Graney: Who are these Golden Knights? A mystery for now

Mystery: The Golden Knights.

We’ve always known what to expect. Well, other than that expansion season when the team obliterated all levels of reason and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

But things were clearer the following four seasons. The Knights were always considered playoff worthy to begin a campaign, usually ranked among those favorites to be the last ones skating. Came close a few times, too.

This time is different. New coach. New system. A few new and several old names to rely on when it comes to executing.

Bruce Cassidy is now in charge, and with him comes a defensive-minded approach. How the Knights will react — and where enough scoring will come from — is unknown until things begin for real.

“I mean, when you consider the injuries we had last year (over 500 man games lost), we have a lot of guys back now that are healthy,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “We just got bombarded at the wrong time. It happens sometimes. It’s not what you want, but it happens.”

A playoff team?

This part is different: In not qualifying for the playoffs last season — a first for the young franchise — the Knights were afforded far more time off before training camp than previous years. The last thing any team wants is four or so months to sit around and stew over things.

But such was the Knights’ fate.

You can attack this reality two ways: Take a negative approach and not let things go, perhaps affecting your mindset when reporting to camp; or embrace it and use the time to discover what went wrong and how best to fix it.

You can’t predict injuries. But you can search for other ways in which things fell short.

“We’ve played a lot of hockey over the last five years, even from the (COVID-19) bubble and into the next season,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. ”We get to come back now fresh with a new voice (in Cassidy). I think we’re set up for success.”

The sportsbooks aren’t so certain.

The Knights are 16-1 to win the Cup and third to win the Pacific Division at +325, behind the Oilers and Flames.

And not many people are arguing with either.

It’s a believe-it-when-they-see-it mantra for most about Cassidy’s team, uncertain it has the depth and scoring needed to make a deep playoff run. Uncertain there will even be a playoff berth.

A simple and straightforward and obvious take: It comes down to goaltending.

Likely anointed the season’s starter, Logan Thompson and his 20 games of NHL experience must prove a consistent winner if the Knights are going to make a run in the Pacific.

You figure the defense will get better and better within Cassidy’s zone system as time passes (no, really). You would think the top two lines can manufacture enough offense if the former two factors occur.

You figure the Knights think a whole lot different about their chances than some on the outside looking in.

Time will tell

“We expect to win,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We expect to win the Stanley Cup. We know the group we have in here. We have a lot of high-end players. Our position since Day 1 has been to win.

“It’s more motivation for us that people might be doubting that. It’s all just noise. Last year is last year. We know what we can do, and we know what we have.”

It’s still a mystery. Maybe not to the extent of a riddle wrapped in one inside an enigma, but undetermined just the same.

Who are these Golden Knights?

Time will tell. For now, nobody really knows.

Which makes it all the more fascinating.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.