Inside the Golden Knights’ introduction to the Stanley Cup

By Case Keefer (contact)

Sunday, June 18, 2023 | 2 a.m.

With pyrotechnics sparkling in the background, Mark Stone took the Stanley Cup handoff from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, hoisted the nearly 37-pound trophy over his head and yelled in elation.

Stone then glided through his Golden Knights’ teammates, taking a pat on the back from William Carrier as he found the open ice and navigated a maze of inflatable victory flamingos.

“I can’t even describe the feelings in my stomach right now,” Stone said moments later on the TNT broadcast of the Golden Knights’ championship series clinching win over the Florida Panthers. “It’s everything you can imagine.”

This was always how the Golden Knights’ traditional presenting of the Stanley Cup was bound to begin, with Stone’s role as team captain entitling him to taking the first victory lap.

The questions started after that. There’s always a great deal of attention on how the Cup is passed, as it’s customary for everyone on the winning team to get a turn on the postgame ice.

They’ll each eventually get their own day to spend with the trophy this offseason, and their names will be engraved on it, but nothing is as public or decorated as the first introduction. The ceremony is cemented into history with clips of it bound to play for years to come.

Here’s how the Golden Knights’ initial Stanley Cup celebration went, with the official order of how it was passed and the story of how it happened in the moment on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“I just looked in my teammates’ eyes when I got it,” Stone said on television after passing the Cup off. “It’s one of the craziest feelings I’ve ever had, (and) to know that I did it with my 25-30 best friends makes it that much more special.”

Second: Reilly Smith

With a team full of respected veterans and prime playoff performers, Stone had no shortage of options for whom to award the second trip with the Cup.

But he said he made up his mind pretty easily. Stone wanted to start a run of the “Original Misfits,” his six teammates taken in the Golden Knights’ 2017 expansion draft.

In Stone’s mind, Smith was the obvious first choice as the most experienced of the bunch. Smith had also served as an alternate captain dating back to the first season, including next to Stone for the last three years.

“He tipped me off right there at the end,” Smith said on the Canadian broadcast of the game on Sportsnet. “That’s an amazing moment. It’s an amazing feeling. To share it with these guys, there’s no one else I’d want to go through this journey with.”

Third: Jonathan Marchessault

Vegas’ second all-time leading goal scorer handed the Cup off to its first all-time leading goal scorer. “Marchy” had already been named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ most valuable player but was more eager to get his hands on the actual Cup.

“Reilly came to me, and he’s like, ‘Stoney’s going to give it to me, and I’ll give it to you,’” Marchessault said in his postgame news conference. “I was kind of shocked. We have so many veterans in that locker room and guys who came in at different times in the past six years that have been huge for us, but it was definitely a great gesture that will go down as one of the classiest things I’ve seen.”

Fourth: William Karlsson

Marchessault has spent six years not only playing alongside Karlsson but vocally singing his praises and calling him one of the best two-way players and one of the most underrated in the NHL.

It was a particularly powerful scene for all the fans left in the arena and teammates to see two pillars of the franchise exchange what they’ve long sought.

“Those guys mean a lot to the city,” Stone said of the Original Misfits. “They are the six original guys we have left on this team. They poured everything they had into this city and this organization.”

Fifth: Brayden McNabb

From the forward standard-bearers since Day 1 of the franchise to their defensemen equivalents, the moment was enough to break McNabb out of his usual stoic nature. The veteran grinned widely as he hoisted the Cup over his head for a second before lowering it for the obligatory kiss.

“Pretty cool,” he described the experience.

Sixth: Shea Theodore

McNabb got to pass the Cup off to his defensive-pairing partner in Theodore, who skated almost the exact same path with identical mannerisms of his longtime teammate.

The chemistry between McNabb and Theodore for the defensively-driven Golden Knights played no small part in the team winning the title in the first place, and it persisted once the Cup was actually in their hands.

Seventh: William Carrier

Carrier was the final Misfit to touch the Cup, but he didn’t seem to mind. He also gave his blessing earlier in the night when coach Bruce Cassidy opted to start the previous five players in the game as a nod back to the team’s history.

Cassidy bemoaned not having a spot for Carrier to partake in the lineup, but not enough that he took Stone’s suggestion on the matter.

“The only thing we wish we could have done is maybe start Carrier in net,” Stone joked.

Eighth: Alex Pietrangelo

As an alternate captain and arguably the team’s foremost leader other than Stone, Pietrangelo was the obvious choice to follow the Misfit pageantry.

“Petro” was the first to be presented the Stanley Cup in 2019 as the captain of the St. Louis Blues. He memorably kept his time with the Cup brief back then in a rush to get it to his teammates, and he repeated the same strategy in Vegas with a short trip around center ice.

Ninth: Alec Martinez

Like McNabb to Theodore, Pietrangelo was able to hand off the trophy to his defensive-pairing partner in Martinez.

Martinez also kept the show moving, only skating in a slightly larger circle than Pietrangelo for his third time hoisting the Cup after winning it with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.

10th: Jonathan Quick

Some wondered why a backup goalie who didn’t appear in the postseason got the Cup so early, but there’s a special bond between Martinez and Quick.

The goalie was the leader of the aforementioned Kings’ teams that won the Cup — including taking home Conn Smythe honors in 2012 — before getting unceremoniously sent away at this year’s trade deadline. The 37-year-old landed with the Golden Knights and became a trusted voice to lean on in the locker room with Martinez specifically treasuring their personal reunion.

“Hockey is poetic sometimes,” Martinez said on Sportsnet shortly after the handoff to Quick. “The way things went down for him, it’s poetic that he’s here. Sure as hell never thought I’d be passing the Stanley Cup to him, but I’m pretty happy that I did.”

11th: Chandler Stephenson

Stephenson previously hoisted the Cup at T-Mobile Arena in 2017 when he won it with the Washington Capitals, but he was a fourth-line role player on that team. For this year’s Golden Knights, he was one of the team’s best players on the second line next to Stone.

Stephenson may have been the first Golden Knight without prior notice on who was handing him the Cup, as he sprinted up from the group of teammates when Quick finished his lap.

12th: Jack Eichel

The team’s points leader in both the regular season (66) and playoffs (26) and the Conn Smythe runner-up to Marchessault, Eichel may have been expected to be higher-up in the order by fans. But he was more than happy to wait his turn and unleash a series of loud “woos” as he paused during his time with the Cup to soak in the atmosphere.

“It’s truly a special group in here, and I’m so happy for them,” Eichel said on Sportsnet.

13th: Ivan Barbashev

Players like Stone and Eichel might have been the most emotional while celebrating winning the Cup, but it’s between Marchessault and Barbashev in terms of who looked to be having the purest fun.

Barbashev, a midseason trade acquisition who won the Cup once prior alongside Pietrangelo in St. Louis, was joking and smiling throughout the entire on-ice celebration.

14th: Adin Hill

The crowd saved one last giant roar for the goalie who became beloved with a series of unbelievable saves over the final three rounds of the postseason.

Hill came into neither the regular season nor the playoffs expecting to be Vegas’ backbone in net, but he fit into the key role perfectly.

15th: Nicolas Roy

Roy is not quite an Original Misfit but has a tie to the Year 1 team after coming to Vegas as a prospect via trade for Erik Haula, one of the best players on the inaugural squad, in 2019 and breaking into the NHL with the franchise.

16th: Phil Kessel

The third-time Stanley Cup champion (he won two previous titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins) didn’t play since a first-round series against Winnipeg but like Quick was a leader in the locker room because of his experience.

17th: Keegan Kolesar

The Cup went from a veteran winger known for his toughness and durability to a younger and bigger winger who’s become known for two of the same qualities. Kolesar might be the closest thing to an enforcer on the Golden Knights’ roster, but lifting the Cup softened him.

“I thought about my old man,” Kolesar told the Golden Knights’ official website upon lifting the Cup. “He passed away three years ago from COVID, and I know he’d be jumping up and down for everyone here. I just look up and know he’s looking down. I’m so proud I could do this, and I know he’d be proud of me too.”

18th: Zach Whitecloud

Whitecloud was the longest-standing member of the Golden Knights left after the original six remaining players. He signed with the team out of college during the inaugural season and appeared in one game.

19th: Nicolas Hague

Another pass between defensive-pairing partners, Hague and Whitecloud go as far back as McNabb and Theodore. Hague didn’t play in a game for Vegas until the 2019 season, but he was part of the franchise’s original Entry Draft class when taken in the second round in 2017.

20th: Michael Amadio

With all the active defensemen scratched off the list, Hague gives the spotlight to a pair of depth forwards beginning with Amadio, who struggled to find his place in the NHL before sticking with the Golden Knights.

Amadio played in the vast majority of games over the last two years and was rewarded with a goal in the clinching Stanley Cup Final contest.

21st: Brett Howden

Howden played on the second line in a similar role to Amadio on the third, as a complement to a pair of more well-known players (Stone and Stephenson for Howden, Smith and Karlsson for Amadio). The opportunity gave them both the chance to find their place in the NHL.

“You dream of this as a kid growing up,” Howden said on the ice. “It’s my fifth year in the league, and I hadn’t played in the playoffs once. I’m really thankful to be a part of this team.”

22nd: Ben Hutton

Hutton was the second player not on the active roster for the deciding game to get the Cup, after Kessel, but he filled in admirably throughout the regular season and twice in the playoffs.

23rd: Laurent Brossoit

Brossoit could have possibly been in Hill’s spot as the winning goalie if not for a lower-body injury suffered in Game 4 of the second-round series against Edmonton. Brossoit was 5-2 in the playoffs before Hill was forced to take over for him.

24th: Logan Thompson

The starting goaltender from the beginning of the season hadn’t been seen on the ice in months after going down with a lower-body injury in February. But he put back on his full uniform to celebrate the Cup alongside a childhood friend in Hill.

25th: Paul Cotter

Cotter was a constant as a center in front of Thompson early in the season, appearing in 55 games. He fell out of the lineup towards the end of the year into the playoffs, but Cassidy mentioned specifically his contributions in his postgame news conference.

“Every guy that wore a Golden Knights’ sweater this year helped us get here,” Cassidy said.

“Paul Cotter had 13 goals (this season), he played a lot for us.”

26th: Teddy Blueger

Cotter patted Blueger on the chest during their handoff despite the latter being one of the players who pushed the former out of the lineup when he came to the Golden Knights via trade from the Penguins at the trade deadline. Blueger also appeared in spot duty throughout the playoffs.

27th: Brayden Pachal

The captain of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights was the final player to get the Cup, and he provided a classic hockey image — a big grin that emphasized a missing front tooth.

“We’re thankful we didn’t have to use a lot of our guys because of injury, but they were right there and they prepared hard, they gave up a lot of their time,” Cassidy said. “They’re still here. It’s a bit of a thankless job while you’re going through it if you’re not playing, but now it’s all worth it. You’re a champion.”

28th: Bruce Cassidy

A lot of the players seemed to speed through their time with the Cup to keep the festivities moving, but Cassidy was more deliberate in walking towards center ice and soaking it all in.

Ever since taking the Vegas job almost exactly a year earlier, the coach didn’t shy away from the championship expectations. Lifting the Cup was all he ever wanted out of his NHL playing and coaching career, as he shared many times throughout the season.

“My name is going to be on the cup,” he said. “Nobody can ever take that away.”

29th: Kelly McCrimmon

As Cassidy headed back towards the gathering of players and team personnel, Bill Foley, Kelly McCrimmon and George McPhee all approached him to create a circle around the Cup.

McCrimmon, the general manger, would be the first to have his own moment with the trophy. He executed many controversial trades and moves over the years, but always maintained they were all out of a drive to give the Golden Knights the best chance to win the championship.

The Cup was therefore not just a trophy to McCrimmon; it was validation.

30th: Bill Foley

McCrimmon then helped Foley, team owner, lift the Cup over his head. For Foley, it was the culmination of a journey that started nearly a decade ago when the now 78-year-old began pushing for an NHL expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

He famously vowed “Cup in Six” to voice a timeline for the organization’s long-term goals before it started play and ended up nailing the prediction.

“Bill had a vision to win the Stanley Cup, and I’m so thankful I was a part of that,” Stone said.

31st: George McPhee

The Cup went on to go to a number of people in the organization, but the final front-line hockey figure to hold it before the broadcast concluded was the original general manager and current president of hockey operations.

McPhee had come painfully close to ultimate glory not only in the first season with the Golden Knights but also during a 17-year tenure as the general manger of the Washington Capitals. All the previous time in the NHL may have hardened McPhee as he’s usually intensely businesslike and shies from showing much emotion while in the public eye at games.

But even McPhee couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows and nod his head as he spun around holding the Cup over his head and mouthed, “thank you.” Lifting the Cup brought special sentiments out of everyone who had the honor.

Stone can’t imagine how it couldn’t.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” he said. “You try and soak it all in as much as you can and savor this moment. I just can’t believe it. The childhood goal I guess is to become an NHL player and, once you get to the NHL, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup and here we are standing Stanley Cup Champions and I couldn’t be more excited for this group, this city, the team.”