Knights enjoy spoils of victory, but get prepared to turn page

Ken Daneyko knows how wild the swings can be after winning a Stanley Cup.

The longtime New Jersey Devils defenseman and three-time champion came oh-so-close to going back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, losing Game 7 of the 2001 Final to Colorado. The Devils’ follow-up to sweeping Detroit in 1995 was less impressive. They didn’t even make the playoffs.

Daneyko said his team had to learn the lesson that nothing is given because of past success. Opponents come in the next season excited to prove themselves against the champs. If a club isn’t prepared for that all year long, it could be watching new teams chase the Cup from home.

The Golden Knights have a few more opportunities to look back before turning their attention forward. They received their championship rings Sunday. They’ll raise a banner at T-Mobile Arena before their season opener against the Kraken on Tuesday.

But the team is confident that, once those last celebrations are down, they’ll be able to turn the page toward this season’s goal: another Cup.

“What I’m impressed with Vegas is the mentality of that businesslike attitude and understanding what it takes,” said Daneyko, an NHL Network analyst who can be seen on “NHL Now” and “NHL Tonight” throughout the season.

“That’s why I think they can probably handle it a little better because of their core.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy’s message to the Knights throughout last season’s playoff run was simple.

It’s OK to dream. It’s OK to think about winning the Stanley Cup — as long as everyone still got down to business once they arrived at the rink.

Nothing changes now.

The Knights can enjoy receiving their rings and gazing up at the banner they put in the rafters of their rink. But when they arrive for Tuesday’s morning skate, they need to pay attention to the Seattle scouting report and get ready to win a hockey game.

It’s not like the Knights are starting out with an easy opponent. The Kraken had 100 points last season and pushed Dallas to a Game 7 in the second round.

“It’s great for everybody in the building, but our focus that day will be on Seattle,” Cassidy said. “I think Sunday to me is kind of the, ‘Hey, we’ve wrapped it all up. How are we going to get there again?’”

The Knights aren’t too worried that their players’ focus will be pulled.

They have four multitime champions still on their roster in left wing Ivan Barbashev, center Chandler Stephenson and defensemen Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo. None has ever gone back-to-back, but Martinez and the Los Angeles Kings won two out of three in 2012 and 2014. Barbashev and Pietrangelo followed up their 2019 title with the St. Louis Blues by posting the Western Conference’s best record the next season.

Even Cassidy, though coming off his first Cup, has shown the ability to carry over a strong playoff run into the following year. His Boston Bruins lost to the Blues in Game 7 of the 2019 Final and won the 2020 Presidents’ Trophy.

The Knights likely won’t need much help staying grounded, either. It was only two seasons ago they were coming off back-to-back trips to the semifinals. Then they missed the 2022 playoffs during an injury-plagued year.

There’s no indication so far the group is slacking. Cassidy said he was told by strength and conditioning coach Doug Davidson that the results of the Knights’ pre-camp fitness testing were “some of the best numbers he’s ever seen.”

“I think when you win, there’s motivation to get back there,” Cassidy said. “It’s like, ‘Man, this was all worth it. I’m going to do it again.’”

The Knights still get a few chances to enjoy the spoils of victory before starting a new journey together.

The rings, which Cassidy said Pietrangelo and captain Mark Stone had input on, will be a keepsake the members of the team can treasure forever. The banner will be a permanent reminder of their accomplishment.

The only thing better than looking up at it would be hanging another one next door.

“I am very excited,” Stone said. “It’ll be a good cherry on top. It’ll put some great closure on what was an incredible season, and now we can look forward to getting going.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on X.