WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY: HAIL THE KNIGHTS
Photo: NHL
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98, Rock 98.5 FM & LTD Radio)
I’ve got a myriad of things to discuss on a variety of topics. But they’ll have to wait for later this summer because this commentary, and today, belongs to the Vegas Golden Knights.
There was not much doubt that, at some point, the Knights were going to win the Stanley Cup. It happened on Tuesday with a dominant 9-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in the Game 5 clincher at the Fortress.
Manitobans are saying today that it feels like a “home win”, and for good reason. The franchise is laden with people from the Bison province.
And for them to do it within the six year window laid out by owner Bill Foley the night they were awarded an expansion franchise is more a statement, than it is fate or coincidence.
Get it done, or else. That’s Foley’s motto. Just ask Gerard Gallant. Or Peter DeBoer. Or Marc Andre-Fleury. I wonder what they were all thinking as they watched Game 5. If they watched at all.
It wasn’t curious to any of us that Foley tabbed Kelly McCrimmon to lead his franchise back in 2016, along with George McPhee. I’ve known the pride of Plenty, SK since I was 16 years old and saw Kelly rise through the ranks of the Brandon Wheat Kings, winning two WHL titles before heading to the Show.
Now all the other teams will be scouring the Vegas model, examining their roster and leadership methods to figure out how they can win a Cup too.
By the time they figure it out, Foley, McCrimmon and company will have changed course and found another way to win.
As famous pro wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper used to say, “Just when you think you have the answers, I change the questions!”
Suffice it say, if you stock your roster with Western Canadian boys, you’ll stand a better chance than anyone else. Sprinkle in some Americans, a few Europeans and a Quebec’er for the finishing touch, and you’ll be getting warm.
What you don’t know is the Golden Knights have a reputation within the NHL of “ruling by fear”. Some can thrive in that environment, while others wilt.
And as you can see by last night, Bill Foley doesn’t need to apologize for anything.
That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV, WQEE, Podcast & YouTube Live)
Very happy for this team and especially Kelly and Bob.
They took their show on the road to Vegas and same principals apply. Kelly is judge, jury, and executioner. There is no checking with a Board filled with stuffed suits.
This guy is playing 3 dimensional chess when the rest of these hockey good ol boy yokels are playing checkers.
Ed Snider, Peter Pocklington and Bill Foley – winners win and for the kyle dubas’ of the world – those guys can stay home and play with their kids.