In Las Vegas, the Golden Knights missed the playoffs for the first time in their brief, but successful history, this season.
That cost coach Peter DeBoer his job this morning.
After three seasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic years, DeBoer was fired.
For those three campaigns, DeBoer was 98-50-12. The 2021-22 season was a dismal 43-31-8.
“We would like to thank Pete DeBoer for his commitment to the Vegas Golden Knights over the past three seasons,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said on NHL.com. “Since joining the organization, Pete and his staff have guided us through some of the most unique and challenging circumstances we’ve witnessed since our franchise entered the NHL. After lengthy discussions over the last two weeks, we believe that a new coach will put us in the best position to succeed next season.”
Vegas was not without barriers this season with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, defenseman Alec Martinez and goalie Robin Lehner all missing significant time for injuries.
But two seasons of missing out on a return to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and 2021 was too much to overcome.
That inaugural season success tainted the ownership and fan base with unreasonable annual expectations. The NHL is not an easy league to win year after year. Combine that with bloated contracts and aging stars, and the Golden Knights are already looking at retooling.
Whoever comes in next will be in the hot seat from the start.
It will be interesting to see how Canada Sports Betting sees the change impacting wagering on the Golden Knights in the 2022-23 campaign.
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