Thoughts on the Vegas Golden Knights?

[deckercky]

16-17 avalanche still had MacKinnon, Duchene, Rantanen, and Landeskog for 75+ games each.

I repeat when I say that Vegas has zero skaters of that calibur.

And Barrie for 74 games is clearly better than anyone Vegas has.

 

[firstemperor]

I think if they draft in the ~top 2 this year, they'll be in a better position than some teams in the league right now.

That said, I think McPhee is a pretty underwhelming GM and always has been- and did a lot of things wrong in the ED. I know he had to micromanage 30 teams + microtransactions but he got screwed by a few teams- Minny was probably the worst. He had all this leverage in the ED and came out with less than he should have. He could have played it more aggressively and still saved face.

He did come out ahead of a few trades but ultimately, I thought he could have done a lot more.

The Ship signing was very good and I'm surprised he signed for so little- though it was rumoured he had his eyes on Vegas specifically.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

16-17 avalanche still had MacKinnon, Duchene, Rantanen, and Landeskog for 75+ games each.

I repeat when I say that Vegas has zero skaters of that calibur.

Again, i don't think it can be understated how bad they were as a team. 4 guys won't make a team, their bottom 6 and commitment to competing was not good. I'd imagine Vegas will play better as a team than the Avs did.

Also if Shipachyov can be a 50-60 pts center, they have 5 guys with 20 goal potential in their top 6. Colorado had none outside those 4 guys.

So yes, 16-17 Avs had the better top guys, but again, i see Vegas being the better team. Guys like Lindberg, Karlsson and Haula are totally different caliber of depth guys up front than what the Avs had.

And big names don't mean much when you're stuck at 40 points.

And Barrie for 74 games is clearly better than anyone Vegas has.

Depends on Theodore pretty much. He's already too good for the AHL and got valuable NHL experience last season, and was good in the playoffs.

Barrie broke out at a similar stage and i think at the same age as well.

 

[deckercky]

Depends on Theodore pretty much. He's already too good for the AHL and got valuable NHL experience last season, and was good in the playoffs.

Barrie broke out at a similar stage and i think at the same age as well.

I think they leave Theodore in the AHL to let them keep and extra #5 defenceman until someone is willing to pay.

 

[angusyoung]

They'll be moved within 10 years.

Most likely, do they have a fan base? or relying on tourists to fill the seats? Can see it being pretty full if so many give away tickets from the casinos, but to play as a Knight without a pure home-fan base,kind of sad no? no one rooting for you,more of an added attraction to Vegas,something a bit off the beaten path.

 

[Snippit]

They will suck

 

[A4T1L6]

I mean they have nhl quality players, they wont be as bad as some people make it out to be. They will finish last however.

 

[The Note in MI]

Jagr would put some butts in those new seats

HFBoards poster of the year 17/18.

Completely under appreciated. Keep up the good work son.

 

[MinimaMoralia]

They'll likely finish bottom five, but I think that's more due to circumstances than anything.
On paper, at least, they aren't completely awful. I think success can come from their unknowns, such as if players like Tuch and Reinhart can elevate their games and contribute, if Schmidt and Theodore really break out, if Glass makes an appearance and sticks, then this team might become something. I'm not saying something great, but they might finish better than we think.

 

[Beige Van]

HFBoards poster of the year 17/18.

Completely under appreciated. Keep up the good work son.

Any team with David Clarkson as their highest paid skater is in for a world of hurt. They will finish dead last, but that is a good thing with the top shelf talent available in next year's draft.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Last in the league. Probably by a lot. Hopefully they get past the Avs lowly mark of 49pts last season but I'd bet even that will be a challenge. Maybe Fleury get's 25 wins :shrug:

I know the consensus seems to be McPhee didn't nail the expansion draft but I can see his reasons for bogarting picks and young dmen. The average NHL career is under 6 years, the average contract is substantially less. Do you want players that'll be under team control for ~2 years or players you can control for 7? For an expansion team with little hope of being truly competitive in the first 5 years, that answer seems rather obvious to me.

 

[Shruggs Peterson]

From Elliotte Freidman's 31 thoughts...

"7. Vegas has 11 defencemen on one-way contracts. The Golden Knights are an ideal trade partner, but it’s a bit of poker — other clubs might wait until waivers become a factor. Vegas had the hammer around the expansion draft and wielded it. Now, it’s the reverse."

Garrison, Jason
Sbisa, Luca
Stoner, Clayton
Schmidt, Nate
McNabb, Brayden
Merrill, Jon
Miller, Colin
Engelland, Deryk
Theodore, Shea
Reinhart, Griffin
Hunt, Brad

I'm guessing Merrill, Reinhart, and Stoner will be on waivers/ traded before the season starts.

 

[Got One Cup]

I think the name is one of the worst in pro sports.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

They will suck and McPhee is a joke

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

They'll finish in last by 15 points and will pick 4th overall. Fleury will mysteriously regress and everyone will talk about how he has the mentality of a sugar cube in water again.

Then maybe Foley can get Bettman to change this unjust, stupid lottery.

 

[Puckstop40]

A team that is built for the future it seems rather than winning now. They will be a bottom dweller for a a while but did very well in the draft and will hopefully get even better with the drafts coming up. Looking forward to going to the games now that I don't live in Orange County.

 

[Pens x]

I realize Vegas wants to tank, but GM should be banished from hockey after he handled the expansion draft.

 

[Iapyi]

Most likely, do they have a fan base? or relying on tourists to fill the seats? Can see it being pretty full if so many give away tickets from the casinos, but to play as a Knight without a pure home-fan base,kind of sad no? no one rooting for you,more of an added attraction to Vegas,something a bit off the beaten path.

i think for the most part they will have attendance issues especially long term.

i'm not familiar with las vegas and i'm curious how far the arena is from the strip. the casinos might give away a lot of tickets and some people might show up for a period or two but i suspect they will be playing to an empty arena a lot.

of course there will be games that will be packed when canadian fans plan trips there when their team is playing but how many fans will be in the stands when florida plays there in february for example.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Their arena is on the strip.

 

[Iapyi]

Their arena is on the strip.

thanks. that will help them an incredible amount.

 

[Rebels57]

McPhee intentionally tanking the Expansion Draft was a shrewd move. It could pay off big time if it lands them a Dahlin or Svechnikov, but if it backfires it will put his job in jeopardy.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Why would anyone think that a guy who is willing to pay $500M for a franchise is going to let it relocate within 10 years?

Btw, they signed a 20 year lease just on the practice facility.

 

[Elephant Igloo]

Btw, they signed a 20 year lease just on the practice facility.

Relocation confirmed impossible.

 

[snipes]

Gonna get pumped all year

 

[SpookyTsuki]

I think they will do better then Colorado (last year). Colorado was almost record setting bad if they weren't already (and they had talent so that's more of a bad luck thing)