Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Oct. 1 remembered:

Mass shooting, Golden Knights’ first year are forever etched in Las Vegas’ psyche

1010GoldenKnightsOpener1

Steve Marcus

The names of the 58 people killed in the Route 91 mass shooting are displayed during opening ceremonies for the Vegas Golden Knights’ home opener at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

The storytellers

• George McPhee, Golden Knights general manager (2016-’19), now president of hockey operations

• Gerard Gallant, Golden Knights head coach (2017-’20)

• Marc-Andre Fleury, Golden Knights goalie (2017-’21)

• Nate Schmidt, Golden Knights defenseman (2017-’20)

• Deryk Engelland, Golden Knights defenseman (2017-’19)

• Alex Tuch, Golden Knights forward (2017-’21)

• Jon Merrill, Golden Knights defenseman (2017-’20)

• Jonathan Marchessault, Golden Knights forward

• Reilly Smith, Golden Knights forward

• Dave Goucher, Golden Knights TV play-by-play broadcaster

• Dr. Syed Saquib, trauma surgeon, University Medical Center

• Tom Monahan, Golden Knights director of security

After the final preseason game of their inaugural season, a number of Vegas Golden Knights teammates planned to unwind with some dinner and a concert.

The game ended about 8:15 p.m. that day, Oct. 1, 2017.

The group of buddies already had their tickets to the Route 91 Harvest Festival, an outdoor country music festival along the Las Vegas Strip that would draw some 20,000 fans for its final night.

But before the teammates could make it to the festival grounds across from Mandalay Bay, a tragedy of unthinkable proportions unfolded.

The time was now 10:05 p.m.

As country superstar Jason Aldean was performing on stage, people in the crowd started to hear popping sounds. Some initially thought it was fireworks. Then the bodies began to fall.

From a hotel tower across the street, a lone gunman rained down bullets on the crowd, first single shots and then bursts of dozens of rounds.

People scrambled for their lives, some hiding, many stampeding from the festival grounds.

The shooting went on for 10 minutes before the gunman suddenly stopped and fired a final shot, taking his own life.

When it was all over, 58 people were dead or fatally wounded; more than 800 were injured. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

On the five-year anniversary of the tragedy, members of the organization past and present recounted their memories of that night and the days that followed.

•••

The preseason game between the Golden Knights and Sharks was originally set to start at 7 p.m., but the start time was moved two hours earlier. Nearly a dozen of the new teammates would find themselves blocks away from the scene and needing to be rescued near the Strip.

•••

George McPhee: I remember, interestingly enough, we had changed the start time of the game. We talked about it just before the preseason and thought, “Why don’t we move that game to 5 o’clock?” Just because it was the end of training camp, the end of preseason, and it’d be our last night to get a decent night’s sleep.

Dave Goucher: I remember it was a beautiful day. It was a 5 o’clock game, and we were looking forward to the start of the season.

Gerard Gallant: It was an exciting day, going to the rink and finalizing our team. I was driving home from the rink. My daughter was actually flying in that night.

Marc-André Fleury: Yeah, normal day. I don’t recall anything different or weird. I just wanted to get a win at home before the season starts. It’s the last exhibition game, you’ve got your full team on and the other team, as well. Just business as usual at that point.

Deryk Engelland: No matter what team, especially if it’s a new team, that last exhibition at home is almost like Step 1 of what you’ve been training for over the last few months. You’re through training camp, that grind, and you’re just excited for that first game that means something.

McPhee: I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but I know some of the players were thinking of going to that concert.

Nate Schmidt: I think my neighbors at the time said they were going to the festival the night before, and that’s how we knew about it.

Golden Knights Home Opener

A first responder walks out onto the ice with Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland (5) during opening ceremonies at their season home opener game at the T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Launch slideshow »

Engelland: We planned to go to the concert. (Engelland’s wife) Melissa’s close friend was down there, and her family was in town. They came to the game, we were going to drop them off at home with the kids, and we were going to go back down there. We ended up getting home, changing, but were tired and we didn’t want to go back to the Strip. We just ended up staying home that night because I think (her parents) were leaving the next day.

Jon Merrill: I remember a bunch of guys went to that concert the night before. And then after the game, I went home. I have young kids, so I went home pretty early, but I know a bunch of guys went to dinner down on the Strip.

Jonathan Marchessault: After the game, some of the guys wanted to go to the Cosmo for dinner. Some of the other guys wanted to go to Red Rock for dinner. I went to Red Rock (with David Perron and William Karlsson).

Schmidt: I think there were eight of us that had gone out to dinner that night. We were at Zuma at the Cosmo. Thankfully they didn’t seat us on time because we talked about going (to the concert). Aldean was supposed to play that night, and I hadn’t seen him yet.

Alex Tuch: It was definitely a normal night. I think there was a group of eight of us and some of the guys’ significant others that decided to go out for a drink or go to the concert.

Saquib: I was on call that evening. My shift didn’t start until 7 p.m. that night, and we do 12-hour shifts for trauma in the hospital. Things were already busy from other patient care matters. We were still busy for the first couple hours.

Goucher: (Broadcast partner) Shane (Hnidy) and I usually carpool into games 99% of the time, and we were leaving the Strip. And I remember saying to him, for whatever reason, I looked over at Mandalay Bay, and I think it’s a cool design, the old building. The gold outline of everything.

Schmidt: It was a night where it was one of the first times I think that we all went out together. Talk about getting to know everyone pretty quickly.

McPhee: It was one of the few nights in the season that I turned my phone off when I went to bed because everything was over, it was going to be an early night.

Gallant: The next thing I know, I’m driving home, and I see all the ambulances and EMT vehicles going downtown, and I have no idea what’s going on.

Goucher: A good friend of mine, Tony Altobelli, who was the younger brother of John Altobelli, who died in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash two years ago, he texted me and said, are you OK there, bud?

It was totally out of context. Again, I didn’t know what was going on. I said, yeah, why?

And he said, are you watching the television?

And I said, no.

Then he said, “Turn on the TV.”

Schmidt: We were in a room [in Zuma] where you could see the Strip, and you could see the people running at you. I could remember someone saying, “Oh, what’s going on?” And someone else said, “Oh, there’s a shooting.”

I think it had been (goalie) Malcolm (Subban) saying there was a shooting on the Strip.

Tuch: I think it was Brendan Leipsic who looked on Twitter, maybe Cody Eakin looked on Twitter as well, and saw that there was a shooting in Vegas. We were like, “Oh, that’s really sad.”

We looked at a couple of more comments and they were saying 50 dead, 100 dead, 200 dead. We were looking at Twitter just going insane.

Tom Monahan: I go home, I’m in bed, and the phone rings. It was my partner at the time with the NHL. I turned on the TV, and saw what everyone else was seeing. It was pretty current. After 30 years in the police department, you recognize the sound of machine gun fire.

Engelland: Melissa’s friend called and woke her up. Usually, she doesn’t get called in the middle of the night. She called her back and that’s when we found out what was going on. We turned the TV on, and you don’t normally sleep after that.

Marchessault: They put it up on TV (at Red Rock). We’re all trying to figure out what’s happening. You’re looking up Twitter, and there’s a bunch of rumors of multiple shooters and all that kind of stuff. I remember I was scared at that time, like you don’t know what’s happening or where they’re going next. I remember not getting a lot of sleep that night.

Schmidt: Sure enough, all the lights started going off. They were trying to fit us into a conference room, but there were too many people, so we just stayed in the restaurant. Watching people run down Las Vegas Boulevard is not something that you really want to ever remember.

Monahan: Interestingly, prior to this, I was working in the counterterrorism world at Metro. (Sheriff) Joe Lombardo and I had traveled to Mumbai, India, to study how the terrorist attacks there (happened). The lessons we learned from Mumbai would be applied by the police department. I, like, most people, thought it was a series of coordinated terrorist attacks, not a single attacker.

Shortly after I got awakened, I got a call from (director of team operations) Katy Boettinger that said there were 10 or so players and their significant others at the Cosmo. I had not met any of them. I called my partner with the NHL and said we better saddle up and get to the Cosmo.

Tuch: The restaurant is about to shut down because we had gotten there after the game, so it was late already. We went to walk out of the restaurant, and they were like, “Actually, you guys aren’t even allowed to leave the floor.” So, we’re stuck on the third floor of the Cosmopolitan.

Goucher: My main bedroom at our house, we have an entire view of the Strip from the Strat at the north end, all the way to Mandalay Bay on the south end. And I remember just looking out my bedroom window, looking at Mandalay Bay from a distance and thinking, I can’t believe this is all going on down there. We had been there three hours before on the Strip, drove by Mandalay Bay, and now this happened. It was surreal.

Tuch: The very nice employees of Zuma were like, “Well, we can’t go anywhere either. Would you guys like to come back in?” So, we went back in, had a drink, and I personally prayed for everyone involved. Just trying to stay informed. Being with each other and having that support system, obviously we were safe, but you didn’t know.

Monahan: I briefly met (Schmidt) when I trained with my counterpart in Washington. I knew what he looked like, but we never met. I texted him and found out that the Cosmo was still under lockdown. And of course, now the thought is: How am I going to get close enough to the Cosmo to extract them and get them home?

Reilly Smith: It was pretty crazy. You never just know how factual some of the stuff you read online is, because there were reports of so many things going on. Better safe than sorry, so we just stayed in the restaurant for a long time. We were thankful team security was close enough to get to the area to where we could meet with them and get us out.

Monahan: So, now the challenge is to get within proximity of where the players are. That’s not easy because (Interstate 15) was locked down, as was (Las Vegas) Boulevard, all the side streets. Eventually, I was able to get to the east side of the Strip, jump some medians, and cut through some parking lots. About the time that they opened up the Cosmo, I was able to get across the street. Nate led them to where my truck was parked. I loaded up a group of guys in my truck, and my partner had a Suburban. He brought a friend that had an SUV and we loaded everyone up and got everyone home.

I remember Brayden McNabb was sitting next to me, Reilly Smith and his girlfriend at the time, now wife, were in the backseat, and (former defenseman) Colin Miller was there. And of course, it was without a doubt the most traumatic experience they’d had so far. I introduced myself, told them everything was going to be OK, told them I’d get them back to T-Mobile because the cars were still parked at the player parking lot at the arena.

Schmidt: The weirdest, eeriest, scariest moment: When we ran down Las Vegas Boulevard, there’s only the National Guard or police out there besides us, and we’re trying to get to Planet Hollywood so we could get out the other side of the Strip. All the doors are locked except for one last door. We walked in, and it was the eeriest thing you’ve ever seen. All the lights are off, the dinging lights were still going. And it’s like they dropped everybody through the floor. The roulette tables were still spinning. It was crazy. You’re walking through this thing, and ice was still in glasses. Chips were still being paid. No one knew the city at that point. No one knew where to go, what to do, where the exit points would be.

Fleury: I was glued to the TV with what was happening all night. Obviously, it was horrible to see this happening. I felt helpless. There were talks about multiple shooters at first. Worrisome to have more casualties and stuff like that. Anytime something like that happens, a mass shooting, I think it brings a lot of questions, like why is this happening?

McPhee: I got up early in the morning to take the dog out, I turned the phone on, and it just went off. It didn’t stop. The pings for texts and emails, phone calls, and it just kept going. I thought there was something wrong with the phone and that it was malfunctioning. It’s one of those things you’re trying to comprehend, and you’ll never comprehend it. It was a shocking time. A shocking moment.

•••

The next day, the Golden Knights took the day off from any hockey-related activity. The sport would take a backseat in the immediate future. Players gathered that night at Fleury’s house and put in motion what they wanted to do to help. They were determined to get out into the community to help the healing process, beginning the love affair between Las Vegas and its first major professional sports team.

•••

McPhee: As an organization, we committed early on that we were going to go out into the community, we were going to raise money for charity and make the community better than it is. We’re going to help. If we’re asked to help, we’ll move heaven and Earth to make sure we do what we can.

Goucher: I came into the office that Monday, and it was so quiet here. I just think people were in a state of shock, just gazed. I couldn’t hang around too long. I don’t think I stayed an hour. It was just so quiet and so depressing.

Monahan: The next morning, the team had a meeting in the locker room and they asked me to address the team. It was very, very brief. There were a lot of emotions in that room. I simply walked in and told the team that I would essentially protect them and their families from harm, or die trying. A pretty simple message.

Schmidt: We had a great group of guys being around each other. You walked into the rink the next day, no one said anything. It was a day of, “What just happened? What are we going to do?” And I think it was James Neal, Flower (Fleury) and Deryk Engelland that came together and were like, “I think we need to take today off, and tomorrow.”

Engelland: That night we had a barbecue at Fleury’s house. We went grocery shopping, dropping some food off at the fire headquarters. We took food and water and coffee so they could have stuff to eat. Then, it was later that day, went to Fleury’s house and it was basically, “What could we do?”

Fleury: We didn’t really know what had to be done, what we should do. We felt we wanted to help in some ways. We were able to set up a few things. I think, obviously, this was way bigger than hockey. If there was a way we could help or do something, we wanted to do it.

Golden Knights Offer Support to Metro Officers

Golden Knights players visit Metro Police headquarters to offer their support Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Players Jon Merrill, Jason Garrison, William Karlsson, Griffin Reinhardt, Erik Haula, Engelland and others made three trips, starting with Metro Police headquarters. Golden Knights player pictured is Deryk Engelland (5). Launch slideshow »

Schmidt: We went into the (Las Vegas) Convention Center, which is where everyone went to find out if their loved ones were alive or dead, which was single-handedly the worst experience I’ve ever had. I remember looking at guys thinking, “We shouldn’t be here. We should be at the police station, at the fire department, at the blood banks, at the hospital, doing whatever we can do.” I met with one little kid, who was still waiting to hear. It was a moment where I think we all looked at each other and were like, “OK, it’s time to go.” I think it was the heaviest moment in our lives. This is not the place you want to be.

Gallant: It was tough, getting ready for your first-ever game given the situation, but hockey wasn’t even at the front. As coaches, we did our job, got them to practice and worked hard. As soon as that was done, it was all about going into the community and doing what we could do.

Merrill: Yeah, I remember doing a few blood drives and also going to stop to see some of the first responders. The police officers, EMT, the firemen and firewomen that were out there on the scene that night, and I just remember there was a ton of emotion on their part and our part. Our biggest job was to go out there, try and put some smiles on their faces. Lighten the mood a little bit.

Monahan: I retired (from Metro) eight years ago, but I have a son in the department. His first day outside of field training was maintaining the perimeter outside the festival scene. It’s pretty close to me. My son-in-law is a paramedic, and my wife and daughter work in public health. To see the players just drop whatever they were doing to support public agencies, to support the community and hold them up, it was extraordinary. It just warmed my heart to see these young men say, “We can’t do enough.”

Schmidt: A lot of heavy hearts that, as the day went on, got a little lighter. Because when you went on later in the day is when we got to the first responders, the paramedics, and my favorite of the day that gave me the most joy in the day was going to the blood banks and people from all over the place who were in town, out of town, locals, waiting for hours outside. Someone was like, “Oh, there’s a six-hour wait.” We didn’t care. “Oh, it’s 100 degrees outside.” Yeah, well, people need this. We might as well do it.

McPhee: I went through a similar thing in Washington when the Pentagon got hit (on 9/11), and the chaos that ensues, the grief and horror. We were trying to pick the team that day (after Oct. 1). I had to get back to filing things with the league, filing the final rosters, waivers, everything else. You get engrossed in your work for a couple of hours.

I remember I sort of sat back, pushed back in my seat, and I remember saying it out loud — I was alone in my office — what in the hell happened yesterday? It just strikes you again. But we had to pick a team, (and) get going.

Schmidt: It was the second or third day, when the city started to pull itself from its knees. You see that, and it was something we talked about as a group heading into Dallas.

•••

Five days after the shooting, the Golden Knights played their first ever game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas at American Airlines Center. Goucher was the radio play-by-play commentator in Boston at the time of the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013. This night had a similar feel.

•••

Goucher: We came on the air with the hopes to give people a diversion from what’s been going on here this week. And hopefully we did that.

I think you have to acknowledge it, and I also think — I try to keep it in the back of mind in that scenario in 2013 — people are listening or watching to try and get away from that a little bit. I think you have to certainly give your thoughts on it and certainly acknowledge all the pain people are going through. But I also think you’d be doing a disservice to those people that are watching you trying to get away from it, to keep bringing it back for three hours. I think you have to pick your spots with it.

Engelland: I don’t want to say hockey took a backseat, because once we started playing games, it definitely helped to take their minds off it. Nothing else really mattered other than people wanting to help out.

Fleury: I don’t think I’d say pressure (to win that game), but it was surely on my mind. And the fact that we were an expansion team and no one was expecting much from us. I wanted to go out and prove that we were a good team and we could win some games, and it started with Game 1.

In my head, too, I was just thinking if people could watch a game and if we could give them something else to think about to lessen the burden a bit for a couple hours a night and cheer for something and for us. I’m glad we got to help people out a bit that way.

Marchessault: I remember George came in that morning skate and he was like, “You know what? It’s not about hockey tonight. It’s about the city that needs to heal and the community.” We felt like more than ever that the fans and the city were behind us somehow. The spirit of playing a hockey game was probably a big reason why it was the best hockey season I’ve ever been in.

Schmidt: I think we only skated one time before our first game, which is pretty abnormal. You knew you were going to feel good; you knew your legs were going to get going. It was whether we were going to score or not. We had Flower. The guys believed we were going to be good; you just didn’t know.

Guys always say, “Let’s go win one for the boys tonight.” (But) it was, “Let’s get one for the city.” And nothing else needed to be said. There was no other rah-rah, or pump them up. “Let’s go get one for the city.”

Click to enlarge photo

Vegas Golden Knights left wing James Neal (18) scores a goal against Dallas Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen (32) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017.

•••

The Golden Knights scored twice in the third period to win 2-1. James Neal scored both goals, and Fleury made 45 saves. More important, the game gave some in the Las Vegas community a brief reprieve from managing emotions after the massacre.

•••

Marchessault: We were just trying not to lose. That was the mentality we had at the beginning of the season, just make sure we win at least five games. I remember I was pretty exhausted after the game. For our group, it felt like a playoff game. After the game, we were happy, but it felt like the city was all behind us. It was different.

McPhee: You’re so dialed into the game and everything else, you win the game and you go, “What do you know? We won our first game.” Then the phone starts going off, the texts and emails, and there are some very happy people in the organization because we won our first game. But then you understand that little bit of uplift in the community, what it means. And you get that lump in your throat.

•••

The Golden Knights played the next night against Arizona in Phoenix, also winning 2-1, this time in overtime. Schmidt scored the tying goal late in the third, and Neal scored the game-winner. An expansion team not expected to be competitive had a 2-0 record.

•••

Goucher: I thought to myself after the Arizona game, “Hey, what a relief.” It’s a brand new team, and you have no idea how long it’ll take to get that first win. To give people something positive in what was just a horrendous stretch of time, it was incredible.

Schmidt: It was such a fun flight home, until we went over it, and you could see the festival was still up. What was such an elation … Now, it’s you come back to reality and you wonder, what do you do now?

•••

Oct. 10, 2017: The Golden Knights played their first-ever regular-season home game against the Coyotes. The plans for pregame entertainment were pushed to the next home game later that week. Vegas planned to honor the then-58 people who died in the mass shooting, as well as the first responders.

•••

McPhee: We were going to have a ceremony, and we absolutely had to get it right to pay our respects to the victims and to honor the first responders. It had to be done right, and we were all nervous.

Fleury: Very emotional. I’m glad that the team celebrated the first responders like they did, putting them on the ice and having the full building cheering them on. They’re the real heroes. We play a game for a living and these people risked their lives and saved others.

Saquib: I had the privilege of meeting a lot of first responders in the community, law enforcement and EMS folks throughout the city. I also got to meet some of the survivors. It was definitely somber. A lot of the emotions were raw. At the same time, it was great to see they were alive.

•••

During the pre-game ceremonies, each member of the Golden Knights organization stood with a first responder on the ice, then a ceremonial puck drop followed.

Engelland spoke to the sold-out crowd of 18,191 and to a national television audience. In a moment that will be forever etched in Las Vegas sports lore he said, “Like all of you, I’m proud to call Las Vegas home. I met my wife here. Our kids were born here. I know how special this city is. To all the brave first responders that have worked tirelessly and courageously through this whole tragedy, we thank you.

“To the families and friends of the victims, we’ll do everything we can to help you and our city heal. “We are Vegas Strong.”

•••

Engelland: Extremely nervous. I’m not much of a speaker in front of big crowds. I just kept saying it over, and over, and over for the last week.

Saquib: I think it was very moving.

Goucher: It’s out of his nature. He’s a pretty reserved guy. To give that speech in front of 18,000 people in the first ever game here within a week after this had happened, and to do it and do it flawlessly, it was short and sweet, he hit all the right notes.

Gallant: That opening ceremony was an incredible moment. They did a tremendous job that night.

Merrill: Obviously, he’s a man of few words, but when he can say things, I think people listen — and I thought he spoke perfectly that night. And that’s probably the biggest thing that stands out to me, is him center ice holding that microphone. You just could hear a pin drop in there. Everybody was holding on for every word he said.

Schmidt: I had been more nervous for that than I was even playing in the playoffs or a Stanley Cup game because you want to win so badly. There’s more than just hockey at that point. Deryk goes through his speech, and I don’t think I felt my toes for 40 minutes.

Engelland: I don’t want to say it was a sigh of relief, but it was. Hockey’s easy for me. That (speech) was very tough. Looking back now, it’s going to go down as probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my career. It’s crazy how things work. You don’t think it’s going to have as much impact as it did.

•••

Following Engelland’s speech was 58 seconds of silence, one second for everyone who was killed.

•••

Goucher: I remember reading a quote from a first responder. And he said, “Were it not from the incredible work of doctors and nurses at that scene, as horrendous as 58 seconds was, that moment of silence could’ve been a lot longer.” He was exactly right.

McPhee: The 58 seconds of silence felt like forever. We conclude, I remember going up to the box and for the first time in days, it struck me that, now, we have to win tonight.

•••

The Golden Knights scored four goals in the first 12 minutes of the game. Engelland scored the second goal, and Vegas went on to win 5-2 to become the first expansion team to start 3-0-0.

•••

McPhee: Before I even got to my seat in the press box, we scored. It was deafening and it was, I think, the loudest sound from a crowd I’ve ever heard in an arena.

Engelland: My first thought was, “Holy (expletive), I actually scored?” I don’t score a whole lot. Anytime you can chip in with a goal or an assist with me is a bonus. That goal will be right up there with my first NHL goal. The hockey gods are out there. With everything that happened, it couldn’t have been a better script for that game, coming out, flying like that, and scoring four in the first.

Schmidt: I looked up, and I saw it was 4-0. I don’t think I had my skates tied yet. I don’t remember if I could hear anything.

Saquib: I do remember as we were getting up to find my seat through the elevators, they had already scored three goals by the time I found my seat. As I was going up the elevator, you could hear the crowd. I think that happened three times as I got out of the elevator. It was humorous, but also satisfying that we were winning.

Gallant: The noise of the crowd and when we scored those first four goals, it was just so loud and incredible. But actually, I never thought it would last all season long. The crowds there were incredible that first year, but I thought that first night was because of our first game. But all season long, they were incredible.

Schmidt: It’s almost as if when it cuts to a movie scene when you see everyone jumps in the air, they’re celebrating, but there’s no sound.

Smith: There was just so much energy and enthusiasm in the building. It seemed like no team, no matter who we were lined up against, was going to beat us. It was one of those moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

Goucher: That was the only bummer for what we did was not be able to do that game. To be in the building was something I’ll never forget, the emotion in that building. As great as it would’ve been to call the game, I was just honored to be in the building and to witness something like that.

•••

Five years later, many members of the original Golden Knights team aren’t on the team anymore. But the importance of keeping the traditions alive of honoring the first responders, meeting with survivors and keeping the memory of those gone alive have never wavered.

•••

Fleury: I think the team has changed a lot since, but anybody coming in, they all saw the news and saw the story. It’s good to remind them. It’s important for the team to get out there, and it still is for the staff to get players involved and get into the community.

Marchessault: We’ve built a love-love situation with (the community). We’re going to try to keep it that way. Obviously, we haven’t had the results we wanted the past few years, but the intentions are still there. You always hear stories. It’s just sad when you think about it. It’s a tragedy. We still have them in our thoughts every day.

Gallant: When we got to the rink and played hockey, it definitely helped us. It was definitely a tough time. I’d never experienced anything like that. For us to get prepared to play, it wasn’t easy. When we got to the rink, it was, let’s go play hockey and have fun.

Monahan: I’ve been here (in Las Vegas) for 38 years. There are few events, few days in history that will surpass this in the gravity of importance. I don’t think of it very often. I wouldn’t have guessed this was the fifth anniversary. Certainly, in Las Vegas history, this will be the most important.

Engelland: You ask a lot of people around the city, and they’ll tell you the same thing: It was a small big city before, but in my mind, the community came together. Five years later, we’re still honoring those people and the first responders. Five more years, we’ll be doing the same thing.

Schmidt: Not that that event made the team special. I felt like that was going to be our group in general, but I think it was forged in tragedy, which sucked. Essentially, I thought our guys took it as, “We have to do this. We’re a part of this now.” This is something that’s going to affect us forever. It’s going to take hundreds of years for people to forget what happened. We might as well dive right into this thing.

McPhee: We sensed that there was some real civic community pride for this team to begin with because it was “Vegas Born.” It was the first major league sport in Vegas. There was some pride already. I think that the way the team helped and continues to help after October 1 meant something to the community.

Tuch: It continued past the first year, even to Year 2 and Year 3. People would come up to us and thank us. They didn’t need to thank us one bit for the support they gave us. You could see how much that city rallied behind the team, just behind the idea of unity in general after a time of such pain, was really special.

McPhee: It’s hard for all of us. Some people may move on from October 1, but I don’t think people from Vegas will ever forget. I think the bond has only gotten stronger in this community with this team. I think they realize and continue to understand that this NHL team has a lot of fine young men who have done a tremendous amount in this community, donating their time, their money, and helping in any way they can to make the community even better. This organization and everyone here loves living in Las Vegas, loves the people in Las Vegas, and we will always be around when needed. There’s a unique bond between the community of Las Vegas and the Vegas Golden Knights for good reason, and it’s pretty special for everyone.