Knights apparel was a hot commodity in the regular season, but playoff success has taken it to new heightsGETTY IMAGES
The Golden Knights' "booming off-ice business continues to spin heads with high-volume, accelerating merchandise sales," according to Eli Segall of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The City National Arenaretail shop, where the team practices, on Sunday "quickly sold out its first batch of 150 Western Conference champion shirts." Fanatics Dir of PR Brandon Williams said that Sunday also was the "best day ever for Knights merchandise sales" through the retailers' network. Meanwhile, Galleria at Sunset mall Marketing Dir Jamie Cooper said that lines "were out the door Sunday at two Lids shops that sell Knights gear, and the line at Dick’s wrapped through the store 'like a Black Friday.'" Segall notes the Golden Knights have had "league-leading merchandise sales and among the most expensive, if not the priciest, tickets on the resale market during the playoffs." Retail execs said that Golden Knights' merchandise sales "were strong during the regular season but keep accelerating during the playoffs as the team advances in its historic inaugural-season." At Galleria, fans show up to buy gear "immediately after the team wins a playoff round." Fans were "waiting in lines 100 people deep to get into City National's retail store." Golden Knights Senior VP & CMO Brian Killingsworth said that by noon yesterday, the store "had sold nearly 1,000 Western Conference champion shirts and around 1,000 Western Conference champion hats." Lids VP/Buying & Merchandising Bob Durda said that the Golden Knights were the "top-selling NHL team for the chain’s U.S. operations during the regular season" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/22).
MULTIFACETED SUCCESS: In N.Y., Ben Shpigel writes there is "not one overarching reason" for the Golden Knights' success, but "several, all entwined: the right players, the right coaches and a grieving city eager to embrace a new sport and a winner" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/22). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said the Golden Knights' run is "maybe the most amazing sports story any of us have ever seen." He added, "It is the single most spectacular thing I have seen from a team in the history of sports" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 5/21). ESPN's Israel Gutierrez: "It's just an impossible story not to like" ("Around the Horn," ESPN, 5/21). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom writes, "Talk about a miracle on ice. This championship possibility would be all the rage if the NHL mattered in the U.S." A league in "desperate need of something good is getting one of the greatest stories in sports" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/22). CBSSN's Adam Schein said, "This is the greatest run, the most remarkable run in the history of team sports and an incredible story. ... This great for the NHL, this is great for buzz" ("Time to Schein," CBSSN, 5/21). In Tampa, Tom Jones writes the Golden Knights' season is "maybe the best sports story in this country and the sport of hockey since 1980's Miracle on Ice." The expansion rules "were bent in such a way that Vegas had a better chance than previous expansion teams of getting good players." But it is "not like the Golden Knights were afforded a bunch of superstars" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/22). In Chicago, Barry Rozner writes the Golden Knights "got some breaks because of the expansion rules this time around," but when someone pays $500M for a franchise, they "probably deserve to be something better than a doormat the first 10 years." It is an "incredible story," but it is "no miracle" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 5/22).
BY GEORGE: In Toronto, Damien Cox writes it also "should be understood" that the Golden Knights are "not Cup finalists because they were given such a wonderful expansion draft deal that GM George McPhee found it easy to put together one of the most successful teams in hockey." The way folks are "whining about this, you’d think Vegas was given access to first-liners and top-pair defencemen from the other 30 teams." McPhee "brilliantly recognized undervalued assets from other clubs." He "selected well, and more than a few of his selections turned out better than he could possibly have imagined." The "problem" is that "nobody has been able to articulate exactly what they are and how this all happened." Cox: "It simply defies conventional understanding" (TORONTO STAR, 5/22).
