Kelly McCrimmon is one of the most closely observed general managers in the NHL. His teams win, it’s his driving priority. In fact, one of his favorite sayings is, “We’re in the winning business.”
McCrimmon already has one Stanley Cup on his resume and he’s after another this season. Half the teams in the NHL will make the playoffs and be able to stake a similar claim. Realistically, there are maybe eight teams with a legitimate opportunity and McCrimmon’s Golden Knights are among the elite.
Vegas opened its eighth training camp on Thursday morning and prior to the skate, McCrimmon gave a State-of-the-Union type media address at the team’s Summerlin headquarters.
Here are some highlights from his chat.
Kelly McCrimmon on the Rookie Faceoff:
Our team went 3–0 and never trailed in any game. Each game was a close game. It’s really valuable from an evaluation standpoint, and we’re really encouraged by the progress that some of the players are making. I think I have mentioned before with Development Camp and the Rookie Tournament, you're looking to see year over year what type of gains players are making and what steps they still need to take to be NHL players. It’s a good feeling for those players to come into main camp with some confidence. It was the best tournament, probably, that our team has had at the Rookie Tournament. You don't put a lot of stock one way or the other, but there's a real good feeling with the job that Ryan Craig and his staff did in preparing our team for the tournament in LA.
Kelly McCrimmon on main camp opening:
The main camp will begin today with 63 players, three teams. It'll be a similar format to what we've used in the past. From a health standpoint, we've used our offseason to rest and recover. We'll have all veteran players healthy and participating in camp. We have a couple of players that were involved in rookie camp, or even prior to rookie camp, that are nursing some injuries that won't be part of training camp, but the veteran players will all be here.
Kelly McCrimmon on last year’s injuries:
Last year, and I think we talked about it maybe a little bit over the course of the offseason, but I think we got up to 14 surgeries that we had on our team. So, the offseason was valuable. I think the offseason this year was 136 days versus 93 days last summer. When we missed the playoffs in 2021-22, we really felt there was great value in that ability to have a longer offseason to recharge. At that point, we'd played a lot of hockey in previous years. Last year it was a long playoff run and last summer was the shortest offseason that we've had. Hopefully we have more of those to come still, but it feels like training camp is kind of a month later.
Kelly McCrimmon on the positive vibes in camp:
I really see a great energy with our team, being around the players and just in the building. I was talking with the strength and conditioning people this morning, just really happy with the testing that was done here yesterday. Not just from veteran players, but players as they grow older, you have expectations that they're going to continue to get bigger and stronger. I think we're seeing a lot of progress in that area. It's really a real strength of our organization, the people we have in those departments. Again, credit to the players for doing the work and taking advantage of the time.
Kelly McCrimmon on his expectations:
I think we have very high hopes. Training Camp is a little different this year in that there's going to be a little more competition for jobs. Last year, we were the returning Stanley Cup champions returning our entire team. This situation is a little bit different, which I think brings extra importance to camp. Extra importance to preseason and the excitement that goes with the evaluation process of determining what the opening night lineup will be on October 9. That process will begin here this morning.
Kelly McCrimmon on Robin Lehner:
Robin Lehner will not be reporting to the club this year. He continues to be unfit to play. There are unique circumstances surrounding the situation that the NHL, NHLPA, and the club are currently working through. Collectively, we are assessing our next steps, and when we have more to say, we will. There will be nothing further until then.
Kelly McCrimmon on competition for jobs and how it compares to the 2017-18 season:
I think that comparing to year one would be the extreme. We had 25 players that had never played together, so you're going to have things shake out. I remember for a half-dozen games, William Karlsson was a winger. When you look at it in hindsight, how could that have been? He's one of the best two-way centers in the NHL. Yeah, I think there's part of that. It’s an interesting question from this perspective. What that year taught us is that you think you know these things. When we lived it, it's amazing what people do when they get more opportunity than they had previously. That’s where I remember at the end of year one, pretty much every player on that team had a career season. Part of that is the fact that there were opportunities. There's going to be some great opportunities in our lineup this year, and someone's going to benefit from that. It’s a two-fold process. There must be opportunity, but then who's going to step up and take it? Who's going to step up and take those opportunities?
Kelly McCrimmon on where his team can be better:
Well, I sure hope the answer to that question is better health. That's really the big thing for me. You can only talk about these things so much. When you ask the question the way that you ask it, I think everyone knows that guys aren't playing, but I don't know that you ever properly equate it to what the team may look like on the ice and what it could look like. My hope is good health, and we have good health. I like the make-up of our team. There’s going to be competition for some new players on our team. There's going to be competition within our team internally for more opportunity. That's all good. For me, I lived a large part of my career in junior hockey where you have players that move on at the end of their 19 or 20-year-old seasons. The players returning the next year are then fighting for more. So, where do I think we're better? Time will tell, but that's my biggest hope going into the season, the health part of it.
Kelly McCrimmon on how many D the team will carry:
Those are all things that will sort themselves out between now and the ninth of October and maybe even beyond. I love our defense, one through eight, not just one pair or two pairs. I think our defense is really the strength of our team. Our centers, and our defense, I think are the strength of our team. So, when you look around the NHL, there's a lot of teams that can't go that deep on their back end as we can. I think there's great value in that. So, we're not in a hurry to carry less than eight. We'll see what it's going to tie into. If you go eight defensemen, that means there are 13 forwards. So, it's going to tie into that a little bit too in terms of the roster decisions.
Kelly McCrimmon on team identity:
I think our identity will be very similar. I think the foundation that we use for our team and our team play will be very similar. I think that there are going to be some tweaks. Bruce will speak to that more in time that they have some things that they will try to add, or different layers that you have within, maybe even with an individual’s game. So, that's something that we could see, but I think that the one thing I've always felt about this franchise is we've evolved into a real good organization and a real good team. I still like to remember where we came from, that was a misfit mentality where we had something to prove. I think that's always served us best when we have that mindset. I know when we missed the playoffs, I talked to you guys about how we came back humbled, hungry, and ready to go. I think that's been a good recipe for us. I'm a big believer in humility and no entitlement. Those things tie into our culture, those things tie into our identity. That's who you want to be. I don't think that changes in terms of who we are and what we stand for. Within that game, within what you know, there'll be some changes, I'm sure.
Kelly McCrimmon on depth forwards:
I think that's going to play itself out. Jonas Rondbjerg we had up in that role different times. I think he did it very well. Tanner Pearson is a player on a PTO that has had real health issues. In his last healthy season he had a real good year. He missed a better part of a year in Vancouver with surgery that didn't turn out as intended. Last year, he broke both hands blocking shots. You like to think those are one-offs, and he's had the ability to train in the summer and he's healthy. I think that's a big thing that's different for Tanner. He’s a Stanley Cup champion, and he's had history in our organization with John Stevens, so we know a little bit about the person. That's where he starts, and I guess we will see where he ends up by then. Those are all things that we're going to use the preseason games and the practices to sort out what we want out of that position.
Kelly McCrimmon on who will play with Jack Eichel:
Today, it's going to be Victor Olofsson. Victor is a guy that played with Jack, and we want to see what that looks like. I think you're going to see different guys get an opportunity there. Barbashev is probably a constant on the other side. Jack is an elite player, so it's going to be a great opportunity for someone else.
Kelly McCrimmon on Tomas Hertl:
He looks good the little bit that I've seen him. I compare his situation a little bit to Jack. When we acquired Jack, I think he started playing mid-February, but coming to camp the next fall was just a really different situation for Jack. You're comfortable, you know your teammates, you know your coaches, you've got your house, and you've got your family settled. I expect that there will be some real benefits to Tomas in that way. That's the comparison I make. It reminds me to Jack, playing the part of the year and then coming in the next fall for camp.
