(Photo Credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell, LVSportsBiz.com)
A focal point for new head coach Ryan Craig this season was building a more balanced blue line, with Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin each anchoring a separate pairing. It came with a concern (which we wrote and talked about extensively) that it could lead to one of the big-name defensemen being underutilized.
On Opening Night, the Golden Knights stuck to that plan, distributing ice time extremely evenly across all three defensive pairings.
We’re aware of (trying to balance the minutes). We have three very good pairs in the sense that they can all defend. I think they all got used as the game went on, and we were fresh by the end. -Ryan Craig
A spread of four minutes between the ice time of the top defenseman and the bottom is impressively low. For comparison, Chicago’s spread between Bowen Byram and Ian Cole was more than 12 minutes. Only two of the other eight teams in action last night were under 10 minutes, and Florida clocked in at a whopping delta of 18 minutes.
On-ice Training Camp begins today with the 66-man roster broken down into three sessions, skating at 9 AM, 11:30 AM, and 2 PM.
Thanks to a little tidbit from a recent article by Nick Cotsonika on NHL.com, the expectation is that Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin will each be in separate groups, and therefore slotted in each on separate pairs to open the season.
On defense, the Golden Knights likely will deploy puck-movers Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin on different pairs, complemented by the more defensive-minded Brayden McNabb, Parker Wotherspoon and Jeremy Lauzon. McCrimmon said the defense likely will be more involved in the offense. –Nick Cotsonika on NHL.com
This is an ambitious move for new head coach Ryan Craig to put into action, as it will lead to some tricky decisions early in the season.
Splitting up the three puck-moving defensemen sounds great on paper, until it comes time to actually deploy them in games. The decade-long trusted pair of Theodore and McNabb will certainly remain VGK’s top pair. Behind them, Craig, along with assistant coach John Stevens, must decide whether Andersson or Hanifin will serve as the second pair, likely alongside Wotherspoon. That then leads to a $7+ million defenseman playing on the third pair.
Because the power play roles are all still expected to be filled by forwards, one of the Golden Knights’ highest-paid players is destined to play somewhere between 14-18 minutes a night rather than the closer to 22 they are all used to getting. Also, deployment is never equal, which means there will be a preferred offensive zone pair and a defensive zone one. More than likely, the player who falls to the third pair will also draw the short straw as the defensive-minded one.
Last season, Jeremy Lauzon and Kaedan Korczak who served as Vegas 3rd pair for much of the season, averaged 17:11 and 15:58, respectively. When he filled in, Ben Hutton’s ATOI was just 14:35.
Hanifin has averaged at least 20 minutes a night in each of the last seven seasons. Andersson has been over 23 minutes a game in each of the last 5 seasons and Theodore hasn’t been below 20 minutes in any of his nine seasons in Vegas.
The math doesn’t add up if all three of them are on separate pairs and none of them are on the top power play unit. It seems like a massive underutilization of at least one defenseman and maybe even two.
The appeal is obvious. Vegas could have a legitimate puck-moving presence on the ice for every five-on-five shift. But unless the Golden Knights are planning on leaning much more heavily on a third pair than ever before, someone is going to be asked to play far less than his resume and contract suggest he should.
The offseason has been long, and luckily, it’s almost over. Don’t worry, real hockey stuff is right around the corner, we promise.
But, it’s Friday, so we’re going to have a little fun today.
(Credit: Alex “The Intern” Norwood)
McNabb – Empty – Hill
Both are listed at 6’4″. Planes can get uncomfortable for the average person, never mind two hockey players the size of James P. Sullivan. If those two monsters can’t get comfortable, your ten-hour flight will feel like a lifetime.
Empty – Cassidy – Stevens
Yeah, it’s great you’ve got an aisle seat, but the coaching staff will think you’re sitting in their row to break down film. Good luck getting any sleep listening to Cassidy complain to Stevens about how unsatisfied he was after a 3-1-1 road trip. And don’t even think about binge-watching Quantum Leap or even reading your favorite periodical. If you are awake in that row, you should be studying your next opponent.
Stone – Empty – Empty
It’s well-documented how competitive Captain Mark Stone is, which could be why there are two empty seats. Let’s say a game of Uno breaks out, or maybe even a high-stakes game of chance. You could try and grind him out, but you’re not matching his buy-ins. Stone’s pocket change likely dwarfs your CashApp account. Oh, and I’m guessing the captain stretches out, takes up two seats, and uses both food trays.
Empty – Eichel – Marner
Wow, you’re sitting next to two of the NHL’s most dynamic playmakers. However, let’s say there’s a Rubik’s Cube being passed around. Or Simon. Or maybe even a BopIt. Chances are those items would unlikely be in your possession all flight. There’s just not enough to pass around for the three of you. Let’s be honest, you’re only there to pick up whatever they drop on the floor.
Karlsson – Empty – Smith
Reilly Smith has been on hundreds of flights over his career, and he’s flown with William Karlsson for many of them. This is why the standup enthusiast sits near the window and not next to his linemate. Being from Sweden, Karlsson loves his native cuisine. Smith has fallen victim to the foul odors coming from Karlsson’s dinner plate before, and he’s wised up. It could be anything from fermented Baltic herring to tropisk pizza. Try and enjoy your in-flight meal sitting next to the satisfied Scandinavian center.
Hertl – Hutton – Empty
Now this seems like a good choice. The two players who always have smiles on their face are in the same row. Sounds like a blast. Maybe, too much of a blast. It’ll be difficult getting some peace and quiet with the two comics laughing it up, sharing jokes, and quoting Happy Gilmore 2. And of course, Hutton will likely be belting out some silly karaoke songs. Imagine listening to ‘I’m a Barbie Girl in a Barbie world’ for ten long hours.
The Golden Knights have one of the best coaching staffs in the NHL, headed up by Stanley Cup champion Bruce Cassidy. He’s joined by assistant coach John Stevens, who is a multi-Cup winner with Vegas and Los Angeles. Joel Ward, a former NHLer and one of the most respected players of his era. Goalie coach Sean Burke, who has been on the short-list for GM jobs, and is never left off a list of the best mentors to goaltenders. And skills coach Sean Ferrall, who won a Cup with the St. Louis Blues before joining VGK.
The staff has proven their worth time and time again over their three seasons in charge in Vegas, but there’s no better indicator than the Golden Knights’ starts to seasons. In the first 10 games of each of the last three seasons, Vegas has posted an insane 24-5-1 record, racing out to a division lead and coasting to a playoff berth each season.
Of course, due to the competitiveness and secrecy of professional sports, we’ll never truly understand the ins and outs of what makes these guys so successful. However, every once in a while, they let loose and share some secrets that not only may help other coaches in hockey and other sports, but also could be useful to everyday schmucks like us to be more productive and efficient at our own jobs.
Cassidy, Stevens, and Ward sat down for an extended conversation to help up-and-coming coaches. It was produced and published by the NHL Coaching Association, an organization designed to provide resources to hockey coaches at all levels.
The trio spoke about building a coaching staff, delegating and accepting work as assistants, designing practices, and much more, but a specific tidbit stuck out to me as something that could be helpful across all lines of employment.
With just three games left in the regular season and a lot of rest/illness/injury causing a mishmashed lineup down the stretch, the Golden Knights will have to rely on what got them here once the playoffs begin.
Fortunately, both the forward lines and defense pairs have fallen into place up and down the lineup for Bruce Cassidy.
The top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev have played a total of 37 games together, nearly double any other forward line combo on the roster. Even though there have been ideas of trying other options, either due to injury or circumstance, nothing ever stuck. Thus, that line will start together in Game 1 of the postseason and they’ll earn the highest share of even-strength minutes.
The middle-six has been a work in progress essentially the entire season. However, with the additions of Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith, it appears they’ve finally found the right mix. Tomas Hertl centers a line with Saad and Pavel Dorofeyev, while William Karlsson has reunited with fellow Misfit, Smith, alongside Victor Olofsson.
That leaves the four players to choose from to make a fourth line that has worked well together in many different forms. The most commonly used group is Tanner Pearson, Nic Roy, and Keegan Kolesar, and that will certainly be the trio in the event that Brett Howden is needed anywhere else up the lineup. But, with the other three lines likely settled in, Howden should slot into the left wing leaving Pearson in the press box to open the postseason.
Golden Knights hockey is almost back. 4 Nations was one heck of a distraction but it’s time to get back in the saddle and find out what this year’s team is really made of.
When the Golden Knights hit the ice tomorrow night at T-Mobile Arena it will be the first time in 23 days they’ve played in front of the home crowd. They have 26 games left with an even split of 13 at home and 13 on the road. They’re currently comfortably in a playoff position and poised to make a run at another division title.
VGK entered this extended break having finally gotten back on track with a pair of wins against New Jersey and Boston. But, their overall form had dipped significantly the few weeks before which raised quite a few concerns.
Thus, this first game out of the break is crucial as it will likely set the tone for the rest of the season. The good news for the Golden Knights is that historically this franchise has been excellent at the first game off a long break. They are 7-1-0 all-time in season openers, including six straight wins, and they have a sterling 4-1-1 record coming off the bye.
First Game After Bye Week 2024: vs EDM 3-1 Win 2023: at NSH 5-1 Win 2022: at EDM 4-0 Win 2021: N/A 2020: at CAR 4-1 Win 2019: at CAR 5-2 Loss 2018: vs EDM 3-2 OTL
This year’s team is also a perfect 5-0-0 when they have at least three days between games and outscored their opponents 24-12.
The international tournament in the middle of this break makes it a bit different though.
When the Golden Knights return to the ice on Saturday from the 13-day international break, their defense corps will have a pretty sizeable hole. Shea Theodore’s injury at 4 Nations appears to be significant enough that he’ll miss a few weeks at least. Thus, the moment for Ben Hutton or Kaedan Korczak has arrived.
Ben and Kaedan have been unbelievable in terms of work ethic, attitude, taking practices as games, and trying to stay ready. They’ve both been tremendous. -John Stevens, VGK assistant coach
Stevens, who runs the Golden Knights defense, knows the two extra defensemen are on the roster for this exact reason.
We’ve carried eight defensemen all year. They are all ready to go and it’s kind of unfortunate as a coach because you have to tell two guys they can’t play every night. We have full confidence that those guys can step in and help us, much like they’ve done in the past. We’ve needed those guys in the playoff runs and they’ve stepped in and we didn’t miss a beat. We expect those guys to step into an opportunity they’ve been preparing for here and we expect them to play well. -Stevens, VGK assistant coach
The challenge now for VGK’s coaching staff will be finding the right combination with many more moving pieces. Theodore is not only a stalwart in the lineup, but he’s been locked next to the same D partner for nearly their entire Vegas careers. There have been brief detours from the norm, but for the most part, if Theodore and Brayden McNabb are available, they’re playing together, and thus one-third of the defense group is settled.
One game earlier this year Theodore was sidelined with an illness. Vegas went for the straight one-for-one swap, putting Korczak directly into Shea’s spot with McNabb. That’s likely what we’ll see on Saturday vs Vancouver.
But, because Hutton has proven to be capable during his time in Vegas, he’s an option that will inevitably get his shot at some point. With Hutton though, it’s not as simple as slotting him into that same spot. It’s been done before, but both Hutton and McNabb are preferred on the left-hand side.
That likely means Nic Hague would be the one to move back over to the right, which would take him away from Alex Pietrangelo. Hague started this season on the right-hand side of Noah Hanifin with mixed results. Hague switching sides leaves an opening next to Pietrangelo, which could go back to Hanifin, or, maybe McNabb gets a shot with Pietrangelo. And then where does this leave Zach Whitecloud?
This ripple effect is tricky and finding the right combination will be the key for VGK’s success moving forward. The options are all there, it’s just about picking the right one.
