John Locher / AP
Kelly McCrimmon, right, new general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team, attends a news conference with president of hockey operations George McPhee, left, and owner Bill Foley, Thursday, May 2, 2019, in Las Vegas.
Friday, May 3, 2019 | 2 a.m.
The Golden Knights’ leaders sat at a table in front of media and team employees, the three most important members of the organization when it came to constructing the on-ice product.
In the middle was Bill Foley, the owner and central figure in all things Golden Knights. George McPhee was on the left, the president of hockey operations and the unambiguous No. 2 in the organization and head of roster-building.
Joining the triumvirate was Kelly McCrimmon, who was just promoted to general manager. The promotion was cause for celebration, a good day in the Golden Knights’ offices.
But what is actually different? Not much.
“I didn’t feel like things were really changing, necessarily,” Foley said. “We’ve all been involved in the various meetings, we’ve all been together, we’ve all been discussing guys we might want to bring in.”
McCrimmon, who joined the Golden Knights organization as McPhee's assistant general manager in August 2016, will take over Sept. 1 as general manager from McPhee, who relinquished that title but retained his power. McCrimmon will represent the team at general managers’ meetings but still reports to McPhee, same as before.
The move was designed to keep McCrimmon in Las Vegas and away from teams looking for a general manager. Edmonton was a primary suitor, as multiple reports tagged McCrimmon as a favorites to land there. Seattle could have had interest as well, considering McCrimmon’s recent experience with an expansion draft.
The Golden Knights valued McCrimmon too highly to let that happen. McCrimmon, 58, said he was not actively searching for other jobs and McPhee said he never felt like McCrimmon had a foot out the door, but Vegas promoted him Thursday to make sure he sticks around.
“There's no doubt in my mind that if interviewed, Kelly would have been a manager someplace else, so why not here?” McPhee said. “He deserves this, and he's ready for it."
Had McCrimmon left to head a hockey operations department, he said he would have tried to create the same structure on his new team as his current one. He didn’t feel slighted at being the No. 2 guy on the hockey operations side and decided the stability was better than potentially leading his own team.
McPhee said that when McCrimmon was hired, the duo split up the 30 other teams so each one was responsible for talking with 15 apiece and that they “co-managed” in that regard. McCrimmon said that after he or McPhee gets off the phone with a team, he brings it to the group where they come to decisions together.
“The thing that’s special about our organization, our relationship really, is just the collaboration,” McCrimmon said. “From Day 1, we made every decision together.”
No one is moving into McCrimmon’s old role. McCrimmon didn’t gain any influence in the organization because McPhee said he was already there.
It was a title and presumably a pay bump for an essential member of the group that put together perhaps the most successful expansion team ever. Thursday’s move was about making sure the trio that built the Golden Knights are together to see the ultimate goal realized.
“If we’re going to create a dynasty, let’s not take a step backwards, let’s try to keep everybody together,” Foley said. “George is still the boss. Kelly is now the GM. We’re all still going to be together.”
