Expansion team
Captain: TBA
Soon, the curtain will lift on the inaugural season of the Vegas Golden Knights, and like many a team in their first year before them, there will be struggles. However, there will be no shortage of excitement, as they are given the standard grace period for expansion teams. Yes, this will be one experiment to watch.
For being an expansion team, it isn't everyday that former 30-goal scorers are made available in the expansion draft, but that is exactly what happened for the Golden Knights, as Jonathan Marchessault scored 30 last year and James Neal has done it before in his career. Beyond that, it's largely a gamble that Vadim Shipachyov can translate his game from the KHL to the NHL while every other forward is either no better than the second line or is unproven. On defense, they have a lot of bodies, but very little in the way of an actual top pairing. Jason Garrison is the best of a fairly mediocre lot, but it could be Shea Theodore that could emerge as a top guy. Don't be surprised if Nate Schmidt solidifies himself as an everyday NHLer, as his playoff performance in Washington attracted the attention of current Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee. Beyond those three, depth isn't bad, but they're all interchangeable at this point. In goal, this is where they are set. Marc-Andre Fleury was the prize, and he will be out to show that he has something left after having to pass the torch to Matt Murray in Pittsburgh. Calvin Pickard is also getting a fresh start after playing behind an awful defense in Colorado the past couple of seasons. The special teams are an unknown at this point, but there is no question that goaltending is going to be important here.
Prediction: 7th in the Pacific Division
Despite having a big name or two, the Golden Knights are going to field what can be best described as a team of mismatched parts. The good news is that they have a plan and it showed in their Entry Draft strategy. That fruit may be borne in a few years, but it will scarcely help in the immediate future.
No comments:
Post a Comment