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Hollywood Knights

January 20, 2018, 1:59 PM ET [6 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT




This Vegas Knights season is playing out like a Hollywood manufactured made-for-TV-movie.

Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee deserves a ton of the credit for the stunning success his first-year expansion team continues to experience. McPhee was the right man for the Vegas job. He was wise to hire head coach and inspirational leader Gerard Gallant as his team’s bench boss. He was also wise to select some of the best and most underrated performers via the NHL expansion draft.

McPhee also surrounded himself with several brilliant hockey minds with whom to collaborate with in the front office. His assistant general manager is Kelly McCrimmon, who is a brilliant, respected hockey man with strong connections to the WHL Brandon Wheat Kings as the former GM and coach, and current owner. McCrimmon has been described as the man with the most knowledge of the Western Hockey League of any person on the planet. His senior vice president is Murray Craven. McPhee was wise to hire Buffalo native Scott Luce to play the role of director of amateur scouting. Prior to going all in with Vegas, Luce had been with the Florida Panthers since 2002 and spent time with the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Lightning prior to that. His father Don Luce is also a long time NHL executive spending over 20 years with the Sabres and Flyers. Misha Donskov is the director of hockey operations. Donskov served Hockey Canada's Men's National Team as an assistant coach/hockey operations. Prior to that, he was manager of hockey operations/analytics and video for Hockey Canada. He won two IIHF World Championship gold medals (2015, 2016) and a gold medal at the 2015 World Juniors.

Perhaps the most important man inside the Golden Knights front office today is Vaughn Karpan.

The team’s director of player personnel played a vital role in the building of the roster and continues to do so along with his group of pro scouts. He has been described by his peers as one of the smartest people in hockey, and having come over from the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, where he was a pro and amateur scout since 2005. Karpan also spent more than a decade working with the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes before joining the Canadiens.
“I was fortunate to have spent my life scouting, 30 years overall, 26 in the NHL,” Karpan revcently told the Twin City Telegraph. Karpan recently ran the mid-season organizational meetings in Vegas. “I don’t know that I’m that smart. I had mentors who were brilliant people and I’ve stolen their best ideas.

“It started with Wayne Fleming who taught me how to deal with people. Bill Lesuk and Marshall Johnston taught me what to look for in a player, and then I got to the NHL and Pierre Gautier gave me a chance to do pro scouting, so I kind of pulled it all together.”

Karpan was hopeful that the Knights could achieve a modicum of success in their maiden voyage season. But, who saw this coming? The Knights are 18-2-2 on home ice on The Strip. They have 30 wins in 45 (.711 win percentage) and 64 points in 45 games. The Knights have stolen first place in the Pacific Division where they are 10 points ahead of the San Jose Sharks. The Knights are the owners of the best record in the Western Conference (30-11-4).

The Golden Knights are not doing it with voodoo magic, smoke and mirrors. Gerard Gallant has inspired his players by reminding them that they are the “island of broken toys” that no other teams wanted. and is getting the most out of them. Their +30 goal differential is third best in the NHL behind Tampa and Boston. The Knights have scored 52 goals while allowing 122 goals against. William Karlsson has 25 goals, James Neal 20, Jonathon Marcesshault 16, Erik Haula 15, David Perron 11, Alex Tuch 9. So much balance and scoring throughout their lineup. McPhee knows full well that playoff hockey means tough, hard-battle hockey. Therefore, he is looking to add more offensive fire power now.

McPhee and the Knights have thrown a massive monkey wrench in the NHL trade market. The Knights will not be selling off their best pending unrestricted free agents in James Neal, David Perron, or Luca Sbisa at the NHL trade deadline. McPhee is riding the hot hand and is not backing away from the table. He’s going all-in on winning the Western Conference and representing the West in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals.

Why not Vegas? All of the winning and excitement is not a mirage. Its real. The winning culture that McPhee and his lieutenants have created is highly contagious.

McPhee is currently in the process of fortifying his current roster> He has handed contract extensions s to Deryk Engelland. He is also in the process of negotiating a long-term contract extension with Neal. Look for McPhee to add another veteran scoring forward and a veteran defenseman at the trade deadline.

McPhee has some high-end, high-value chips to use as trade currency.

Large and skilled power forward Cody Glass was the 6th overall pick at the 2017 NHL Draft. Glass is killing the Western League with 25 goals and 38 assists in just 42 games for the Portland Winter Hawks this season. Skilled forward Nick Suzuki was the 13th overall pick in 2017. Suzuki has 19 goals and 34 assists in just 38 games for the Owen Sound Attack this season. Swedish rock star defenseman Erik Brannstrom was the 15th overall in 2017. Brannstrom is a swiftly skilled puck mover who helped Team Sweden to a silver medal at the recently concluded IIHF World Juniors tourney in Buffalo where he scored a goal and three assists in 7 games played. Nicolas Hague is the 6’6”, 220 lb. defenseman who was taken 34th overall in 2017. Hague is a battleship on skates and is scoring at an unreal rate right now for the Mississauga Steelheads. In 43 games played this season, Hague has 22 goals and 27 assists.

McPhee is serious about winning the Stanley Cup. He may be gearing up to trade his young prospects and a first-round draft choice to take ownership a veteran power forward and a veteran rear guard.

I’m in Buffalo right now for the Sabres and Dallas Stars Saturday matinee. The Knights have been scouting the Sabres for some time now. Special advisor to George McHee, David Conti, has been scouting the Sabres regularly. Conti is a respected hockey man. He and Lou Lamoriello created a dynasty in New Jersey with the Devils. Today, Vaughn Karpan is in attendance for this game. Buffalo is a long big ole jet airliner flight away from Vegas. Karpan came here for a reason. My guess is that he is not here today to eat the scrumptious hot chicken wings, delicious beef on weck sangwiches, and tasty craft beers. Karpan, like many NHL talent evaluators, is doing his diligence on players currently playing for Phil Housley. He’s watching Evander Kane, Samson Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons and Benny Pouliot. He’s also watching Josh Gorges. Before you start with the "You can't trade Evander Kane" rhetoric, stop. The Buffalo Sabres were blown out 7-1 by the Dallas Stars on home ice. The Sabres have not made the playoffs with Kane in their lineup. It's time to move in a new direction. Trade Kane for several premium hockey pieces in the form of prospects, playes and draft choices.

Let’s say McPhee wants to make a trade for Evander Kane. What will it take? McPhee will likely shoot down any request from Jason Botterill that includes James Neal, who played for the Penguins when Botterill was AGM there, and, super defenseman, Shea Theodore. Nope. Not going to happen. McPhee is protective of his core. He is more apt to trade prospects and premium picks than trade key contributors. If McPhee wants Evander Kane, its likely going to cost him a package that includes a prospect forward in Cody Glass, a prospect D in Erik Brannstrom or Nicholas Hague, AND, a 2018 first round pick which will likely fall between 24 and 31.



Is McPhee ready to roll the bones?









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Speaking of influential eyes in the skies over Buffalo….

The New York Rangers have sent Kevin Maxwell, director of pro scouting, to Buffalo.

On Friday, the Rangers announced Shattenkirk will be sidelined indefinitely with a knee surgery to repair his torn meniscus. The Rangers have been looking for an even strength goal scorer since earlier this month when they lost power forward Chris Krieder to a long-term injury. Power forward Chris Kreider, who had 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 37 games was the top line left winger. Kreider is out indefinitely following rib resection surgery on January 7 to address a blood clot in his right arm. There is no timetable for Kreider’s return to hockey. Blood clots are very scary and have become a huge concern inside the NHL. Kreider will not be playing any time soon.

When Rangers brass Jeff Gorton and Chris Drury parlay the Kreider injury with the Shattenkirk long term injury, there are two very large craters in the Rangers roster. I predict the Rangers are about to make a blockbuster trade for a veteran scoring forward and a veteran defenseman. One also ponders if the Rangers see themselves more as a seller than a buyer. The Rangers are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for seventh in the Eastern Conference standings (4th in the Metropolitan).

To replace Shattenkirk in the lineup, the Rangers recalled Anthony DeAngelo from AHL Hartford.

Rangers bench boss Alain Vigneault said Friday morning that forward Jimmy Hayes and defenseman Marc Staal would travel and skate prior to Saturday's game in Colorado, and both are 50/50 to play in Sunday's game in Los Angeles.
Remember the Team Sweden captain who threw his silver medal into the crowd at the recently completed IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo? His name is Lias Andersson.

The talented young forward created quite the hockey buzz at the WJC's when he launched his silver medallion over the glass and into the crowd after losing the gold medal to Team Canada. The exquisitely skilled young forward made more news on Friday. Andersson had been on loan to Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League Sweden, however, he is now skating on North American ice as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Andersson will likely make his Wolf Pack debut on Sunday versus Wilkes Barre Scranton.

Andersson was part of the silver medal-winning Swedish World Junior Team earlier this month. Andersson grinded away and competed well for Team Sweden despite an AC joint injury to his shoulder. Andersson was the captain of the squad and recorded seven points in seven games while rlling on his team's top scoring line alongside Elias Pettersson (Vancouver) and Alex Nylander (Buffalo). Andersson shocked the world when he was frustrated by the late goal Sweden allowed to lose the tournament. Andersson would later get his medal returned to him from a passionate fan from Buffalo.

Might the Rangers brass be looking to include Andersson in a package to take possession of a power forward? It’s a helluva lot easier to scout a kid in person in Hartford rather than on video.

If Gorton and Drury are truly serious about trading for Evander Kane, they will need to include a top prospect like Andersson or forward Filip Chytil, plus scoring winger Jimmy Vesey AND a 2018 first rounder.

Kane's Louis Vuitton luggage is impeccably packed. He is going to be traded at or before the NHL trade deadline on February 26. The team that trades for Kane is going to have to part with several substantial pieces of currency. Jason Botterill has Masters degrees in NHL hockey and in NHL Finance. Botterilll is asking a lot for Kane because he knows Kane's true value. Tire kickers and bargain hunters continue to be laughed at by Botterill. Serious investors only. The team that trades for the healthy, motivated and productive Kane will tilt the axis of power in their team's favor. Botterill's former bosses Jim Rutherford (Pens) and Ray Shero (Devils) are keeping close tabs on Botterill. They will likely meet or beat the best offer(s) that Botterill receives for Kane. The Rangers play in the Metro mosh pit and are battling for a playoff spot with the Penguins and Devils. Gorton and Drury have been tasked with putting fannies in the seats for home playoff games in April, May and possibly June. Their current injury-ravaged roster won't get them into a playoff spot. The Rangers need a scoring power forward and help on their back end. They would be wise to trade for Kane before The Penguins, Devils, Isles, Hurricanes, Knights, Sharks, Kings, Canucks, Ducks beat them to the punch.
















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