Common Denominator: Las Vegas Golden Knights!

"NHL expansion team in 2017/18. Had over 100 points, and made the playoffs. Currently in first place, BTW."

To the surprise of, yes, everyone, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the next team on the NHL block in 2017, didn't exactly play like an expansion team. They made the playoffs, for one.

Granted, this had happened before. As far back as 50 years before, the NHL expanded six new teams to compliment the original six. Minnesota, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Oakland Seals came in.

However, looking at the way the NHL aligned the teams in 1967/68, you can understand why Philadelphia, Los Angeles,  St. Louis and Minnesota made it. All of the original teams (Montreal, New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Detroit)  were in one division, the East. All the new teams were in the other conference, the West. The way it was setup was the top four teams in each division would make it, meaning four of the six expansion teams were guaranteed a postseason berth. It didn't matter that none of the newbies even had a .500 record (Five of the six original teams finished at least two games above .500). Also, there was a guarantee that an expansion team would make the Stanley Cup Finals (That turned out to be St. Louis, btw) having to go through two other new teams.

The situation became  even more ridiculous the next season as all of the original six teams finished above .500, but the Red Wings and Blackhawks missed the postseason. Meanwhile, in the Western Division, only the Blues were over .500. None of the other five teams in that division finished better than seven games below .500. No other expansion team besides St. Louis had more than 69 points. Chicago had 77 and missed in the East Division. Obviously, times are much different now. There were 12 teams then (Soon to be 14 in 1970/71). There are 31 now. Almost as many teams (16) make it to significant action in April as are on the golf course (15). Seattle seems poised to join the next season, for a total of 32 teams.

Four WHA teams joined the NHL in 1979/80, but again the circumstances were different. The teams didn't just come along in the World Hockey Association the year before, and all of them had been there since 1972/73, the WHA's first season. Two of the WHA teams that entered the NHL made the 1980 playoffs: 1) The Edmonton Oilers with some chap named Gretzky 2) The Harford Whalers (They have since relocated to Carolina) with three men named Howe, Hull and Keon.

The NHL then really went after the "other" places in North America. San Jose joined in 1991/92. Tampa Bay and Ottawa the next. 1993 welcomed Anaheim and Florida. There were 24 teams in the NHL in 1992/93. 25+ years later the number looks like it's increased by 8. There are fewer and fewer places in North America without an NHL team. The Vegas Golden Knight's success could mean The NHL might expand to both Quebec and Saskatchewan in the coming years, meaning there could be 9 in Canada alone. The previous high was 8 in 1994/95 before Quebec moved to Colorado. With proper management like the Knights have shown, a hockey team can work anywhere.

Las Vegas seems loaded in goal, as four of the five goalies to strap on the pads have either excelled like Marc-Andre Fleury or arrived like Malcolm Subban. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins didn't think losing these "extra" goalies meant much. Maybe not...But they sure made a difference in their new home. For Fleury, it was a chance to continue his success, and he did. For Subban, with all of just two NHL games experience to his name, it was a chance to play. Not only did Malcolm play, but he proved himself to be a dependable backup to Marc.

And this isn't just in the goaltendings. These so-called castoffs are actually good players. Well, at least some of them are. Las Vegas' top point-getter is Jon Marchessault actually scored 30 goals last year for Florida. He's got 25 so far this year.

Jon's coach last year was Gerard Gallant. Gallant had coached the Panthers to 103 points in 2015/16 and was quite a player, four times topping the 30-goal mark himself for Detroit. He even had experience as a player with a (Second year) expansion team. He played for Tampa Bay in 1993/94, the same year that Florida came into the league. Right guy behind the bench. Jack Adams Award Winner in 2017/18? Why not?

In any event, Vegas is heading to the playoffs with over 40 wins and 100 points to their name. Can they match the '67 St. Louis Blues with a run all the ways to the finals? Can the Knights win the Cup? We'll have to wait and see.

The Terminator Said He'd Be Back After 1982, Part 2.

So what about the rest of Jeff Reardon's 1982 stats? Jeff had an ERA of just 2.06 that year, and allowed just 1.128 WHIP. His WAR that year was quite good. So despite not being an overpowering closer, Reardon was a very effective one!

Stat Set 2

Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Walsh	1904	1	?	?	?	2.60	57	4.6	1.102	0.1
Griffith	1905	1	?	?	?	1.68	46	4.1	0.954	3.3
Keefe	1907	3	?	?	?	2.50	20	3.1	1.387	2.0
Chappelle	1908	0	?	?	?	1.79	23	2.9	1.095	0.3
Leever	1909	2	?	?	?	2.83	23	3.0	1.257	-0.1
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Phillipe	1910	4	?	?	?	2.29	30	2.2	0.986	2.0
Baskette	1912	1	?	?	?	3.18	51	4.0	1.336	2.2
Crandall	1913	6	?	?	?	2.86	42	3.9	1.290	0.5
Wolfgang	1914	0	?	?	?	1.89	50	3.8	1.073	1.8
Mays	1915	7	?	?	?	2.60	65	4.4	1.063	1.0
Danforth	1917	9	?	?	?	2.65	79	4.1	1.324	3.2
Dubuc	1919	3	?	?	?	2.66	32	2.2	1.182	0.6
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Morton	1921	1	?	?	?	2.76	45	3.8	1.207	2.3
Baumgartner	1925	3	?	?	?	3.57	18	1.4	1.368	2.5
Marberry	1926	22	?	?	?	3.00	43	2.8	1.348	3.1
Haid	1928	5	?	?	?	2.30	21	4.0	1.064	0.4
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Lindsey	1931	7	1	0.875	?	2.77	32	3.9	1.634	1.1
Quinn	1932	13	?	?	?	2.66	24	3.5	1.383	1.1
Russell	1933	13	?	?	?	2.69	28	2.0	1.218	3.1
Brown	1938	5	?	?	?	3.80	55	3.7	1.500	0.4
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Beggs	1940	7	4	0.636	0	2.00	25	2.9	1.161	2.2
Murphy	1941	15	7	0.682	0	1.98	29	3.4	1.397	2.2
Adams	1943	9	2	0.818	0	2.82	46	3.0	1.254	3.0
Heving	1944	10	?	?	0	1.96	46	3.5	1.228	1.9
Maltzberger	1944	12	?	?	0	2.96	49	4.8	1.095	1.8
Christopher	1947	12	2	0.857	0	2.90	33	3.7	1.277	1.4
Page	1949	27	11	0.711	0	2.59	99	6.6	1.315	4.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Konstanty	1950	22	4	0.846	0	2.66	56	3.3	1.039	4.7
Aloma	1951	3	1	0.750	0	1.82	25	3.2	1.096	3.2
Wilhelm	1952	11	1	0.917	1	2.43	108	6.1	1.155	2.7
Paige	1952	10	5	0.667	1	3.07	91	5.9	1.254	3.4
Kinder	1953	27	8	0.771	4	1.85	39	3.3	1.140	4.5
Mossi	1954	7	0	1.000	0	1.94	55	5.3	1.022	3.3
Narleski	1955	19	2	0.905	6	3.71	94	7.6	1.281	2.5
Freeman	1956	18	3	0.857	2	3.40	50	4.1	1.344	2.6
Farrell	1957	10	3	0.769	0	2.38	54	5.8	1.320	2.4
Zuverink	1957	9	8	0.529	0	2.48	36	2.9	1.278	2.7
Hyde	1958	18	5	0.783	0	1.75	49	4.3	1.136	4.9
Duren	1959	14	7	0.667	1	1.88	96	11.3	1.200	3.8
Staley	1959	15	4	0.789	2	2.24	54	4.2	1.169	2.5
Face	1959	10	9	0.526	1	2.70	69	6.7	1.243	3.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
McDaniel	1960	26	6	0.813	1	1.29	95	8.2	0.863	6.0
Brosnan	1960	12	2	0.857	2	2.36	62	5.6	1.020	2.7
Arroyo	1961	29	10	0.744	1	2.19	87	6.6	1.109	3.3
Fox	1961	12	2	0.857	3	1.41	32	5.0	1.012	2.6
Radatz	1963	25	3	0.893	0	1.97	162	11.0	1.096	5.7
Perranoski	1963	21	8	0.724	0	1.67	75	5.2	1.202	4.5
Lee	1964	19	8	0.704	1	1.51	111	7.3	1.058	4.3
Ellis	1964	14	2	0.875	1	2.57	125	9.2	1.054	3.1
Miller	1965	24	1	0.960	1	1.89	104	7.8	0.997	4.3
Regan	1966	21	7	0.750	1	1.62	88	6.8	0.934	5.0
Hoerner	1966	13	3	0.813	4	1.54	63	7.5	1.026	3.0
Drabowsky	1967	12	5	0.706	3	1.60	96	9.1	0.955	3.2
Abernathy	1967	28	6	0.824	1	1.27	88	7.4	0.978	6.2
Wood	1968	16	5	0.762	7	1.87	74	4.2	1.006	5.4
Tatum	1969	22	1	0.957	2	1.36	65	6.8	1.042	4.3
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Williams	1970	15	4	0.789	7	1.99	76	6.0	1.032	2.8
McMahon	1970	19	5	0.792	0	2.96	74	7.1	1.219	3.0
Sanders	1971	31	4	0.886	0	1.91	80	5.3	1.064	4.1
Giusti	1972	22	5	0.815	0	1.93	54	6.5	1.058	2.3
Knowles	1972	11	3	0.786	5	1.37	36	4.9	1.310	2.5
Hiller	1973	38	4	0.905	0	1.44	124	8.9	1.021	8.1
Borbon	1973	14	5	0.737	6	2.16	60	4.5	1.421	2.5
Marshall	1974	21	12	0.636	9	2.42	143	6.2	1.186	3.1
Gossage	1975	26	5	0.839	1	1.84	130	8.3	1.193	8.2
Eastwick	1976	26	9	0.743	1	2.09	70	5.9	1.115	2.8
Lyle	1977	26	8	0.765	1	2.17	68	4.5	1.197	3.7
Sutter	1977	31	9	0.775	0	1.34	129	10.8	0.857	6.5
Stanley	1978	10	5	0.667	1	2.60	38	2.2	1.242	4.1
Blair	1978	28	5	0.848	2	1.97	91	8.2	1.246	4.1
Tekulve	1979	31	6	0.838	8	2.79	75	5.0	1.176	3.2
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
McGraw	1980	20	5	0.800	0	1.46	75	7.3	0.921	4.7
Fingers	1981	28	6	0.824	0	1.04	61	7.0	0.872	4.2
Caudill	1982	26	6	0.813	0	2.35	111	10.4	1.045	4.4
Reardon	1982	26	8	0.765	2	2.06	86	7.1	1.128	3.5
Hernandez	1984	32	1	0.970	0	1.92	112	7.2	0.941	4.8
Lamp	1985	2	5	0.286	8	3.32	68	5.8	1.164	1.3
Eichhorn	1986	10	4	0.714	7	1.72	166	9.5	0.955	7.4
Righetti	1986	46	10	0.821	0	2.45	83	7.0	1.153	3.8
Henke	1987	34	8	0.810	1	2.49	128	12.3	0.926	3.3
Burke	1987	18	4	0.818	5	1.19	58	5.7	0.890	4.3
Henneman	1988	22	7	0.759	2	1.87	58	5.7	1.051	3.3
Lancaster	1989	8	3	0.727	7	1.36	56	6.9	1.032	3.9
Russell	1989	38	6	0.864	0	1.98	77	9.5	0.950	2.5
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Eckersley	1990	48	2	0.960	0	0.61	73	9.0	0.614	3.3
Thigpen	1990	57	8	0.877	0	1.83	70	7.1	1.038	3.4
Henry	1991	15	1	0.938	3	1.00	28	7.0	0.833	2.2
Aguilera	1991	42	9	0.824	0	2.35	61	8.0	1.072	2.4
Ward	1992	12	4	0.750	24	1.95	103	9.1	1.135	3.1
Rojas	1992	10	1	0.909	13	1.43	70	6.3	1.043	3.9
Wetteland	1993	43	1	0.977	0	1.37	113	12.0	1.008	4.2
Harvey	1993	45	4	0.918	0	1.70	73	9.5	0.841	4.0
Beck	1993	48	4	0.923	0	2.16	86	9.8	0.882	2.4
Hoffman	1998	53	1	0.981	0	1.48	86	10.6	0.849	4.1
Urbina	1998	34	4	0.895	0	1.30	94	12.2	1.010	3.2
Williamson	1999	19	7	0.731	5	2.41	107	10.3	1.039	2.8
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Rhodes	2001	3	4	0.429	31	1.72	83	11.0	0.853	2.5
Smoltz	2003	45	4	0.918	0	1.12	73	10.2	0.870	3.3
Timlin	2005	13	7	0.650	24	2.24	59	6.6	1.320	2.9
Nathan	2006	36	2	0.947	0	1.58	95	12.5	0.790	3.3
Ryan	2006	38	4	0.905	1	1.37	86	10.7	0.857	3.6
Putz	2007	40	2	0.952	0	1.38	82	10.3	0.698	4.0
Rivera	2008	39	1	0.975	0	1.40	77	9.8	0.665	4.3
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR
Bell	2010	47	3	0.940	0	1.93	86	11	1.200	1.9
Cook	2012	14	7	0.667	21	2.09	80	9.8	0.941	2.6
Chapman	2012	38	5	0.884	6	1.51	122	15.3	0.809	3.6
Johnson	2012	51	3	0.944	0	2.49	41	5.4	1.019	2.4
Davis	2014	3	3	0.500	33	1.00	109	13.6	0.847	3.7
Rondon	2015	30	4	0.882	8	1.67	69	8.6	1.000	2.2
Britton	2016	47	0	1.000	0	0.54	75	9.9	0.836	4.2
Osuna	2016	36	6	0.857	0	2.68	82	10.0	0.932	2.1
Brach	2016	2	5	0.286	24	2.05	92	10.5	1.038	2.5
Miller	2016	12	2	0.857	25	1.45	123	14.9	0.686	3.8
Robertson	2017	14	2	0.875	8	1.84	98	12.9	0.849	2.9
Jansen	2017	41	1	0.976	1	1.32	109	14.4	0.746	2.9
Albers	2017	2	4	0.333	14	1.62	63	9.3	0.852	2.5
Pitcher	Year	S	BS	S%	H	ERA	K	K/9	WHIP	WAR

Notes

Baumgartner appeared as a starter twelve times

Wolfgang and Baskette appeared as a starter eleven times.

Danforth appeared as a starter nine times.

Phillipe and Walsh appeared as a starter eight times.

Morton and Griffith appeared as a starter seven times.

Paige, Mays and Chappelle appeared as a starter six times.

Marberry, Mossi, Lee, Ellis and Dubuc appeared as a starter five times.

Leever appeared as a starter four times.

Russell, Stanley, Adams and Keefe appeared as a starter three times.

Brown, McDaniel, Wood, Crandall, Brosnan and Lindsey appeared as a starter two times.

Beggs, Quinn, Narleski, McGraw and Aloma appeared once as a starter.

Maltzberger, Hyde, Konstanty, Duren, Brosnan, Tekulve and Henke all wore glasses.


References

Sports Reference LLC. "Jeff Reardon Pitching Stats."  Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. ttps://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reardje01-pitch.shtml
>. Web. 25 Mar. 2018.