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22 years ago, Grant Fuhr was traded to the Kings. He won one game in 14 appearances and posted a .876 save %. Naturally, Los Angeles allowed the 32-year-old UFA to walk that summer.

Three years ago, Peter Budaj won zero games in 19 appearances for the St. John's IceCaps. Naturally, the Winnipeg Jets organization allowed the 32-year-old UFA to walk that summer.

Fuhr then signed with the St. Louis Blues and broke the NHL goaltending record for games played in a single season with 79. Budaj signed with the Kings organization and won AHL Goaltender of the Year, before re-establishing himself as an NHL back-up in Los Angeles and Tampa Bay.

The point is, you never know with goalies. The most unexpected of scrapheap netminders can come up smelling like a rose in a fresh situation.

Heck, look at what the surprising Malcom Subban did for Vegas before his injury.

This brings us to Antti Niemi and Jeff Zatkoff.

Niemi, who was inked by Pittsburgh this summer to back up Matt Murray, has just been waived after surrendering 16 goals in three contests. The 34-year-old has allowed one less goal than the Golden Knights have as a team this year.

Zatkoff is currently the Ontario Reign's third-string goaltender. Last season, the 30-year-old lost his job as Jonathan Quick's back-up to Budaj.

Taking a chance on either keeper, who shouldn't cost more than a waiver claim or "future considerations," might go a long way toward shoring up the Golden Knights' in-the-crease depth. I get that George McPhee probably doesn't want to give up an asset for a goalie, and he's right -- the GM is building for the future, so trading anything of value for a band-aid doesn't make sense.

But after the injured Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban, the current goaltending duo of Oscar Dansk and Maxim Lagace have combined for one NHL appearance. And frankly, before the season, both were considered AHL netminders.

So at the very least, bringing some free NHL experience to this group -- Niemi has logged 493 NHL regular season/playoff games, while Zatkoff has 50 -- would be prudent. If Dansk or Lagace prove to be better? That's fine. If either veteran emerges as a viable puckstopper once again? Even better.

Like I said, you never know with goalies. Niemi and Zatkoff could just as well continue to leak goals like a sieve. But Goaltending Coach Dave Prior should at least be evaluating tape to see if either vet has anything left.

I don't think McPhee minds losing, but I would hazard to guess, from ownership down to the locker room, that nobody wants to be embarrassed.

Hopefully, Dansk or Lagace can keep Vegas competitive -- at the moment, they look to be on deck tomorrow night against the Blackhawks.

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Practice today saw Erik Haula slip out of yesterday's red no-contact duds. While Jonathan Marchessault stated yesterday that he feels like he'll be ready tomorrow, my feeling is that Haula isn't as close. Regardless, Gallant wouldn't tip his hand about either skater suiting up against Chicago.

After missing practice yesterday, Nate Schmidt returned, so it was a full rink today.

Gallant also shared the most news that we've had about Fleury since his injury:

I think it's days. Not this week, but he's getting better everyday...

We don't expect it to be long-term...

He's going through the program and he's doing reasonably well from what I hear. Once he gets back on the ice, he's probably 4-5 days away.

Anyway, coming up, I caught up with Brayden McNabb about how the Vegas goaltending situation mirrors LA's last season, when the Kings lost Quick then Zatkoff in "quick" succession; Pierre-Edouard Bellemare discusses his own goaltending background; Oscar Dansk tells us which Golden Knights assistant coach was a former teammate; and Gallant gives an honest assessment of Vadim Shipachyov's play.

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Gerard Gallant

HockeyBuzz: Shipachyov has been moving around on the practice lines. How would you evaluate his play, especially in the last game?

Gerard Gallant: He's been okay. He hasn't played great. But he's played okay.

David Schoen: Has he played up to your expectations?

GG: My expectations? I didn't have expectations for him. I know he's a high free agent we got over the summer. We'd like to see him score more and all that. But again, it's tough on the guy. He didn't start here, he started in the minors. Played a few games. He was okay, but he wasn't great. He's been bouncing around a little bit.

We just want him to compete hard, get used to the NHL. It hasn't been easy for him right now. But we're seven games in. We gotta be patient. Hopefully, he can turn it on.

Jason Pothier: From your experience, how long does it take a KHL guy to adjust to over here?

GG: Different for everybody. He's a 30-year-old guy. He's a great player. He has great talent, great skill. So far, he hasn't had a lot of chances to put the puck in the back of the net and make some plays. Not all his fault. Some of it is our fault too. We just want him to work hard and get ready to play and do the best he can.

Brayden McNabb

HockeyBuzz: In Los Angeles last year, you had a similar goaltending situation as you have now. You lost Quick in the first game, then Zatkoff got hurt. By game five or so, you're on your third goalie. So was it a little bit of deja vu when Fleury then Subban went down?

Brayden McNabb: Yeah, I guess so. Honestly, I didn't really think about that.

[Budaj] came in last year and played great. He proved himself, got himself back in the league. It was awesome to see.

Yeah, this is definitely the same kind of situation, but it's an opportunity for these guys. This is how you get into the league. We're going to play good in front of them.

HB: Going back to last year, do you think you guys played differently in front of Budaj as opposed to Quick?

BM: I don't know. We try to play the same every night. Try to play your systems to a "T." I don't think that's going to change. We're confident in these guys.

HB: How about subconsciously? Do you think that you might have defended differently?

BM: Maybe. But Budes came in and proved himself. He bailed us out plenty of times. He was really good for us. So maybe at first, the mentality was different. But he proved himself. You want to play the same every game.

HB: Well, at the rate you guys are losing goalies, your brother Dean might be coming up soon, right? (HockeyBuzz note: 17-year-old Dean McNabb plays between the pipes for the WHL's Victoria Royals right now.)

BM: (laughs) Yeah, I'm going to have to give him a call.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Bellemare drags himself to bench after taking Pietrangelo shot off left ankle/skate pic.twitter.com/BP0fFV2dzW

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 22, 2017

HockeyBuzz: How are you feeling after taking the shot from Pietrangelo last game?

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: Good, good. It happened.

I couldn't feel my foot, so I couldn't step on it. Turned out to be good.

HB: Yesterday, Gallant said that you would be the first Golden Knight skater to volunteer to tend goal in an emergency situation. Was he right?

PEB: Yeah...I wouldn't be good though. I would throw myself out there for sure. But I'd be terrible.

Jason Pothier: Have you ever played the position?

PEB: Just for fun with the boys in the summer. First step is to know that you're terrible and then you can work on it. (laughs)

HB: By the way, did the coaches lose a bet today?

PEB: I don't know. But they have some really great coordination. It looked beautiful.

Did coaches lose bet? Gallant and company shoveling ice at #VGK practice pic.twitter.com/5cSOkDP6QE

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 23, 2017

Oscar Dansk

HockeyBuzz: A couple years ago, you played in Springfield. Your captain was Ryan Craig, who's now an assistant coach here. Can you talk about playing with Ryan and his leadership?

Oscar Dansk: Ryan was a huge influence on the team. He's a true leader, that's for sure. I mean, he got a job right out of his playing career, an NHL job. He's well respected and one of the best captains that I've had in my short career.

He was a great captain. He took care of everybody. I came in as a 20, 21-year-old, he was really good to me as well.

***

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