Golden Knights next coach discussed on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

Shane Hnidy said he doesn't think the high expectations the Vegas Golden Knights couldn't meet this season will change in 2022-23 just because they missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs and are in the market for a new coach after firing Peter DeBoer on Monday.

Hnidy, a former NHL defenseman who is a broadcaster for Golden Knights games on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Thursday to discuss the latest with Vegas and the fallout after missing the playoffs for the first time in its five seasons.
"They're a cap team, or above the cap, but they'll get to the cap and they're a team that every year wants to be considered a Stanley Cup contender," Hnidy said. "They've been to the Cup Final, they've been to the conference final] twice. Now the new coach, basically he says, 'OK, they need somebody to take them to the Final. They've got to get back to the Final. They want to be a team that competes for the Stanley Cup.' That's the expectation."
Hnidy said regardless who the Golden Knights hire as DeBoer's replacement, the players have to take ownership and responsibility to meet the high expectations.
"That's pressure, that's what you have to deal with when you're an upper-echelon team," Hnidy said. "To me, it's on the players. It's getting the right coach and it's another new voice, but this to me it's on the players. They have to execute and figure it out.
"I always go back to the players having been one. We're the ones that go out there. You can draw up all the Xs and Os you want, they differ from team to team, there's adjustments coaches make, but it's on the players. They're the ones that have to go out and execute it."
Hnidy is also an analyst for Turner Sports in the playoffs currently covering the Western Conference Second Round best-of-7 series between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. He talked about whether the Avalanche are showing themselves to be different from last season when they won their first six playoff games before losing the next four to the Golden Knights and were eliminated in the second round for a third straight season.
"For teams to take that next step, as good as they are, as talented as they are, I think that loss last year is where they learned a lot," Hnidy said. "Those teams and individuals that can learn from those hard lessons, that's how you grow, and I think that's what we're seeing now."
Along with the interview with Hnidy, Rosen and Roarke debated offseason questions involving the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs. They also discussed the Calgary Flames' wild 9-6 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round series Wednesday, and the New York Rangers missing an opportunity in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in that series opener.
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