George McPhee got to the Stanley Cup early and often in his management career. But it's been 20 years since his last visit, and the veteran GM now knows how hard and how special it is to reach this point of the season.
McPhee went to the Cup in 1994 with the Vancouver Canucks as an assistant GM and then again in 1998 in his first season as GM of the Washington Capitals.
"You learn lots of things on the way. Things are a lot different now then it was then. You get older and a lot more experience," said McPhee, while speaking with the media in Vegas on Monday. "I think I have always been patient managing teams, but you understand the game better for having watched it for so long and being a part of it. You can analyze it better and handle it a lot better in regards. It feels we have a really good team this year and capable of doing something special. So far so good."
George McPhee Knows The Significance Of Reaching Stanley Cup Final
McPhee was hired by Golden Knights owner Bill Foley to build a franchise from the ground up. The expansion rules were set by the NHL and McPhee assembled a hockey operations team to execute his vision and plan.
The results have been remarkable as the Golden Knights have reached the Stanley Cup in their first season of play in the NHL.
Vegas swept the LA Kings in the first round, beat the San Jose Sharks in six games in round two and then after dropping the first game of the Western Conference Final, won four straight games to oust the Winnipeg Jets.
Vegas now awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals head to a decisive game seven.
Regular season order of finish would see the Golden Knights start on the road if they meet the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final or at home if Washington is the opponent.
McPhee fielded questions from the media on Monday afternoon. Here's what he had to say:
Jonathan Marchessault was chosen by the Golden Knights off the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft. Marchessault scored 30 goals in his last season with the Panthers but became a more complete player his season and was signed by McPhee to a long-term contract.
"There was some risk in that pick, actually, because he was going to be an unrestricted free agent and he's a young guy," said McPhee. "We didn't know whether he could replicate what he did the year before with 30 goals. Watching him last year and I actually saw him the year before when he was with Tampa I believe. It looked like he had something, some pop there. He wasn't getting a lot of ice time. He sort of stood out in a certain way when you're watching him. There might be something there, there might be something more in this player. So, he came here and he played very well. When we were comfortable when we knew what we had, we were trying to get a deal done with him. What he wanted most in my mind was respect. He's finally got a team that's going to put a long-term deal on the table for him and respect that he was a good player and pay him what he should be paid. We got a deal done and he's become a terrific player. We've got a lot of players that can play very, very well and had better years here than they've had anywhere else. Give credit to Gerard for really developing players along with making the team win games. So we're delighted to have him and glad that selection worked out."
Jon Cooper is the head coach of the Lightning and McPhee came close to hiring him during his time with the Washington Capitals.
"With respect to Cooper, we did interview him. Steve Yzerman gave us permission to talk to him and we probably should have hired him. In fact, I know we should have hired him," said McPhee. "He was a good coach and had a really exceptional coaching record. If you look at wherever he had coached, the teams just had terrific records. So it couldn't be coincidence year after year after year after year. He's a very good coach and he should've been hired."
Golden Knights players spoke on Sunday about being happy with their results so far and reaching the league final. But they also said they weren't satisfied and had more work to do.
"Well, it's more than that, yeah. We have more games to win," said McPhee. "That's why we're here. We're not satisfied with just getting there. We've all been around the game long enough to know you don't get these opportunities very often. For some of us, it's been twenty years. It doesn't come around very often. We have to try to win it now."
A line formed early Monday morning at the team's retail store as fans clamored to purchase merchandise. Fans have come to the practice arena and watched the team skate on a daily basis. Las Vegas has responded to the Golden Knights in a major way.
"The interest in this team is just incredible. It's been, for all of us, one of the neatest experiences of our lifetime," said McPhee. "Maybe the neatest, most unique experience. Las Vegas has been a wonderful place to live and work. We just hope this fairytale that we're in here can continue for the next couple of weeks. It would be really great to deliver a championship to this city and to these people."
