those picks didn’t lose value but reinvested value.
“We think we put better value into our organization than we took away,” he said.
TSN’s Bryan Hayes later framed the perception as a backhanded compliment, suggesting the league believes Vegas usually gets the players it targets. McCrimmon didn’t dispute that confidence — but stressed it comes from discipline, not recklessness.
“It’s almost the perception that we’re reckless in our approach, but we’re anything but,” McCrimmon said. “We’re very strategic.”
Ultimately, McCrimmon says the Golden Knights are firm in their vision of what a championship-caliber roster looks like and are committed to giving their coaches the tools to win. Vegas may be aggressive — but according to their GM, every move is calculated, intentional, and rooted in a clear organizational identity.
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