The success of the Golden Knights goaltenders in the 2023 playoffs will be talked about for years to come. Heck, it’s already being studied by other organizations. We’ve gone over the top offensive plays, so let’s turn our attention to the few that kept the puck out of the net.
A spectacular save by Laurent Brossoit on one end allows Chandler Stephenson to extend the lead to 4-0 just 21 seconds later on the power play. pic.twitter.com/putHIZIWHA
— Golden Knights Radio (@VGKRadioNetwork) April 28, 2023
Golden Knights fans will never forget which goaltender began the 2023 Cup run. Adin Hill earned Conn Smyth votes and a massive post-playoff payday but Laurent Brossoit will always have a special place in team history. Brossoit started eight games, eliminated Winnipeg, and picked up another win in the second round. In his group of playoff games, Vegas’ opening goalie made a few outstanding saves that some might have forgotten. His stop in a deciding Game 5 is worth watching on a loop. After making the initial save, Brossoit was forced to desperately slide across the crease and stop a wide-open shot. The Jets offense was stunned. If it hadn’t been a blowout, LB’s save would have been ranked higher.
Personally, I’m not ready to move past the fact that the Golden Knights are Stanley Cup Champions. I could continue talking about that every day until the puck drops next season (and even then I’d probably keep talking about it).
However, the reality of the NHL calendar is such that decisions about the team moving forward are going to have to be made, and made quickly.
The chief among those decisions for the Golden Knights comes between the pipes. After a season in which Vegas had to scramble before it even began to overcome the loss of Robin Lehner, to using five goalies in the regular season, to seeing Adin Hill throw his hat in the ring for Conn Smythe, the choice in net for VGK is not an easy one.
One thing is clear for the Golden Knights, they aren’t going to expect one goalie to shoulder the entire load moving forward.
I do believe you have to have a good stable of goaltenders. It’s really hard to rely on one guy. I think that model has changed over the last five or six years. The tandem approach is probably the best way to go. You’re going to have one guy that’s going to end up being your guy but he should play 50 games instead of 65. And the other guy has to be good and be ready to play. And you’ve got to have some guys to bring up from the AHL team when necessary. -George McPhee
So, with that in mind, the Golden Knights will enter this offseason looking to restock their stable of goalies and they have many different routes they can go.
The best news about the position though is they start with a perfect base. Logan Thompson remains under contract for the next two seasons with a salary just a smidge above the league minimum at $766k. Thompson’s All Star first half proved he’s perfectly capable to start in the NHL and will clearly be in Vegas’ plans for next season. His salary allows the Golden Knights to view him as the backup, even if that’s not ultimately what plays out.
The Golden Knights have a goalie conundrum. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
Like all goalie controversies, it’s about a surplus. Unlike skaters, there can be only one goalie a night. So, when a team has two, or in VGK’s upcoming case three, tough decisions must be made and they tend to have a ripple effect on the team at large.
Unlike the previous case the Golden Knights navigated (poorly), this one shouldn’t have as much impact… if handled properly.
The situation at hand is simple in theory but complicated in practice.
Laurent Brossoit is in the process of returning from the injury that ended his season prematurely last year. He missed all of training camp before rejoining the team in practice early in the season. Over the weekend, he was assigned to a conditioning stint with the Henderson Silver Knights indicating that his return is imminent.
Whenever he is ready, which could be as soon as tomorrow, the Golden Knights will have to make roster move to activate him off of IR.
Due to the 23-man roster limit, the Golden Knights cannot simply add him to the roster when he’s ready. Instead, they must clear a roster spot. Here are the ways they can go about doing that.
Place a player on waivers (Leschyshn, Cotter, Hutton, etc)
Assign Logan Thompson to the AHL using his waiver-exempt status
Make a trade
Waive Brossoit
Option 2 is the only one of the four that does not at least put the Golden Knights at risk of losing a player to another organization. However, it would clearly only be a temporary fix as Bruce Cassidy’s goalie rotation has made it evident that Thompson is the preferred starter.
So, even if that were to happen for a game or two, eventually as long as all three goalies are healthy, they’d have to make another move.
Image from Henderson Silver Knights highlight package
Here’s where the Silver Knights and their miserable performance comes in. Henderson currently sits in the cellar of the entire AHL with a record of 2-9-0. They’ve allowed 41 goals while scoring just 25, and they are riding a three-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored 16-4.
Training Camp is right around the corner. Trust me, it actually is, the long wait is so close to being over. With it a number of questions will begin to be answered for the Golden Knights. From lineup to systems to personnel to health, much of the picture will start to clear up every day we get closer to October 11th.
Until then, we must rely on snippets of information from the most important people in the organization, and recently we got some from the general manager. Speaking on the VGK Insider Show on Fox Sports Radio, Kelly McCrimmon dipped into the latest on Mark Stone’s health, contract negotiations with Nic Hague, and the goalie picture.
First, on Stone. A few days prior to Stone’s surgery at a press conference McCrimmon shared the news of what they expected the offseason to look like for the captain.
Mark Stone has been seeing consultants and meeting with doctors and it appears quite likely he’ll have back surgery on Wednesday. He would be available for Training Camp and rehab over that period of time. That’s not 100% for certain but it’s certainly the most likely outcome at this time. -McCrimmon on May 16th
Three days later, following the surgery, the team released this statement via Twitter.
Mark Stone underwent a successful lumbar discectomy with Dr. Robert Watkins, IV at Cedars Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital. He is expected to be ready to play for the regular season. -Golden Knights Official Statement
McCrimmon has spoken a few times and reiterated the expected timeline of Stone returning to the team for the first game of the season. In the interview with Fox Sports Radio, McCrimmon continued along the same path.
No different than what we’ve been saying all along. Mark’s in town, he’s skating. Our expectation is that he’s going to be available for the opening of the season. What that means exactly with respect to training camp, we’ll see. When you have these offseason surgeries, Laurent Brossoit is another one, really you don’t have that definitive timeline until the players get here, they get with the medical team, you see how they respond to certain treatments to certain levels of intensity. There’s a reason that teams at times appear to be vague with respect to timelines on injuries because it’s hard to pinpoint. My answers I’m giving here today are exactly I think as what we’ve said throughout the offseason and that’s the information we’re working with and the expectations we have. So that’s how we’ll play it out and once we get on the ice and see how players react that are coming off injuries or surgeries or lengthy rehabs we’ll know more at that time. –McCrimmon on VGK Insider Show
So, it still appears Stone is on track to be in uniform with the team on October 11th, but his availability to start Training Camp on September 24th remains in doubt.
On to the next order of business, restricted free agent Nic Hague.
It was just five days ago when Kelly McCrimmon said the Golden Knights’ plan was to head into the season using the tandem of Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson in net. He said after internal discussions the team felt they really liked the two guys and they both “earned the opportunity” to take the reins between the pipes.
Then, yesterday, they went out and surrendered a 4th round pick to add 26-year-old goalie Adin Hill and his $2.175 million cap hit.
With NHL front offices, actions speak much louder than words. So, what exactly does this move say? Quite a bit actually.
First of all, it’s important to note that what McCrimmon said last week was the correct statement to make in the moment because it set the Golden Knights up nicely whether they wanted to add a goalie or not. If they were considering it, which we now know they were, it made sense to keep that information close to the vest to ensure they were not taken advantage of on the trade market. Plus, if any deal for a goalie fell through, it was best to portray confidence in Brossoit and Thompson in the event they did enter the season as the tandem.
But, despite it being the correct thing to say, it’s unclear whether or not the statement was actually what the Golden Knights truly believed. The acquisition of Hill says two different things depending on its validity.
If VGK did truly believe five days ago that Brossoit and Thompson were the plan, then the trade shows they think Hill is either already, or has a strong chance to be, better than both this season. If VGK projected Hill to be third behind Brossoit and Thompson, they never would have rushed out to spend a draft pick and use up cap space to make this move.
If VGK did not truly believe in their goalie tandem as they were presenting, the move can be viewed as insurance or even another lottery ticket. If you like the two guys in the organization but aren’t completely sure they can get the job done over the course of an 82-game season, it makes perfect sense to burn through a little draft capital to have another legitimate option in the system.
Many Golden Knights fans would like to see Logan Thompson named as the starting goaltender for the 2022-23 season. It’s a strong argument considering how well Thompson performed late in the season when injuries promoted him as Vegas’ number one. So, are Bruce Cassidy and the Golden Knights coaching staff leaning towards Thompson? He’s confident, skilled, and younger but he’s not as experienced or expensive as the other goalie on the team. Which could lead the organization to eventually select last season’s planned backup, Laurent Brossoit.
McCrimmon says Brossoit's rehab has been going very well.
The last time Kelly spoke it sounded like Brossoit was almost certainly missing Opening Night and a bit beyond, now it seems like if he's not there on 10/11, it'll be shortly after.
Our last update from the organization on Brossoit was promising. The 29-year-old is rehabbing from his offseason surgery and is feverishly working his way back to form. There is no announced date or timeline for his return, but many assumed it would be awhile based off the limited information we’ve received over the summer. Last week NHL.com reporter Kevin Woodley reported Brossoit could be available sooner than later.
He isn’t ready to be on the ice yet, but there was some talk that he isn’t that far away from skating. All indications are he is ahead of schedule, but that doesn’t mean he will be ready for opening night. It could be a few weeks into the season. –Kevin Woodley, NHL.com
Woodley participated in an NHL goaltending camp which happened to be presented by the agency that represents Brossoit. The Golden Knights goaltender wasn’t in attendance, but representatives gave Woodley some positive news about the veteran’s potential return.
The camp that I was at last week was put on by his agency and LB wasn’t there. Not ready to be on the ice yet. There’s a lot of examples of guys having it done in the same window. Having this exact surgery and being back by training camp. Maybe not the beginning of camp but on the ice and doing drills early in the season if not for the start of the season. -Kevin Woodley, NHL.com
When the news dropped that Robin Lehner was scheduled to have hip surgery and miss the 2022-23 season, the hockey world reacted.
Your season is done. I credit them for what they accomplished that first season. Ever since that success they’ve been drunken sailors. They’re in video game GM mode. Trade this guy, sign that guy, don’t need that guy, dump that guy, trade this pick, trade that prospect. It’s karma in a way, you’ve been too reckless. –Bryan Hayes on OverDrive radio show on TSN1050 Toronto
For the second time in team history, Vegas isn’t considered a Stanley Cup favorite. The first year was a shock to everyone, this time around, there is concrete evidence based on history for doubters to point to. The Golden Knights missed the playoffs, swapped scoring for dead money, and are without their starting goaltender for the entire season.
Losing Lehner was the breaking point for some around the sport.
I think somebody can really hold up Vegas right now. This is a team that’s built to win now. You can’t go a year without a goaltender if you’re built to win now. They have no money but they also have no goaltender. –Dave Poulin on OverDrive radio show on TSN1050 Toronto
The Cup has been awarded which means the offseason has officially begun. The Golden Knights have already started shaping their roster, most notably with the news of a Reilly Smith extension, but they still have a lot of work to do.
This week we are going to go through a series of articles giving our thoughts on how we’d like the offseason to shake out and how we think it will ultimately go down for the Golden Knights.
Today we start with my (Ken) predicted roster. This is what I expect the Golden Knights to do this summer.
Nic Roy – Re-signed for 2 years at $2.75m AAV
As I detailed in a previous article, Roy is in line for a fairly significant raise. I expect him to file for arbitration but sign a contract prior to the hearing. The Golden Knights will utilize their excellent signing of Chandler Stephenson to set the market on Roy and eventually settle on the same number. It’s a nice bump for Roy, it keeps him in line to hit unrestricted free agency at the age of 27, and it doesn’t break the bank on VGK.
Keegan Kolesar – Re-signed for 1 year at $1.3m
Like Roy, Kolesar’s arbitration rights will earn him a bit more than he’s made in the past. However, I expect a short deal as the Golden Knights look to maintain some flexibility moving forward. Kolesar doesn’t have much to prove as it’s pretty clear the player he’s going to be, so he’ll look to cash in and $1.3 million is a decent payday for him.
Nic Hague – Re-signed for 1 year at $874,125
I truly believe Hague should refuse to sign the qualifying offer and hold out from training camp and ultimately regular season games in an effort to maximize his contract. But, I don’t think he’ll end up going down that road as the risk of the Golden Knights never blinking is far too real. (Read more about the situation here) So, I think he’ll take the qualifying offer and play one more year on a cheap deal before he looks to cash in next summer, which I believe he will to the tune of north of $3 million per year.
The Golden Knights are not afraid to quickly erase their mistakes. As aggressive and encouraging as that is it usually ends up costing them a hefty price to do so.
Sort of like losing a deposit after terminating a timeshare you foolishly signed up for the day before. Of course, it sounded great at the time. The vacation club, the free drinks and lunch, the tour of the facility, heck they even threw in three free nights at Excalibur! How could you possibly say no to the guy pressuring you as if his life depended on your enrollment?!?
It seems likely the Golden Knights will once again be wheeling and dealing for cap space this summer. Under their current situation, Vegas will need to rid themselves of several contracts this offseason.
It may be ridding themselves of contracts they recently signed (Martinez, Brossoit) one they traded for last Summer (Dadonov), or even a few that now look like overpays from the past (Karlsson, Pacioretty, Lehner). Whatever direction they head it won’t end well from a return on investment standpoint for the Golden Knights. Whether it be shipping expendable prospects, retaining salary, or most detrimental, trading away another draft pick with another unwanted player.
Following an agonizing road trip that saw the Golden Knights go winless in five games, Pete DeBoer and the VGK coaching staff had a crucial decision to make upon returning home.
Having received below-average goaltending from both Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson on the trip, a strong argument could have been made for either goalie to get the call against the Florida Panthers. Vegas ultimately went with Thompson and it paid off with a 5-3 win over the best team in the Eastern Conference.
This is a big win for the goalie deparment. I know I haven’t been great, and every goalie coach in their mom’s basement has let me know that. -Logan Thompson
One such critic, though I’m fairly certain he doesn’t live in his mom’s basement, was DeBoer himself. Following the Columbus game and then again after the loss in Winnipeg, DeBoer did everything but outwardly blame the goaltending for the losses. Here’s one such of those comments.
I thought the guys came and worked their asses off tonight for 60 mins. We’re in that spot where we need everything firing on all cylinders. Our goalie has to be good, special teams, and 5-on-5 all have to be good. If one of those is off we’re not going to win and that’s the case. -DeBoer
So even after a win over Florida, it wasn’t clear Thompson had curried enough favor to hang on to the net for the immediate and/or interim future. That was put to rest with both the decision to start him again against Los Angles and the comments from DeBoer postgame.
On the decision to start (Thompson), it was easy. We have to win games. If you look at our records recently, if you want to play this time of year you have to find a way to win games. -DeBoer
Brossoit had one just one of his previous eight starts, and clearly DeBoer had seen enough. With Robin Lehner remaining on the shelf, he handed the job to Thompson and it appears it’s now his until Lehner is ready to return or he gives DeBoer reason to change his mind.
I’ve said before that starts are hard to come by in this league and for Pete to give me this opportunity, I didn’t want to let him down or let the team down. so it was huge but it’s over now and I’ve just got to keep building from it. -Thompson
Next up for the Golden Knights is a back-to-back in Minnesota and Winnipeg. Normally, Vegas uses both available goalies in two-games-in-two-nights scenarios, but with they haven’t been afraid to run a guy back out in both when the situation calls for it.
Thompson will almost certainly get the first game against the Wild and his performance will likely dictate the starter for the game against the Jets. This is, of course, if there’s not a move involving a goalie before tomorrow’s trade deadline at noon.
No matter how you slice it though, it appears it’s Logan Thompson’s time, and the Golden Knights’ season may rest on how well it goes.
