(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Heading into the offseason, 10 months ago, the Golden Knights had one area they really wanted to clean up.
The obvious one is the power play, that’s at the top of the list to fix. For me the power play isn’t a this year problem. I didn’t feel it was dangerous enough in the Bubble, I thought it was mediocre. At the most important time in the Bubble as we went through to the Dallas series it got cold at the wrong time. We shuffled some things, put a new set of eyes on it this year and it stumbled again. That’s going to be the priority moving forward. -Pete DeBoer in June 2021
The front office felt the same way and they got to work instantly as the new league year opened.
Evgenii Dadonov was a player we identified as a priority. We had him ahead of all players that were available in Expansion. That effectively addressed the need of adding one good foward. -Kelly McCrimmon in July 2021
To start the season, DeBoer urged fans and media to be patient with the power play, calling it a work in progress and even going as far as to dissuade questions until we see it for a full season.
Vegas started the season 0 for 19 on the power play and the concerns grew larger and larger.
Again, the front office did not sit and wait for it to fix itself, instead, they went out and made yet another blockbuster trade, acquiring superstar Jack Eichel. Of course, though, he was injured, so once again, patience was required.
From the moment Eichel was acquired to the night he stepped foot on the ice for the first time as a Golden Knight, the VGK power play was actually fairly decent. They scored on 24 of 106 opportunities, or 22.6% which is equal to Carolina who sits in 10th in the league.
But, throughout it, the droughts still continued from time to time, and even during the hottest period, we went back and looked at every goal and declared the success unsustainable.
Eichel’s time came in mid-February and it was anything but the insta-fix it that was expected. In Eichel’s first eight games as a Golden Knight, the power play went a miserable 1 for 19. It caught fire over the next few weeks, operating at nearly 27% and scoring at least one in seven games of an 11 game stretch.
Naturally, it did not last. Vegas’ last power play goal came eight games ago against the Predators as they’ve failed to convert on 18 in a row since.
On March 9th, the Golden Knights made an apparent switch in power play coaches. Steve Spott, who had been overseeing the power play since DeBoer was hired took a step back and Ryan Craig began running drills in practice. That has continued since.
The way our staff works everybody works everywhere. Sometimes we switch voices and messaging at different points to grab attention back, especially when you’re 60 games into a season. -DeBoer in March 2022
Then there was last night as for the first time ever the Golden Knights had Eichel, Dadonov, Mark Stone, and Max Pacioretty all available and on the same unit. Even with the immense talent, the unit looked similar to what Golden Knights fans have grown accustomed to seeing over the past three seasons.
Little puck movement, no player movement, and extremely limited chance creation.
In three power plays last night, the Golden Knights generated just seven shot attempts, two of which were blocked, three more missed the net, and just two made it to Thatcher Demko. Vegas was not credited with a single high-danger scoring opportunity in six minutes of power play time per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Now, of course, there are plenty of excuses that can still be made. From injuries to chemistry to timing, the Golden Knights have not gotten a true season of power play work under their belts.
However, at some point, enough must be enough, and it seems we’ve reached that point.
You can’t lose the special teams battle and expect to win any game so that’s probably the first place we’ve got to clean up. -DeBoer after yesterday’s game
There are just eight games left in the season and the Golden Knights are in dire straights. There’s no more time to wait. It has to happen now, literally starting tomorrow in Calgary.
Otherwise, every step of the process in fixing it has to be evaluated, re-evaluated, and then evaluated again.
As DeBoer said at the end of the last season “it isn’t a this year problem.” It’s now become a this year, last year, and the year before that problem, and unless it looks drastically different in the final eight games and saves the Golden Knights’ season, the overhaul must be considered a complete failure.
Jim
Colorado Avs keep bringing in talent, while McCrimmon sits on his fat ass and does nothing. numerous top college free agents have been signed the past couple weeks by many teams, but Vgk does nothing.
==========================
Colorado Avalanche Sign Ben Meyers
APRIL 13, 2022 AT 1:53 PM CDT | BY GAVIN LEE
Arguably the top college free agent from this year’s crop was Minnesota captain Ben Meyers, and he has decided on where he’ll start his professional career. The Hobey Baker finalist has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche which begins immediately, meaning he is eligible to play down the stretch but not in this year’s playoffs.
Burning the first year of the contract is an obvious selling point for the 23-year-old Meyers, who will become a restricted free agent following the 2022-23 season. Undrafted, he spent three years with the Golden Gophers, becoming one of the most reliable offensive players in the country. In 34 games this season he racked up 17 goals and 41 points, while also being selected to participate in the Olympics for Team USA. On the international stage he was a clear standout, scoring two goals and four points in four games.
Along with Wyatt Aamodt, who signed with the Avalanche earlier this week, Colorado has now brought in two of the captains from this year’s Frozen Four. While Aamodt is more of a depth play, Meyers is a legitimate NHL option right away and was being courted by nearly the entire league. In fact, he could actually see action in the next few weeks despite not being eligible for the playoffs. Colorado has ten games left in the regular season and could slot Meyers into the lineup to help them chase down the Presidents’ Trophy, which brings guaranteed home ice throughout the postseason.
While he wouldn’t be considered a power forward exactly, standing 5’11” and weighing 194-lbs, Meyers is certainly not a perimeter player. Willing to fight through traffic, play in front of the net, and battle in the corners, he’s exactly the kind of player that quickly becomes a fan favorite. That’s exactly what happened in Minnesota, where the Delano native became an alternate captain as a sophomore and one of the most beloved players at the top program by his junior year.
A top-three finish for the Hobey Baker this season capped off an incredible year, though the Gophers would eventually fall to Aamodt and the Minnesota State Mavericks before reaching the NCAA Championship game. With NHL interest likely at an all-time high, it makes sense for him to capitalize on the market and sign with a top NHL team. The Avalanche, of course, have a whole litany of pending unrestricted free agents upfront and could have a number of spots open next season. Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin, Darren Helm, Nico Sturm, and Andrew Cogliano are all set to hit the open market this summer, leaving an opportunity for a player like Meyers to grab a full-time spot.
THE hockey GOD
@ Jim
Bull shit comment, AVS been in league a lot longer.
THE hockey GOD
Kruse was Baker finalist, where is he now ?
dun
dun
dun
dun
dun
dun
Jim
your comments have nothing to do with THIS YEAR’s college crop, which is what I was posting about.
it is a fact that the top free agents from college THIS YEAR are going to other teams, and while the Vgk have no #1 pick, to boot
your comments are immaterial bs…just stick to THIS YEAR
THE hockey GOD
my comment was spot on addressing “Colorado Avs keep bringing in talent, while McCrimmon sits on his fat ass and does nothing”
he did something and nothing happened- hello KRUSE !!, plus THIS YEAR IS NOT OVER YET, there are plenty of under the radars.
Stop your whining and over reaction bull shit, more than half the year is still in play.
unsophisticated fan base on display here.
Jim
try reading comp. the original post was about UNDRAFTED college FREE AGENTS, not drafted college players, so Kruse, a drafted player, has nothing to do with the post or subject at hand.
Karl
last night’s powerplay was ages better than it has been all year. yeah… they didn’t score but you can see the movement and the creativity. they were being creative again! yeah, the passes sucked and timing was off. nobody was tough on the puck… zone entry was slow and difficult… but when’s the last time you could say the VGK powerplay was “creative”? was it bad? yes. was it better than it has been? objectively, yes. you see… it’s moving in the right direction. from bad to better. that’s a reason to be optimistic… i think.
the same can not be said for lehner… and i think you are giving him too much credit. lehner was horrible last night. he needs to be our best player on the penalty kill (and at this point, i’d content with “not the worst”). as of late, lehner has been getting worse every time he plays. you see, he’s moving in the wrong direction… from bad to worse. what reason is there to be optimistic?
now don’t mistake me for the lehner lynch mob that you seem to be so afraid of feeding… because i stood up for him since we acquired him, all the way until last night.
could the defense have been better? yes. could we have used a goal from our top forwards? yes. could the special teams been better? yes. did lehner just play his worst game all year? also yes.
now you can fix the powerplay and another few goals per game from the top forwards… but this train isn’t going anywhere if we don’t have a serviceable goaltender.
tell me you think lehner was serviceable last night… with a straight face.
Phill
i agree totally with the power play comments but we are too late . Problems in hockey arnt all that diffrent in life or business if its not working fix it . Those that put their head in the sand and think these things will fix them selves awake to find them selves in new surroundings . Maybe im wrong but this team dosent look happy, either to much pressure or to much ego, lost confidence in coaching , not sure , We have so much talent but seems to be missing the “lets go boys we can do this ” . Maybe Stone can put some glue into this team . We also in my opinion need to bring back Logan or get some solid goaltending , at least we may have a chance on rebounds , How many times a night do we hear the announcer say he had no idea where the puck went, Mr. ive fallen and i cant get up ,feel sorry for him but so hard to watch .
Kevin Gullette
I see a trend here. So what you are saying is that ever since VGK hired PDB, our power play has been a work in progress? Seems to me therein lies the problem. I’ve said it before on your Twitter feed, Gallant got more out of the team than PDB is getting out of this loaded team. I’m all about the “win now” strategy, but sheesh we look lost on the ice at times. I am really worried to see what the front office does this off-season. $20+ mil over four players who were -4 last night. Also, did you see how hungry Vancouver played after 1 period? We have too many flashes and not sustained play like that. I’d settle for just consistency of effort.
John W
To me, the biggest problem with the power play is the entry. It seems like we waste tons of time battling to get the puck across the Blue Line.
Pretty much the same sequence every time. 1- Drop pass to a forward skating behind Theo or Petro. 2- Skater takes it up the middle. 3- when challenged, pass goes to a forward on the wall, where they usually are cut off/double-teamed.
If I can see it happen EVERY time, opposing teams sure will see it.
Once the puck is in Zone, I don’t hate the scheme…..we just need more chances. How can this not be changed/fixed?
harris umar
buddy Theo SUCKS and is a gay loser who thinks Marchie is his boyfriend even if Marchie is married what I mean is whenever the Golden Knights have a timeout late in regulation whenever the moron DEBOER puts Theo with Marchie which I clearly DO NOT like Theo puts his hand on Marchie’s head I saw it happen so many times and that is the definition of gay buddy and I want you to tell this to other fans so you and other fans can acknowledge Theo is A HORRIBLE DEFENSEMEN who needs TO GET TRADED and one more thing PETRO CLEARLY IS A BETTER DEFENSEMEN WHO IS NOT A WEIRD GAY FAGGOT LIKE THEO AND I WANT YOU AND EVERYBODY TO ACKNOWLEDGE EVERY WORD I HAVE TOLD YOU IN THIS BUDDY have a nice night buddy
knights fan in minny
shut up umar you moron aka pauly
Daryl
That is one VERY long sentence
Galdom
Loser
VGK Fan
I got to meet Shea 3 years ago and spent about 30 minutes with him and he was as nice as can be very humble and shy.
THE hockey GOD
@john, yep , I addressed this awhile back in post too. I hate the drop back past. Absolutely loses momentum over the line. SPEED wins the battle, there is no speed on the entry as often as needed.
Daryl
Spott is on charge of a PK unit that just gave up goals on 2 of 3 PKs. They gave up 2 of 3 in the previous game against VAN and 1 of 3 before that one. VAN has scored on 5 of their last 9 PP chances against VGK.
And it sounded to me like PDB is trying to save face with Spott by saying all coaches coach everywhere and we sometimes give Units a different voice
VGK lost this last game because they couldn’t score on the PP and they couldn’t stop a goal on the PK
Daryl
At what point will be PDB stop saying it’s a process?
Stephen
The day he is shown the door.
Hdbiker7851
Sooner the better
Jason S.
When he’s fired.
THE hockey GOD
no he is not- regarding spott.
“The way our staff works everybody works everywhere. Sometimes we switch voices and messaging at different points to grab attention back, especially when you’re 60 games into a season. -DeBoer in March 2022”
Daryl
Per PDB, Spott took over the PK while the other coach took over the PP. So if that is not correct, you can add it to more BS given to us from PDB
THE hockey GOD
learn to read Gomer, Spott certainly did not “take over PK ” or anything else after his comment quoted on March 2022 which clearly states it’s a whole staff involvement situation. What part of ‘our staff works , everybody, works, everywhere”. Is not clear to you ? Reading comprehension is not your strong point , it seems. As usual.
“The way our staff works everybody works everywhere. Sometimes we switch voices and messaging at different points to grab attention back, especially when you’re 60 games into a season. -DeBoer in March 2022”
Daryl
It’s obvious you are not that smart and you stick to a single comment instead of rwading all the other comments PDB has made. He recently stated that the PK coach had taken over PP duties and Spott took over the PK. But hey, who are any of us to question you. I’m still urprised the FO nor PDB himself has not offered you a job
Rick
So PDBs blood brother assistants cant get the job done and he’d just as soon go down with the ship than admit they are sucking at their job!…its bullshit, they are failing at a proffesional level and pretty sure we are all f’n sick of it..
THE hockey GOD
stop your whining, it’s a process , then begin again after it fails when everyone is firing on all cylinders and healthy.
unsophisticated fan base here,
Daryl
That’s right, it’s a process… It’s been a process since PDB arrived, just ask him
Jim
from a fan called Puck Podcast—–
Puck Podcast
@PuckPodcast
·
3h
Vegas Golden Knights:
– 8 games left
– 3 points out of the playoffs
– 2nd highest payroll in the NHL
– No 1st round pick in 2022
– 25th ranked prospects (The Hockey News)
– $0 cap space for next season (CapFriendly)
WOOF!
Blitz
Does not look great. 3 points to tie LA for a playoff spot, not sure what the breaker is, regardless we need 4 points more than LA gets, by seasons end, with a game in hand. We could also easily lose 3 of the next 4, and even being optimistic we will lose at least 1 or 2 of them. As far as cap, we don’t have $0 cap we have negative cap. Whitecloud gets a good raise, Mcnabb a small one. Roy will probably double his contract. Hague maybe a little more. We need to get rid of a few guys like LB that we don’t want to carry cap for. Said and done we are negative capped and will need to chop chop just to put a team up that basically looks like the team tonight MINUS a couple more players.
THE hockey GOD
stop your whining, Foley made his plan clear five years ago and implemented it.
Daryl
That’s right Blitz.. How dare you question Foley!!! Who do you think you are?
THE hockey GOD
my post was to jim, not blitz, pay attention.
Daryl
Well, my comment stays the same but directed at Jim…
JKB
Don’t forget you have the off ice cancer too in John Eichel! Bahahahah
Pistol Pete
Normally a paragon of optimism I will go on record as pessimistic regarding the Flames tomorrow. Eichel can’t find chemistry, Pacioretty and Stone are rusty and injured, Lehner sucks, PP sucks, PK sucks. Finish this season out and begin retooling. Still, I stand to be pleasantly surprised tomorrow. This team has risen from the depths before. Most important it’s been a remarkable five year maiden run.
Ken, Mike and Jason please give us plenty to look forward from on GI tonight.
Pistol Pete
I’m also nearly to the point where if the PP can’t be fixed on his watch, DeBoer should be replaced. In fact I am beginning to suspect his whole freakin’ system together with it’s erstwhile lack of in-front-of-the-net playmaking.
I may be going overboard here, falling into the blame the coach trap like the blame the goalie trap. DeBoer does have an excellent record here including the first two rounds of playoffs. He’s smart and affable. Is there an alternative out there?
Pistol Pete
I mentioned the lack of chemistry for Eichel and like last night he was not the difference maker we need but 11 G/9 A/+4 in 26 games is good especially given the long, long layoff. He’ll be better than a point a game here by the time he’s done.
THE hockey GOD
wow PP did someone hijack your account ???
THE hockey GOD
PK is more important than PP. If you can keep killing penalties then
you have a better chance to win that if your PK is in the terlot.
Besides they got 63 fo rPP and PDB didn’t use him on the last PP last night and he was flying all over the place. Must have run out of jet fuel. Maybe Pukin recalled him for the war effort on the Russian Front ?
harris umar
PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE BE REASONABLE PLEASE THEO IS CLEARLY A HORRIBLE DEFENSEMEN DEBOER HAS LOST IT HE IS GONE AND MCCRIMMON HAS CLEARLY LOST IT AND HE IS GONE AS WELL AND THEO DEBOER AND MCCRIMMON NEED TO FIND OTHER TEAMS TO MESS UP THE LINES AND FOR THEO TO KEEP SHOWING HOW GAY HE IS AND HE WILL GET KICKED OFF THE GODDANG TEAM IF HE CONTINUES HIS WEIRD GAY PERSONALITY TOWARDS MARCHIE FYI THEO SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ICE WHENEVER MARCHIE IS ON THE ICE PIETRANGELO SHOULD BE ON THE ICE WHENEVER MARCHIE IS ON THE ICE BECAUSE PIETRANGELO AND MARCHIE ARE MORE EXPERIENCED AND ARE LITERALLY THE SAME AGE THEY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE PRETTY CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AND THEY ARE NOT GAY WITH EACH OTHER EVERYBODY SERIOUSLY IT IS TRUE EVERYBODY
Blitz
Even with your ALL caps, lack of punctuation, and gay-broken-strange message you are still a better poster than THE hockey GOD.
THE hockey GOD
@ Blitz, and I love you too buddy.
Blitz
@THG. LOL. All in fun man 🙂
Daryl
WOW, just wow
TS
FYI: HUGE GAME AT 6:30PM TONITE(WED), TNT NETWORK…..
TS
DID I MENTION KINGS VS AVALANCHE?
TS
Aves up 4-0, halfway thru 1st period!! AWESOME!
Daryl
It’s not that big of a game… We’ll it is, but it’s one Thai mine if it’s really thought LAK had a chance to win. Must of us airway chaired this up as a loss for them
TS
9-3 final, Avalanche destroys Kings!
Daryl
LAK are more banned up than VGK is fortunately for them their injury is came at the end of the season after they possibly win enough games to get into the playoffs…. Where they will get destroyed unless they can get subs players back
TS
Daryl, I just DELIGHTED in seeing Kings get HAMMERED!! ( Esp this late in season)All teams have bad games, and this loss is one of the worst…better THEM than US!!
Daryl
TS,
I’m not a fan of the Ings at all…. anytime they lose, I’m happy about it
VGK Fan
Kings have 6 games left all against teams out of the playoffs tonight loss didn’t hurt them. VGK needs too pretty much win out.
Carl
Spott gotta go. And the VGK are on the verge of needing a new head coach, someone who has some fire in his belly to pass along to his sleepy players. Hello John Tortorella!
Daryl
I can’t stand that guy but he would be better than PDB. And, we won’t have to worry about anyone taking a knee
THE hockey GOD
@ carl
no one is going to get fired.
Daryl
Will they? No…. Should they? Absolutely!!!
Daryl
Since we are all allowed to promote our favorite players on here (PP for Eichel, thg for the FO, and RL, Galdom for RL) in going to go with mine….
I say they hire Engelland as their PK coach. And I’ll use stats to back up that claim. First of all, he is 1-0 as a professional coach. When he played, his PK Unit was the highest on the team, the goalie save% was highest when he was on the ice, they ran gage up the fewest odd man rushes and the fewest high danger chances, he knew how to be physical in front of the net…… And, can he really be any worse than Spott???
THE hockey GOD
FO is not a player ?!?
RL is not my favorite player, learn to read my posts, gheez.
Daryl
If you say so…..
TS
Great idea!A new set of eyes and maybe, just MAYBE, some fresh, unpredictable moves. And he’d have the respect/ rapport with the players. Can’t be worse than it is NOW!
Galdom
Ha ha
Pistol Pete
I know I posted very pessimistic above on VGK’s chances, but you know what I’m feeling more optimistic today. We beat the Flames, Oilers and go on to make it in.
Galdom
Pistol Pete, Don’t apologize for being optimistic
Pistol Pete
Thank you Galdom I appreciate that. So far so good 5-1 VGK with Thompson in net…depth scoring! Preds will lose and Stars hopefully get just 1.
Pistol Pete
Stars do get just one point. Assuming no huge meltdown from 5-1 we will be within one of Preds and Stars. Would love to see Preds not make it through, not just because it could be at their expense we make it in, but because it will increase the chance Forsberg will move.
Pistol Pete
Stars do get just one point. Assuming no huge meltdown from 5-1 we will be within one of Preds and Stars. Would love to see Preds not make it through, not just because it could be at their expense we make it in, but because it will increase the chance Forsberg will move.
Pistol Pete
My math was off by one point lol. We’ll be within two of NSH and DAL not one, but we’ll still take it!
reyhan
thanks alot of information