The Las Vegas Knights continue to have almost unparalleled success as an expansion team as the following article argues, noting that no expansion team in the modern era (since 1960) has come close to making the playoffs with the exception of the NHL's 1960s expansion, where an entire division of expansion teams was created. However, the article only discusses the four "Major" sports leagues of North America, leaving out the CFL, where the Baltimore Stallions and their all American roster and the second winningest coach in CFL experience, Don Mathews, who knew what it took to win in this league made the Grey Cup in their first year, although they lost to the BC Lions.

The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a historically great start. The NHL's newest franchise won eight consecutive games before Thursday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues, which tied it with the 1976-77 Denver Nuggets of the NBA for the longest win streak by any pro sports franchise in its inaugural season over the past 60 years.
It's important to note that the Nuggets already had an established roster for their first season in the NBA. The joined the league after its merger with the ABA, where Denver had recorded back-to-back 60-win campaigns in its final two seasons. The Golden Knights, by contrast, were built through an expansion draft in which they plucked unprotected players from the 30 existing teams. Vegas has not just been successful in its recent streak; the Golden Knights -- who lead the Western Conference with 56 points and the NHL with 17 home wins -- have proved they have staying power and are one of the NHL's best teams. ...

The Golden Knights are having unprecedented success, especially when compared with the 63 previous expansion teams across the four major sports since 1960. Here's how those previous teams stacked up:
0: Number of those 63 expansion teams that finished their first season with a winning record. The 1993-94 Florida Panthers came closest, finishing 33-34-17.

21: Number of expansion teams that had the worst record in the league in their first season. Most notable among them were the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went 0-14, and the 1962 New York Mets, who lost an MLB-record 120 games.
5: Number of expansion teams that made the playoffs in their first season. None has done so in the 50 years since four NHL teams did so in 1967-68. That was largely because all six expansion teams were placed in the same division. ...
The goalies have been a significant reason behind the Golden Knights' success during the streak. Marc-Andre Fleury has recorded a 1.19 goals-against average and .959 save percentage since Dec. 14, both of which rank first among 29 goalies to play at least 300 minutes in that span. Malcolm Subban, Fleury's backup, has been solid in his starts, as well, going 3-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average since Dec. 14.
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/2...franchise-ever