Knights’ owner Bill Foley celebrates Game 5 win from afar
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — One key person was missing from the locker room Sunday inside Bell MTS Place as the Golden Knights celebrated making it to the Stanley Cup Final.
Bill Foley, the team’s majority owner and the man responsible for bringing the NHL to Las Vegas, was home in Summerlin watching on television as the Knights made history with their 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
“I had a bad cold,” Foley said by phone following the game. “But I’m feeling a lot better now.”
Foley paid a then-record $500 million to join the NHL in 2016. He hoped the Knights would make the playoffs in three years and compete for a Stanley Cup in six.
“I guess we’re ahead of schedule,” he said with a laugh.
Foley said the organization never wavered from its core values, a big reason why the Knights are only the third team in NHL history to play for the Cup in their inaugural season, joining the 1918 Toronto Arenas and the 1968 St. Louis Blues.
“It’s a validation of the hard work we’ve put in, the systems we put in place, the great job done by our general manager, George McPhee and his staff, our coach Gerard Gallant, and our players,” Foley said. “We’ve never strayed from those values and here we are, about to play for the Stanley Cup.
“It’s a fantastic feeling and I’m thrilled for the city and our great fans. I went out (Sunday) morning for lox and bagels and when I got to the store I must have seen 10 or 12 people wearing their Golden Knights gear. It was a great feeling to see that kind of support and just how the entire town has embraced the team.”
Foley said he has learned to deal with his nerves when games like Sunday’s were close. The Knights were nursing a 2-1 lead going into the third period and he compartmentalized the final 20 minutes.
“I break them down into five-minute increments,” he said. “Once we got past each five-minute period and it came down to those last five minutes, that’s when you get nervous. But we played great. We were attacking the net. We were playing great defense. We had Marc-Andre (Fleury) in goal.
“Other than the last 12 minutes of the first period, I thought we were great.”
Foley said he’ll be ready to watch in person when the Final begins.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll be able to sleep (Sunday).”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
