The Vegas Golden Knights Have Added an Entire 1st Line in Just 9 months

[M2Beezy]

I just ignore anything he says about Russians.

Thanks for the tip, I think I remember that guy from the political forum

 

[beowulf]

They just added a guy who’s better than those three.

Ya no

 

[ViD]

Ya no

Trade him away then

 

[M2Beezy]

GMGM has done an amazing job in Vegas.

This team is built for the playoffs. 15th ranked regular season team in the playoffs look like thell be a HUGE force in a weak western conference

 

[Knave]

They lost some players but adding Pacioretty, Stastny and Stone has been huge.

Trade him away then

He's not proven and he's Russian. Why trade away something that has no value right now but could in a few years?

 

[abo9]

Props to them but I think their best move was to get their hands on all those top 1st picks (and picks in general) in the 2018 draft.

Max Pacioretty? Acquired with Suzuki (1st pick) and Tatar (obtained from trading a 1st pick + away)

Mark Stone? Acquired with Brannstrom (1st pick) and 2nd pick

I dont follow them enough but apparently they still have a very good prospect pool.

And people might think that they will run into cap problems soon, but I think it's worth it if it makes your team more competitive for the playoffs and gives you a legit shot at the Cup. Look at Columbus going all in this year (and it certainly looks like its paying off). It might become a new trend for midling teams who can't overcome mediocrity (not saying Vegas was mediocre but they actively avoided becoming mediocre)

 

[Avelanche]

stastny is so underrated, big playoff performer if given the role.

 

[Lampedampe]

The fact that they'll likely be adding Glass and Gusev next season is quite scary.

 

[24 others]

While this is not a shot at them...

... said the guy with a cannon in his avatar.



(I'll show myself out)

 

[bert]

They just added a guy who’s better than those three.

Lol ok man, same Blue Jackets fans that said Stone isnt on the same level as Panarin. Stone is a way better player than Panarin, he scores just as much and brings so much more to the table.

Mark Stone never got any credit playing in Ottawa, everyone will see the type of player he is now. True superstar, makes everyone around him better to the point where he has been integral for 6 players career high scoring seasons playing with him. He got Zack Smith 25 goals... The guy cant even play in the league anymore and it was 3 years ago.

He’s a Panarin level talent

Exactly what I thought would come next.

 

[KopitarFAN]

While this is not a shot at them... it helps they don't have to worry about the salary cap right now.

That bill will come, it always does. Probably sooner than later.

 

[Bubbles]

When you have two relentless, two-way guys like Stone and Stastny, you can hide Pacioretty's shortcomings. Funny how if you put a guy in a situation where he can succeed, he succeeds!

 

[Eisen]

Trade him away then

Just because he's not the best doesn't mean you have to trade him.

 

[ViD]

Just because he's not the best doesn't mean you have to trade him.

He will follow the Shipachyov path if he’s put on 3rd line alongside grinders

 

[blinkman360]

It’s awesome to see. I really thought they’d struggle to attract talent for a while. The draft though was handled perfectly for them - allowed them to add quality players while stockpiling picks to build up their system. Then the quality players paired with a quality coach yielded results which got the fans to really create this environment that was something special.

Players couldn’t watch what was going on in Vegas without thinking “wow, that would be pretty fun to be a part of.”

Now in less than two years of existence they’re a legitimate highly coveted player destination. That’s incredible to me.

If I was a Seattle fan I’d be giddy right now over the possibilities. They’re guaranteed the players and the extra picks(teams will once again trade high picks to protect the one or two guys they can’t live without), they just need to make sure they find the right coach - like Vegas.

 

[Eisen]

He will follow the Shipachyov path of he’s put on 3rd line alongside grinders

That would stink for fans of the league. A scorer needs to be in a position to be able to score.

 

[Guardian452]

That bill will come, it always does. Probably sooner than later.

It already has. Signing Stone put them over next years cap. Plus they still need to resign William Karlsson in addition to 2 more players to get them to the minimum roster size. To sign Karlsson and fill a full 23-man roster, they will need to shed close to $10 million in AAV.

 

[belair]

They built a team starting with a $0 payroll in the salary cap era. The way they built this roster doesn't really surprise me at all. They just did what all NHL GMs should do and stayed away from long term salary commitments.

They built up a significant group of prospects early on using assets they got for free via the expansion draft and took advantage of struggling players who were unsettling to pay their stars. It'll probably happen again.

 

[allevat]

They are probably going to add Erik Karlsson in the offseason also...

They definitely won't be able to afford Karlsson now, Stone took the superstar contract money and term slot that he would have had, and they are going to have to move at least a couple of guys to make the money work next year already, and/or possibly pay someone to take the Clarkson contract's last year. But I wouldn't say they are really in cap hell, they have a solid core locked up and a couple of prospects who should be ready for next year. It's not a case where they have a lot of money and term locked up in non-performing players they signed in error. More like cap purgatory.

 

[ProspectsSTC]

They just added a guy who’s better than those three.

To be better than Stone, Gusev would have to be on the level of Kucherov

 

[Mickey Marner]

To be better than Stone, Gusev would have to be on the level of Kucherov

Last 3 KHL seasons
Gusev 1.24 PPG
Shipachyov 1.27 PPG

 

[beowulf]

Trade him away then

What does trading him have to do with anything? Saying a player that has no NHL experience is better than three players that have there fair share and have produced for years is just dumb. He may work out great or he may be back in Russia by next Christmas...not like Vegas don't have experience with a Russian not working.

 

[tony d]

I'm still meh on their whole success but yeah Mark Stone was a huge pickup for them.

 

[CupInSIX]

He will follow the Shipachyov path if he’s put on 3rd line alongside grinders

Tuch is not a grinder and Eakin scored 20 goals this year. Next year they can put him with Glass or Haula.

 

[deckercky]

Vegas has a cap problem next season and will need to trade away 1 or 2 starters.

They're over the projected cap with $8M in LTIR. Once RFAs are factored in, they'll be tight against the cap + LTIR for next year, but I don't think they're a team that will have to shed any real talent.