The offseason is about to truly get going. Rosters freeze in a couple of hours, expansion lists are due slightly after that and will be released to the public tomorrow. That’s when the fun begins as each team will surrender a player to the Seattle Kraken and the deals will start coming through. Shortly after that the NHL Draft, then free agency. In the next two weeks, a whole lot of teams will look different, and the Golden Knights could be one of them.
Yes, we waited until the absolute last minute for this but now is the time. Jason and I worked together on our offseason predictions for the Golden Knights. Here’s exactly what we think will happen and what the roster will look like come Opening Night 2021-22.
NOTE: This is a guess at what we believe the Golden Knights will do. This is not an endorsement for any of these moves. (We’ll get to that when they are actually made.)
Free Agency
Alec Martinez – Unsigned
It’s simply going to cost too much for the Golden Knights to retain the two-time Cup winner. After his excellent showing in the playoffs, while playing on a broken foot, the soon-to-be 34-year old will be looking to cash in one last time. We expect him to hit the market on July 28th and sign quickly for at least $5 million AAV.
Mattias Janmark – Unsigned
George McPhee has never been a big fan of rentals, but since Kelly McCrimmon officially took the GM chair they have gone down this road a bit more. Nick Cousins was acquired and walked a few months later in free agency and we expect the same from Janmark. It’ll be interesting to see how much he can fetch on the open market as he hits unrestricted free agency for the second year running. He’s signed for $2.3 and $2.25 each of the last two years and may be headed towards that number again.
Tomas Nosek – Resigned (2 years – $1.25m AAV)
Nosek has been a loyal soldier in Vegas and has built his young family here. He made $1.25 million a year ago and had a slightly better offensive regular season this year than in his past. However, the injury in the playoffs may dampen the number he eventually signs for, which is why we’re predicting it to be right at the same price of $1.25 this time around.
Zach Parise – Signed (1 year – $1.675m)
After being surprisingly bought out by the Wild, Parise will reunite with Pete DeBoer who he served as a captain for during their time in New Jersey. Parise is an excellent net-front presence that will help aid the Golden Knights in trying some new looks on their power play. He’ll be motivated to head to a Cup contender and will do it for a fairly affordable price.
Dylan Coghlan – Re-signed (1 year – $750,000)
Coghlan is due for restricted free agency without arbitration. The Golden Knights have him in a good spot and his impact on the ice was minimal enough that he doesn’t have a ton of leverage in this situation. We expect him to sign a two-way deal with a significant bump in his AHL pay. The question becomes whether or not they’ll be willing to throw him on waivers to start the year, which we guess they will not. He’ll be on the Opening Night roster, counting against the cap, but will not start.
Marc-Andre Fleury – Extended (1 year – $3.5m AAV)
The Golden Knights don’t want to move him and he doesn’t want to go anywhere. So, he’ll return the loyalty favor by signing the first of what could be many one-year deals to keep him in Vegas until he retires. Of course, his $7 million remains on the cap this year, but it’ll make for a nice diversion as they keep both goalies for yet another season.
Trades
Jared McCann acquired for Cody Glass and 6th Round pick from Seattle Kraken
It’s clear that Cody Glass has fallen out of favor for the Golden Knights and now is probably the last time they have to get decent value out of him before sending him back to the AHL for another season. The expansion team would love to add a former #6 overall pick and will be willing to part ways with newly acquired forward Jared McCann. McCann has had success in Pittsburgh as a winger but has played enough center in his career to be an option for the Golden Knights. Plus, he’s a power play weapon having scored seven PP goals last season in just 43 games. As the Golden Knights look to revamp their power play, he’ll be a key piece.
2nd and 3rd round picks acquired for Reilly Smith from Montreal Canadiens
The Golden Knights must open up some space this offseason. The obvious move would be to ship out a goalie, but we remain convinced (despite the continued rumors) that Vegas will not move either Fleury or Lehner. So, they’ll look over their cap and realize the best option will unfortunately be Smith. With their newfound cap space with Shea Weber heading to LTIR, the Habs will use their extra draft picks to add another stellar defensive winger to their Cup contending mix.
Roster
Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone
Marchessault-Karlsson-Tuch
Krebs/Parise-Roy-McCann
Carrier-Nosek-Parise/Reaves
(Kolesar)
McNabb-Pietrangelo
Holden-Theodore
Hague-Whitecloud
(Coghlan)
Fleury
Lehner
This roster is left with about $2.5 million in cap space to work with heading into the season. We expect another excellent regular season in which the Golden Knights are at or near the top of the Pacific Division. They will then add at least one more piece at the trade deadline to round out the roster.
Richard Santomauro
Interesting take. I do agree that this scenario makes sense and is likely what VGK FO will do. Lehner & Reaves? Kolesar has earned that spot on the 4th line.
Disappointed that Krebs isn’t anywhere to be seen on this roster. There are 2 6ft 4in defensemen on the Silver Knights that also should be given ice time at T-Mobile, Dahlstrom & Hayes.
I think the goalie situation is unfortunate because I really believe that Logan Thompson is future guy.
Prediction: Lehner won’t last. There will be a ton of off ice issues that lead to a lot of opportunities for Logan Thompson.
Summary. The Golden Knights are going to be a team in decline. The front office has been intent on busting up the inaugural roster and they’ve been increasing the average age of this team with no Cup to show for the effort. Losing Smith will be very unfortunate as that line has been together for a very long time. The logical move would have been to try and create the same cap space by moving Lehner, Reaves, Holden, McNabb and possibly Glass.
Get ready for the decline. The Knights will make the playoffs but I predict a first round exit.
BP
You predict a first round exit in what will be the weakest division next year? Laughable.
Tim
Richard the old doom and gloom predictions. Riley Smith although an intelligent hockey player hasn’t done enough lately to warrant his 5 million cap hit this is a business. Your high on Dahlstrom and Hayes I watched every TV game and nothing special in fact I was more impressed with Hayes then Dahlstrom at least Hayes is young Dahlstrom getting into the point of no return category. Lehner won’t last and your crystal ball told you that? Again your crystal ball is telling you first round exit in the playoffs. Were not built for the Stanley Cup but we’ll win more then one round before the rope around our neck gets to tight and we choke.
Richard Santomauro
I predict a 1st round exit, not because of the roster but rather the coach and coaching staff.
Tim
Richard I’m not a DeBoer lover but you have to give him credit having the best NHL overall regular season win loss record since he took over the team. There’s no doubt Dallas and Montreal out coached him and will probably again this year but then he’ll be fired and life will go on.
Dean
Regular season records don’t win Cups though. He has a history of this in both San Jose and here. Personally, I’d rather have a coach that leads us to a second place finish in the division and an appearance in the Cup than one who plays great for 80 games and than shits the bed in the playoffs.
Wes
DeBoer walked into a very good situation in Vegas. He has all the pieces there to win, the bottom seemed to drop out on him.
I can’t say how much input he will have in player personnel moves but I hope we don’t dump talent for the sake of dumping talent.
If Martinez isn’t asking for a ton of dough we should keep him. There well be some moves made to free up some cap space.
Blitz
Hard to really pick who is going to be a 1st round opponent. Will Seattle be any good? Everyone not VGK fans seems to think its the expansion draft rules that built the VGK team and not the awesome magic vegas fairy dust that was f-ing killer to be a part of (what a year!). Heck we don’t know. I hope they fall on their face to prove vegas was special. Regardless, maybe they are great and we have to face them. Edmonton is going to be really good and probably the team we have to get thru to move on. We almost went out in the 1st this year. Just never know. Pride can hurt teams. Keeping two goalies is purely pride. It was pride this last year and it could be next year if Ken and Jason’s hunch is correct. Maybe keeping both is a dick pulling contest between the FO and Foley. Meh, I don’t know. I think it would be the wrong move. Reaves on line 4 also says pride. We’ll see what happens. I don’t read Richards comments as doom and gloom. I think he is playing GM like the rest of us adult kids and is passionate about some glaring issues that are not addressed (with this prediction).
Hdbiker7851
What does pride have to do with anything where Reaves and the walrus are concerned. Its business accept the stupidity of it all and acknowledge the mistake and move on.
Smoke
I agree with everything, except last paragraph. Otherwise, you’re a smart dude
bruce silliman
Krebs is on the 3rd line
Richard Santomauro
Its true that Krebs is young, but where he ultimately ends up is up to him. His ceiling is high and he could very well turn into a 1C.
knights fan in minny
stop no parise to much of a diva lou lammerilo and parise are buddies
jinklu
Parise is one of the reasons I am not a Wild fan though living in Minnesota. His attitude and contentiousness in the locker room are unacceptable. He is more than a diva. He singlehandedly caused the firing of Coach Yeo. The Bore will have to genuflect and meet any/every demands that jerk makes. He is not a team player. The Knights have, to be the best of my knowledge had a close knit team supportive of each other. They don’t need a troublemaker like Parise.
Blitz
I was kind of excited about the possibility of the Parise prediction cause he does have talent (especially at the predicted low value), but if what you two are saying is true (and it seems like I heard that before), yeah forget this dude. He can kick mud. PETER might love him though so, I do see the connection.
Chris
Yet still no mention of a legitimate 1C? Until this hole is plugged, I see the same results.
sb
You are absolutely correct. This waste of space article fails to address and solve the one and only weakness on this team – the PP. The answer is a hi-end center capable of delivering 60 assists. Move Stephenson to Tuch/Roy line. Buy-out or trade Fleury, Reaves, Holden, do not resign Nosek and Janmark. Now VGK have the cash to sign Landeskog. Problem solved. Then reserve the Parade route down Las Vegas Blvd.
Richard Santomauro
Wake up and do some homework. There are only 2 centers in the entire NHL with more than 50 assists, both of them play for Edmonton and neither are coming to Vegas.
Richard Santomauro
By the way, there are only 2 other Centers that have more than 40 assists, MacKinnon and Schiefele. Neither of them are coming to Vegas.
DC
Richard,
I think MacKinnon will be coming to Vegas to defeat the VGKs in the playoffs next year. This is the only way he will visit Vegas 😉
Richard Santomauro
True dat. None of the top 4 Centers in the NHL are going to be moving anywhere.
Richard Santomauro
There are an additional 10 Centers that have between 30 and 38 assists, none of them are available either.
Tim
Makes sense Ken trust is important and since Parise played for DeBoer I can see that happening. This team will once again win the Pacific Division but without a #1 center sooner or later will meet our Waterloo. I’d like to see Jack Dugan maybe sneak into the conversation. Bottom line we’ve been spoiled with a good team and never went through the expansion blues so coming up is our 5th year of relevance. We probably won’t win a Cup but we will stay competitive for quite awhile yet. What more can you ask then have a competitive team year after year.
Richard Santomauro
Statistically, Parise is about as good as Tomas Nosek. Not interested.
Richard Santomauro
Delusional to think that there is a 1C out there that is so much better than Stephenson.
Mike StG
Richard, I agree and the key to that is your comment that there isn’t a 1C “out there”. I’d say maybe Johansen or Duchene, but one of them will likely go to Kraken so I can’t see Preds giving up both their 1C & 2C in one fell swoop. Elite centers are drafted & developed, and we both agree Krebs looks like he has a really high ceiling. I’m banking that he ends up 1C or at worst 2C within 2 years.
Richard Santomauro
Ryan Johansen (NSH) isn’t even close to the answer, 7 goals, 22 total points and a +/- of 0 in 48 games. Not a 1C we are looking for. Both Karlsson and Stephenson are light years better.
Matt Duchene (NSH) is even worse with 6 goals, 13 total points and a +/- of -12 in 34 games. Definitely not a 1C, not even a 2C.
Blitz
Not everything is told in stats. I don’t think either are top 5 or heck maybe even 10 in the league, but I do think both are potential upgrades to Stephenson on the top line. Or maybe another way to put it, it would be an upgrade to our C1-C3 situation. We need improvement where we can get it. One of these guys does that.
Richard Santomauro
Stats don’t lie
Richard Santomauro
We will be much better off with Stephenson, Karlsson, Roy, Glass, & Krebs.
sb
Krebs has yet to score a single goal in the NHL and he’s already a number 1 center? That’s a leap. I heard this same prediction of Cody Glass.
Mike StG
sb – not a prediction, just hopeful. You never know how prospects turn out. I always was concerned about Cody’s lack of confidence.
Watching Krebs play the few games he did late last year he looked dynamic and poised. Excellent skater, much better than Glass. Good offensive instincts. Looks like the potential upside is there. Whether he achieves it is another matter. But at least we’ve seen him play a few games in the NHL. Who knows how kids will develop? Jamie Benn was a 5th or 6th rounder.
sb
His name is Gabriel Landeskog. He’s an unresticted free agent. He plays both wing and center. He’s the guy. He’s out there. He puts up big assists and is a Capitain. This is fact. Not delusional at all.
Richard Santomauro
Landeskog won’t be coming to Vegas.
Richard Santomauro
Landeskog is a LW not a C according to the stat sheet. Additionally, this season his stats are no better than what we already have 20 goals, 32 assists.
Richard Santomauro
Again, there are no Centers available that are any better than what we already have unless you get one of the top 4 in the league who all have 40 or more assists. There are only 4 of those guys out there and not a single one is available.
Richard Santomauro
Let’s take a look at statistics across the league for the Center position. Compare Eichel’s stats!
Jack Eichel, in 21 games played had 2 goals and 16 assists, 18 points and a +/- of -9. If you expand these stats to a full season Jack Eichel isn’t even likely in the top 50! Karlsson is #25, and Stephenson #36.
Go ahead and look at the NHL stats and find a Center in the top 10 or 20 that is available. Then we can have a conversation.
Here are the top 10 Centers in the NHL with Goals, Assists, Points and +/-
McDavid 33G,72A,105Pts,+21
Draisaitl 31G,53A,84Pts,+29
MacKinnon 20G,45A,65Pts,+22
Schiefele 21G,42A,63Pts,-4
Crosby 24G,38A,62Pts,+8
Backstrom 15G,38A,53Pts,0
Kopitar 13G,37A,50Pts,-7
Krejci 8G,36A,44Pts,+16
Strome 14G,35A,49Pts,+6
Aho, 24G,33A,57Pts, +16
#25 Karlsson, 14G,35A,39Pts, +19
#36 Stephenson 14G,31A,35Pts,+22
sb
1) Eichel played on the absolute worst team in hockey. 2) He only had one decent winger. 3) He was likely injured for some of these games. 4) He was probably ‘laying back’ to force Buffalo to trade him. If he put up big numbers, Buffalo would never trade him. He was trying to force a trade. You cite his 2021 numbers, but not his prior five years of numbers. You, I and everyone else knows that Jack Eichel has been in the Top 5 of scorers for 4 of those 5 years. What kind of baloney is this?
Richard Santomauro
Jack Eichel is a combined -53 and by the far the worst defensive Center over the past 5 years. To be precise, Eichel is ranked at #14 overall in terms of points over that same period. Not bad statistically, but that -53 jumps right off the stat sheet. Not a single other Center over that time span comes close to it.
Still, too much risk with such an injury.
Richard Santomauro
I guess to be fair, take away Eichel’s serious neck injury and the possibility becomes a lot more tempting. If the neck injury passes evaluation do we ship Smith to Buffalo? Maybe? I will be surprised if his neck injury isn’t serious. One check into the boards and his head snaps off. He’s young, but this is a very serious injury and shouldn’t be overlooked.
I don’t think we will see Eichel, McCann on the other hand is a possibility.
KlaytonThePipeRubber
Eichel WANTS to get surgery to repair the neck anyways, and this is the source of the feud with the Buffalo mgmt so anyone who has these alternate reality “pipe dreams” of him coming in and being the want all, be all, is setting themselves up for a massive let down when we lose kucherov, oops I mean Eichel lol, for the whole season while he recovers on LTIR. And although this may be a good way to have his talent prepped and waiting come PO time al la kucherov, and it might be a way to retain enough cap space to resign Marti or keep from having to immediately deal Flower or Panda…this route really only holds the proverbial salary guillotine temporarily. Thus allowing VGK to have Marti and our duel Gs all season and then HAVE to deal one of them before PO time to allow Eichels AAV to come into play. this might give us a little more time to decide on which is our G for the POs according to who is performing better at the tkme. Problem there is that trading one of them now coming off their accolade and win heavy as well as deep continuous playoff run filled seasons will be SO MUCH easier now than waiting until one of them is in a mid-season downward trajectory and THEN trying to blow smoke up someone’s @** to try to get someone to come in at asking. One plus we got going is that a “mid-season slump” relative to the guy coming up aces; could for all intents and purposes be a landmark year for MOST teams/pipe tenders. I love that we have such high expectations in our beloved VGK but please don’t lose sight of the fact that since 1960…of the three MAJOR U.S. sports there have been 36 expansion teams …NOT A ONE ever had a winning record their inaugural year, let alone make the PO, or make such a spirited run to the very last (Final) step of their respective sports POs like VGK did. 4/4 PO years, and beginning next season on a 2 year consecutive 3/4 place finish is astounding for such a young team. We need to build from confidence not from dispair or anger IMO
Richard Santomauro
Compare Jack Eichel over the same period 2017-2021.
Ranked
#16 Jack Eichel 233games,151A,242pts,-40 plus/minus
#18 Brayden Point 283games,149A,270pts,+75 plus minus
#23 Jonathan Marchessault 280games,133A,225pts, +63 plus minus
#31 William Karlsson 283games,123A,219pts, +80
#101 Chandler Stephenson 247games,54A,90pts, +46
Analysis.
I think a case can be made here that Marchessault or Karlsson should be on 1C instead of Stephenson.
Yes, Eichel is #16, but that -40 plus/minus jumps off the stat sheet.
Mike StG
Like the idea of McCann who the Kraken may select from the Pens in expansion. And giving Glass a new opportunity there.
I think they WILL resign Marty, and don’t think you’re considering that at least a dozen quality UFA defensemen will be on the market in the offseason. I think he resigns for 2 years at ~$4-4.25.
Bad idea to trade Reilly and don’t think that happens. He and Karlsson are like left hand right hand on that line, and that kind of chemistry is rare and valuable. Plus you lose a top 6 forward and have to fill that void with a bottom 6 player (Tuch). They need to retain the top 6 and augment the bottom 6. Plus, I think Habs use Weber’s cap money to either go in on Dougie or Jones, or acquire a scoring winger like Hyman, Landeskog or Johnny G.
Instead I think they trade Lehner to NJD for Bratt or Zacha, extend Fleury for 2 yrs at $4M and bring up Thompson as backup. They don’t resign Nosek or Janmark. And I think Parise ends up with the Isles.
That clears the cap space needed for Marty and other moves and leaves them with about the same cap room that your predictions would.
Should be an exciting few weeks ahead!
jinklu
You and I are pretty much on the same page, Mike.
Richard Santomauro
Now we’re talking! McCann is ranked #111 of 597 statistically with 32pts and a +17 rating. This is a guy that is worthy and would be a great fit on the 2nd or 3rd line especially if Smith is moved.
VegasGoldenKlaytons
Marti is much too vauable to Not find a way to resign him IMO so I like your plan ALOT. only question id have is if flower is willing to and able to keep up his play long enough to fold Thompson into the mix enough to pass the torch without feeling uneasy about it. I think he will and this will allow a pipe tender who learns from a HOFer, is willing to commit to a long term and relatively cheap deal and will probably have an immense ceiling when all is said and done. I think we need to dump reaves if only to allow some of the AHLers to get some extremely valuableminutes and I’ll xp because if not we will end up seeing “Our picks” going to other teams and thriving while the ones we still have on contract are kinda middling around waiting for something to happens. ,Suzuki and Glass and their production and their just plain helpfulness and values to their teams are so easy to compare because from same Draft class and same drafted team…one of them was able to sit back and kinda take his time getting up to NHL speed and able to have that little thought in the back of theirs as well as everyone else’s heads that “VGK is doing great, Dont NEED to force him along or anything, especially at the expense of messing with a main roster group and a desire to go out and look for ‘ready made’ talent over home growing said talent that has worked for 3/4 seasons now. Now Suzuki came into a Habs team that was looking to make a playoff appearance something that would not be much akin to a coin flip and more of an ,expected outcome come the end of the season and although not the type of team of mgmt to go stat searching, the Habs mentality of promoting from within, kneading your youngsters into the molds you could benefit the most from them becoming and the rare ability to balance young, speedy, risktakers with the grizzled methodical and happy to play their game and all else be damned vets into a flash of genius that this year’s Habs and Suzuki and debault and caulfield and Weber and staal decided to unleash in the rest of the NHL come PO time. They sucked ALL of us in with their 16th(last playoff spot,) place finish and going down 3-1 in round 1 then pulled an epic bait and switched and made themselves the darling story of 2021. Sucks to see “our” young talents doing SO well for someone else but at least our FO hadn’t lied or tried to pull the wool over our eyes in that sense. Our FO isn’t the type to sit and wait and build these players into elite caliber. It’s just not them. And there is good and bad to that mantslity but I feel like the bad starts to outweigh the good the longer we go without Lord Stanleys cup because in most fans eyes, the ONLY justification for giving away all our youngvtalent and picks is to acquire ready made help to put us over the top NOW. The end justifies the means here imo from our success so far but if Cody glass turns out to be another player we traded away with impatience and he has a Hallmark breakout year, the chatter might start up chastising mgmt for it’s impatience but when you have given your rabid fans so much success do quickly, you have kinda created your ow mess here where now they EXPECT the finals or nothing. I love healthy and lofty expectations for something to work toward but what I saw when out fans began booing VGK in game 5 in round 3 was so maddening to me. How dare you be so spoiled to boo our lofty heroes because they have a low scoring “habit” now in some late PO rounds. SAD THING. is, even with us playing nowhere near our potential at the end, if not for like three just amazingly bad timed mistakes or slumps it woulda been VGK @ TBL game 7 deciding the winner rather than the disappointing Finals that we all got to “Enjoy”
Richard Santomauro
I actually do agree that VGK gave up too quickly on Cody. Could come back to bite us in the future, like Suzuki. On the other hand there is also a lot of upside to Nolan Patrick who will get a fresh start here in Vegas.
Richard Santomauro
According to NHL Stats there are 597 skaters listed as forwards. Here is where VGK forwards stand on that list from a points perspective. Edmonton is loaded with the #1 and #2 points leaders (McDavid (105 pts, +21) & Draisaitl (84 pts + 29).
#11 of 597 Mark Stone (61 pts, +26)
#23 of 597 Max Pacioretty (51 pts, +20)
#46 of 597 Jonathan Marchessault (44 pts, +19)
*63 of 597 Nick Suzuki (41pts, -5)
#67 of 597 William Karlsson (39pts, +19)
#84 of 597 Chandler Stephenson (35pts, +22)
#102 of 597 Alex Tuch (33pts, +16)
#154 of 597 Reilly Smith (25pts, +10)
*221 of 597 Zach Parise (18pts, +7) (really? this guy is an upgrade?)
#228 of 597 Tomas Nosek (18pts, +7)
#262 of 597 William Carrier (15pts, 0)
#264 of 597 Nicolas Roy (15pts, +9)
#299 of 597 Keegan Kolesar (13pts, -4)
#355 of 597 Cody Glass (10pts, +6)
#407 of 597 Ryan Reaves (5pts, 0)
#464 Dylan Sikura (2pts, 0) *6 appearances
#488 Tomas Jurco (1pt, 0) *8 appearances
#520 Peyton Krebs (1pt, +1) *4 appearances
#550 Patrick Brown (0pts, 0) *4 appearances
Summary.
1- A case can be made that Reilly Smith’s production has dropped off. If Smith is moved I do see Tuch moving up. But I don’t see a need for VGK to go shopping. There are plenty of skaters ready to fill any void on 3rd and 4th lines.
2- Parise’s statistics are hardly noteworthy and comparable to Nosek’s.
3-So far, I have yet to see a single name mentioned that actually significantly upgrades the top 6. I don’t see a problem with the top 6. I do see a wasted slot with Reaves on the roster. I think it is too early to discharge Cody Glass.
4- Jurco, Brown and Sikura, and Krebs are all possibilities to upgrade the 3rd and 4th lines.
sb
Your bottom six produce near zero scoring over 82 games and the Playoffs. A team cannot win the Stanley Cup without botton six scoring. And no mention of how your plan fixes the PP.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Yes! It will be exciting, when something actually starts happening!
Not this meaningless crap thrown around here.
Already many here already writing off the Knights for success in coming season playoffs. Typical slime.
I see Jason over-ruled Ken, with Revo still on team! ha ha
😉
Richard Santomauro
Revo is just taking up someone else’s legitimate roster spot.
sb
Absolutely! A 100% waste of Cap space.
knights fan in minny
doc you said congrats to kamala and said she is smart in august so how do you think your giggling worthless vice prez is doing now
hdbiker7851
Ken/Jason – There is definitely something missing – can someone who is intelligent and very hockey knowledgeable explain what value Reaves brings to the team in any way shape or form. They can’t afford dead weight which is all he offers and takes the place of hopefully a productive player of some kind. His days are past, if he ever had any, so someone please point out any redeeming features he provides to eveb keep him around.
AB
Totally agree, you have no argument from me. I don’t get to T-mobile very often, but I was there for Game 1 against Montreal (the light sticks game, before we crashed and burned). The fans were HYPED when Reaves played and the team seemed energetic on the ice, too. Then he was healthy scratched for away games. Whatever benefit he brings is clearly in energy for the crowd and team and I only saw that in person, never on TV. He’s a fan favorite, although I personally do not want him on the roster. I think that’s what the front office and coaches are seeing?? There are SO many fans with his jersey.
hdbiker7851
AB- I don’t even understand why he would be considered a fan favorite. If in fact that is the case all that proves is their lack of hockey knowledge what so ever. Not sure where the idea comes from he inspires the team. He contributes nothing to the team and just costs the front office money and cap space. The fans will be at T-Mobile whether Reaves is there or not. Let me rephrase that the knowledgeable fans will be at T-Mobile if Reaves is no where to be seen. If fighting is the fans thing they should consider a different sport to follow. To a lesser degree but some of the same rational applies they don’t need to keep the walrus around either- a more expensive problem than Reaves. This has nothing to do with anything other than their professional abilities so everyone keep your shorts on.
Blitz
Trades just happended. Cody glass and Phillipe Myers(?) gone. We get Nolan Patrick.
Blitz
Sorry it was a 3 way trade. That is where Myers came from.
THE hockey GOD
Glass , he gone.
VGK get has been prospect.
Two has beens traded for each other.
sb
I sure am glad that this team is managed by Foley, McPhee and McCrimmon and not these two bloggers. They just laid out a plan to destroy the Vegas Golden Knights for the next decade.
Mike StG
McCann was traded by Pens to Leafs, so he’s out of the picture. I like the swap of Glass for Patrick. They both have had health or medical issues. Patrick was #2 pick and Glass was #6 in 3017 draft. Patrick is a better skater and all around player. Maybe a change of scene is all he needs. He played for McKrimmon’s Wheat Kings so he’s a known quantity. Might see him blossom at VGK like Stevie and others have. Could see him in the top 6, or worst case at C3 with Tuch and Krebs or Dugan (or Bratt if they deal Lehner to NJD).
Blitz
Trade: we get Brett Howden we lose Nick DeSimone and a Fourth-round pick (2022)
Mike StG
DeSimone never played for VGK or HSK. He was part of the trade deal to get Janmark from Hawks via Sharks. He played on SJ Barracuda and never even left the Bay Area. So, Howden cost Vegas a 4th rounder. NYR would have lost Howden for nothing to the Kraken. Good addition down the middle. They needed more players in his age group.
bruce silliman
People have been talking about Ivan Morozov and Mason Primeau both who played in Russia this year. There is a 2 minute video of his play this year and while I won’t say that Mirosov is better than Gusev there are some significant points: he is taller and heavier, he is faster, he can pass while on the move and he looked to be involved with the team concept. It looks like he would be available after the 1st of the year.
While I understand the hard work you guys put in to come up with your lineups, it is even a more difficult job to try and be a step ahead of our GMs. I don’t know what our cap space would be like but I would not sign Reeves, Martinez (-$11.8), trade Lehner (-$5.0 + 2021 2nd Rd Draft Pick).
Sign Phillipe Danault (+$3.083) straight up or work a deal with Kraken for them to draft him then we take his contract and give them a 2022 2nd Rd Pick.
One other way is that after Kraken purchase some contracts that we take a defenseman off their hands, otherwise we will have to promote Coghlan.
Lineup:
Stone Danault Pacioretty 14 players salary cap = $47,618,000
smith Karlsson Marchessault
Tuch Stephenson Krebs
I have five players for the 4th line: 2 centers Nosek, Roy and 3 forwards
Carrier, Howden, Patrick, all of which could be used in a trade for Danault and
one additional defense man. I would not trade Nosek
McNabb Pietrangelo 6 players salary cap = $12,816,665
Hague Theodore
Coghlan Whitecloud
Fleury 2 goalies salary cap = $7,800000
Thompson
TOTAL SALARY CAP $68,234,666
UNDER SALARY CAP – $ 5,465,334
Obviously this has a lot of work to be done, as I still need two backup defense.
Of course I welcome your comments as this is my first attempt.
knights fan in minny
i dont think jack is coming to sin city islanders clearing cap space gut feeling
FG
Interesting McCann went for a prospect and 7th rounder, close to your prediction. He would improve the lineup immediately. Instead, we sent Glass and 4th rounder for two guys who aren’t very good. An auspicious start to the offseason.
Vegas Rhonda
So, does that mean Logan Thompson will stay ANOTHER season in the AHL? ??