By : Mike Rifkin
For the first time in their franchise’s history the Vegas Golden Knights have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vegas was considered a Stanley Cup favorite prior to the season. They went from expansion team to going all in.
Vegas made a lot of interesting decisions throughout the season the first was trading Vezina trophy winner Marc – Andre Fleury. Fleury last season was 26-10-0 with a 1.98 Goals Against Average, .928 save percentage and six shutouts. Fleury was traded to Chicago as a salary dump. Robin Lehner last season went 13-4-2 with a 2.29 Goals Against Average and a .913 save percentage. This year Lehner was 23-17-2 with a 2.83 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Lehner’s numbers aren’t bad and he is not totally at fault for all the failures but Marc-Andre Fleury had been the face of the Vegas Golden Knights since being taken in the expansion draft. A major question heading into the offseason will be what to do with Lehner who is signed through 2025-26 at five million dollars a season. After what just transpired between the team and Lehner due to his shoulder surgery I think there is a very good percentage that Vegas shops their goalie. Now another reason Lehner can be moved was the emergence of Logan Thompson who posted a 9-5-3 record with a 2.60 Goals Against Average, .918 save percentage and a shutout. Pairing Thompson with a cheaper veteran option could be in the cards for Vegas.
In November Vegas traded for disgruntled Sabres star Jack Eichel. Vegas traded away Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, 2022 first round pick (top 10 protected), and a 2023 second round pick. Eichel, who played in 33 games due to artificial disk replacement surgery had 12 goals and 22 points for Vegas. The Eichel trade wasn’t just for this season, it’s about the future. Eichel is still 25 years old and is signed through 2026-27.
In my opinion the biggest reason the Golden Knights missed the playoffs for the first time was injuries. Captain Mark Stone was limited to 36 games, Max Pacioretty played in 38, Reilly Smith played in 56, and Alec Martinez played in 25. In 2020-21 Stone and Pacioretty were the top two leading scorers, Reilly Smith is an excellent two way forward who is big on the penalty kill, and Alec Martinez is a very good defenseman. These injuries took its toll on Vegas special teams. The Power Play clicked at 18.1 percent and the Penalty Kill was at 78.1 percent. The penalty kill was at 86.8 percent last season, while the power play was 17.8.
The big thing for Vegas is they have to figure out their cap situation. So here is how I would handle it.
- Trade Robin Lehner and replace with a cheaper free agent/ trade. Free agents to look at : Jaroslav Halak (VAN), Joonas Koripsalo (CBJ) , Braden Holtby (DAL), Thomas Greiss (DET) . Trade : Alexandar Georgiev (NYR), Jake Allen (MTL)
- Try to trade Reilly Smith and Mattias Janmark at draft/ let them walk in free agency.
- Trade Evgeni Dadonov or William Karlsson. Karlsson put up 67 goals the first two seasons in Vegas, and over the last three has put up 40 including 11 in 66 games this season. Dadonov was on fire after his non trade at the trade deadline but which 5 million dollar player they want to keep. Also need some of that money to re-sign Nicolas Roy who will be an RFA.
2022-23 will be a major pressure year in Vegas and nobody will feel more pressure than Pete DeBoer. DeBoer should be fine heading into the offseason but if the Golden Knights start slow next season DeBoer will be fired because Vegas has gone ALL IN.
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