From day one, fans have seen, heard, and read his storytelling as the VGK Insider. Gary Lawless, originally from Peterborough, Ontario began his career in sports reporting in 1993. His first job in sports was the hockey beat reporter for the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Lawless has imprinted himself on the community with a key role as one of the narrators of the Golden Knights. A man of many traits who is driven by his pure love of the game and this city, but also sharing the story of the team and their journey from the very beginning.
What was your journey like to get where you are today?
Gary Lawless: I always thought I was going to go to law school and become a lawyer, my brother did that, but when I saw what he was going through, I decided I didn't want to do that, so I became a sportswriter. I went to journalism school and then went to work at a small paper in my hometown, moved to Thunder Bay, and that was a great experience. They had junior hockey, minor league baseball, and pro hockey, so I got to do a little bit of everything while I was there. Eventually, I went to work in Toronto in PR for one year with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. It was a successful year. We won the Grey Cup. Then I went back to Thunder Bay and was the sports editor. I then went on to Winnipeg and I spent 18 years there. During that time, I spent 14 years with the Winnipeg Free Press doing a variety of roles, but eventually, I was named the sports columnist. While I was there, I did a radio show on The Sports Network. Eventually, TSN came to me, while I was doing some television work as well, and said, “We'd like you to do all of your stuff for us.” So, I became their national columnist and did a lot of TV and radio work for them. Then I got the call to come to Vegas and now, I’m starting my eighth season with the Vegas Golden Knights. It's been great.
As the VGK Insider, what would you say is special about that role?
GL: Well, what's special for me is that I get to do a little bit of everything. I get to write for the website, I get to do color commentary on the radio with Dan D’Uva, and then I do television. It is a lot of pregame, postgame, and intermission work with our current broadcasters. Game days are busy. It's a lot of fun.
Since you're able to do both, what would you say is a special trait or quality that you enjoy in radio that you may not get on TV or vice versa?
GL: Well, TV is fast. Everything's got to be a little bit of a snippet. Then on the radio, you get to stretch your legs a little bit more and be more expansive. I love doing both. There's a certain excitement about television, where the red light goes on and you're live, and we have such an enthusiastic fan base here. A lot of people are watching and paying attention to what you're saying. So that's really cool. The radio is like a really long conversation between Dan and me about the game. Writing is my first love, and the fact that I get to still sit down a couple of times a week when I have time and write a column is pretty cool. A couple of summers ago, when the team won the Stanley Cup, the organization produced a book. Gordon Weigers and I are the co-authors. However, everybody played a role here. The entire department was instrumental. Garrett Calloway, India Shay, and Nate Ewell. It was such a special process.
You have been with this team since day one, what can you say has been your favorite thing about watching this team's entire journey to where it is today?
GL: Well, it's the best organization in the National Hockey League, in my opinion. And that happened really fast. And it's because of Kerry Bubolz, George McPhee, Bill Foley, and Kelly McCrimmon. They set a standard right from the very beginning of “everything we're going to do is going to be excellent.” Even the small things, I can remember before we played our first game, Kerry was just sweating the details on parking and people getting into the rink, people getting out of the rink and, you know, I go to other venues, and it's a mess. And here in Vegas you drive up, you park your car, you go into the event, you watch the event, you get out, you get into your car and drive away. It takes 10 minutes to get into the parking structure. It’s where they expect everything to be done at the highest level. It's been really fun.
Since you are the VGK Insider and you have spent a lot of time in this city, it's appropriate to ask you what are some of the best restaurants to go to here?
GL: Well there are a million restaurants. If I centered one out, that would be unfair to all the other ones. There are a lot of great places to go and my family loves to go out for dinner. I'll put it this way, Vegas is really cool because it's still a small town. You can get things done quickly, but if you decide you want to go and have a world class dinner and then see a show, you can do that on The Strip. You can really enjoy life here. It's got a little bit of everything. I love living here.
What are some fun facts that people may not know about you?
GL: Shane Hnidy likes it when I tell the story that I was a pole vaulter in high school, and that is the one that makes Shane laugh. I have another fun fact. There are only two people alive that have a Grey Cup ring and a Stanley Cup ring. One of them is Wayne Gretzky, and the other one is me.
How would your daughter describe Gary Lawless?
GL: It depends if I am standing in line at a store about to buy her something or not. No, we have a lot of fun. I take a lot of pride in being a dad. My wife is a great mom. She has really done a fantastic job with Lauren. You know, no one's perfect, but Lauren's perfect to me.
What's a piece of advice that you got early on in your career that maybe you still carry on to this day?
GL: The one thing that I've always kind of believed in is that the team that you're covering, when they do something that is good, you should say that. When they do something that's bad, you should say that as well. I think that we keep it real. We all work for the team, and there's no secret about that. We're transparent about that, and our job is to keep the fans entertained, but they have to believe you. And you know when things are going awful and you're saying it's all great, you lose your credibility. I’ve worked in traditional media for a long time, and I always thought that I did that there as well. When I was supposed to cheer, I cheered. When I was supposed to boo, I booed. And I think our broadcasts keep it real, and that's why they're so successful. The fans, at the end of the day, are what really matter. The fans love watching our TV show, and they love listening to our radio show.
What are some traits that you admire about each of your broadcast team?
GL: Dan D’Uva, Dave Goucher, and Daren Millard are super prepared. They work really hard on that. Shane is, in my view, the best color analyst in the business. I listen to him when he does our games and when he does national games. He's best in class. I love working with Millard. Sometimes it doesn't show and we disagree on some things, but he's very talented and I enjoy that. I love doing the radio with Dan, the conversations are really fun. And Ashali Vise joined us. She's a rising star. A really important member of our group. She is a lot of fun when we're on the road and when it's late at night, and we're on the bus. Everybody's grumpy, she isn't. She works really hard at being ready for the games. You know just the standard of prep and this whole group is at every practice and morning skate. We work hard at it.
My final question is, what are you looking forward to most this season?
GL: Watching the Golden Knights lift the Stanley Cup again.
Read, listen and watch the VGK Insider throughout the season on VegasGoldenKnights.com, Lawless and Order, Vegas 34 and partner channels and on KnightTime+. Now also on the new VGK Mobile App.
