Vegas Golden Knights look to make owner Bill Foley's prediction come true

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Before the Vegas Golden Knights ever took the ice in Las Vegas, owner Bill Foley predicted the team would make playoffs in three years and win the Stanley Cup in six years.

"Well, I've said playoffs in three and Stanley Cup in six. [Head coach] Gerard walked me back a little bit. That may be a little agressive," Foley said during former head coach Gerard Gallant's introductory press conference back in 2017. "You know I have my goals. I'm an old guy. We got to get on with this. I can't be fooling around and waiting for 10 or 12 years. The pressure is on. We're going to win but we're going to build from the ground up."

This season marks six years and the team is just four wins away from making that prediction come true. But how did we get here?

2015

• Owner Bill Foley submits an application to the NHL for an expansion team in Las Vegas. At the time, 13,500 people had already committed to buying season tickets before a team was even announced.

2016

• Las Vegas' expansion bid is unanimously approved at the NHL owners' meeting and the valley is granted a team.
• The team is officially named the Vegas Golden Knights.

2017-2018

• The Golden Knights finish their expansion fee payments and filings and are allowed to formally begin operations like trades and roster expansions.
  

  “The Vegas Golden Knights are officially a National Hockey League franchise.” --Foley pic.twitter.com/o5YGeiZ3Zw

  — z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 1, 2017

• The Vegas Golden Knights first personnel move is to sign Reid Duke to a three-year entry-level contract.
• VGK announces that Gerard Gallant will be the team's first coach.
• The gold and black participate in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and picks were announced at T-Mobile Arena during the NHL Awards ceremony. That included picking up Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh Penguins, James Neal from the Nashville Predators, William Carrier from the Buffalo Sabres, Jonathan Marchessault from the Florida Panthers, Brayden McNabb from the Los Angeles Kings, Deryk Engelland from the Calgary Flames, and William Karlsson from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reilly Smith was also traded to Vegas during the Expansion Draft due to salary cap issues with the Florida Panthers. The Golden Knights also picked up Shea Theodore after being traded by the Anaheim Ducks.
• VGK player James Neal starts a group chat named "The Golden Misfits," which is the nickname that has stuck to original players.
• During the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Cody Glass becomes the first player selected by the Golden Knights.
• VGK plays their final pre-season game on October 1, 2017, which is the same day as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The team had originally scheduled Fan Fest for October 3 but chose to cancel it out of respect.

RELATED LINK: Original VGK players reflect on their special bond with the community after 1 October

• The Golden Knights play their first regular season home game at T-Mobile Arena on October 10 where they honor 1 October victims, first responders, and other community members at the game. That included 58 seconds moment of silence for the victims, first responders walking onto the ice with the players, and survivors did the ceremonial puck drop before the game.

RELATED LINK: Former Vegas Golden Knight Deryk Engelland reflects on his moving 1 October speech

• The Golden Knights go on to win the home opener against the Arizona Coyotes 5-2, scoring four goals in the first 11 minutes of the game.
• To start their very first season, the Golden Knights became the first NHL team to win eight of its first nine games in its inaugural season.
• The Knights pick up Ryan Reaves as part of a three-way trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators. In a separate trade, they added Max Pacioretty to the roster. Both eventually signed contract extensions for several years to stay with Vegas.
• The Vegas Golden Knights earn their first trip to the playoffs after beating the Colorado Avalanche. According to the NHL, Vegas was the 12th team to make playoffs in its inaugural season and it's the first time a team had done so since the 1979-1980 season.
• VGK swept the Los Angeles Kings and beat the San Jose Sharks to advance to the Western Conference Final.
• Vegas beat the Winnipeg Jets thanks to a series-winning goal from Reaves to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas became the third team in NHL history to make the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. The other two to do so were the Toronto Arenas (1918) and St. Louis Blues (1968).
  

  A bunch of guys
  
  just on the ice celebrating a Western Conference Championship
  
  & a trip to the Stanley Cup Final#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/kuHTC41Z4I

  — z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 24, 2018

• Ultimately, the Golden Knights fall short and lose the championship to the Washington Capitals.
• VGK head coach Gerard Gallant receives the Jack Adams Award for most outstanding head coach.

2018-2019

• Vegas Golden Knights trade for Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson.
• Shea Theodore agrees to a seven-year deal with the Knights.
• VGK makes playoffs again after the Arizona Coyotes lose in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche.
• While playing for Vegas, Stone records his first career hat-trick against the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
• San Jose eliminates VGK from playoffs in game seven due to a controversial five-minute penalty call against Vegas center Cody Eakin. Referees called him for crosschecking Sharks captain Joe Pavelski and Eakin was ultimately ejected from the game. That call put San Jose on the power play that eventually led to the Sharks scoring four goals. San Jose won 5-4 in overtime. The NHL later apologized for the officiating.
  

  #Vegas @GoldenKnights GM George McPhee - “The league reached out and did apologize.” about the call. @NHL @KTNV pic.twitter.com/oys3tiMleX

  — Jason Dinant 🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈 (@JasonDinant) April 25, 2019

RELATED LINK: Referees who made controversial call during VGK Game 7 not moving on

2019-2020

• Vegas Golden Knights promote Kelly McCrimmon to General Manager.
• William Karlsson signs eight-year contract extension as well as Mark Stone.
• Head coach Gerard Gallant is fired after a disappointing start to the season with the team going 24-19-6. He was eventually replaced by Pete DeBoer, who previously was with the Sharks.
• The Vegas Golden Knights trade for goalie Robin Lehner.
• The season is suspended by the league on March 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In May 2020, league commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL is going to use a 24-team playoff format to finish the season with two host cities in Canada serving as hubs.
• The Vegas Golden Knights earn the top seed in the Western Conference in the playoffs. They beat the Chicago Blackhawks to make it to the Western Conference Final where they lost in five games to the Dallas Stars.
• Deryk Engelland announces his retirement from the Vegas Golden Knights.
  

  For your service on the ice. For being a hero in our community.
  
  Congratulations on your retirement and thank you Deryk Engelland for a great hockey career! #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/hsQr16Kass

  — z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) December 22, 2020

2020-2021

• Goaltender Robin Lehner signs five-year contract extension with VGK.
• The NHL reduces the amount of regular season games due to the pandemic and teams continue to play in neutral-site bubbles.
• Marc-Andre Fleury is traded to the Chicago Blackhawks while Ryan Reaves is traded to the New York Rangers.
• Alex Pietrangelo signs with the Vegas Golden Knights.
• VGK picks up Mattias Janmark in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. He later scored a hat trick to help the Golden Knights defeat the Minnesota Wild in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
• The Golden Knights also beat the Colorado Avalanche but were taken out by the Montreal Canadiens in the Western Conference Final.

2021-2022

• VGK trades Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations.
• VGK picks up Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres midway through the season in exchange for Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch. Eichel made his debut with the Knights in February 2022.
• Las Vegas hosts the NHL All-Star game, which is held at T-Mobile Arena. VGK head coach Pete DeBoer, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, and Alex Pietrangelo all make the team. In addition to the game, the NHL Fan Fest was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and some of the NHL All-Star skill challenges were on the Strip including the Bellagio fountains.
  

  scoring in your first All-Star game > laying on the beach #VegasBorn | #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/cXmfjyesL4

  — z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 5, 2022

• Vegas Golden Knights miss playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

2022-2023

• Head coach Pete DeBoer is fired after missing playoffs and VGK hires Bruce Cassidy.
• Goaltender Robin Lehner is ruled out for the season after undergoing hip surgery.
• Phil Kessel signs a one-year deal with Vegas and breaks the NHL's Iron Man award for playing in the most consecutive games.
  

  THE PUCK IS DOWN AND PHIL KESSEL IS OFFICIALLY THE IRONMAN OF THE NHL 😁#VegasBorn | #TheGoldenAge pic.twitter.com/uU2gLfH2xr

  — z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 26, 2022

• Bruce Cassidy and Logan Thompson represent the Golden Knights at the NHL All-Star Game.
• Captain Mark Stone misses two months of games after having surgery on his back but returns in time for the playoffs.
• Vegas Golden Knights take down the Winnipeg Jets to move on and face the Edmonton Oilers.
• VGK defenseman Alex Pietrangelo gets a one-game suspension for slashing.
• VGK beats the Edmonton Oilers to face the Dallas Stars in another Western Conference Final matchup.
• Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is suspended two games for cross-checking Mark Stone.
• Vegas beats the Dallas Stars in six games to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final.

VGK will face the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Neither team has won an NHL championship since the franchises were launched. Game 1 and 2 will be at T-Mobile Arena, aka The Fortress, on Saturday and Monday. The puck drops on Saturday at 5 p.m.