The Vegas Golden Knights were not only the biggest surprise in the NHL last season, they were just ... fun.
From their relentless and fast-paced style of play, to their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, to their increasingly elaborate Vegas-style pre-game introductions that became must-see viewing. It was all an incredible ride.
They followed up with an offseason that saw them make a couple of blockbuster moves to add Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty to the roster.
[Related: How will Golden Knights follow up historic first season]
They open year two on Thursday night when they host the Philadelphia Flyers (10 p.m. ET on NBCSN as the second half of our double-header), and the Vegas social media team wanted to make sure the team hasn’t yet jumped the shark (hold your boos!) and kicked off the season this week with a pretty remarkable Happy Days parody video.
At first I wondered why Jon Merril, who only appeared in 34 games for the team last season, was one of the few players to make the cut for the credits but my goodness if he doesn’t look like he belongs on the set of Happy Days with that mustache. And given everything that has happened over the past year that might be the first time in quite a while that Max Pacioretty has smiled in a hockey jersey. Given that he is going to get an opportunity to play alongside Stastny this season and should be primed for a big bounce back performance there should be plenty more smiles this season, too.
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.