Although many moves have been made and some salary cap has been cleared, the Vegas Golden Knights are not yet in the clear and have some work left to do. With a few players in limbo and an incomplete NHL roster, George McPhee's final summer as the official General Manager of the Golden Knights drudges on.
Solve the Gusev Saga
Tampa Bay Lightning on Twitter
We will protect Callahan, Johnson, Killorn, Kucherov, Namestnikov, Palat, Stamkos, Coburn, Hedman, Stralman, & Vasy. https://t.co/UpT4PV68Pu
Darren Dreger on Twitter
Keep an eye on Vegas. With Karlsson extension looming, teams are expressing interest in Nikita Gusev. Can the Golden Knights afford to sign him?
The Gusev Saga will be one to monitor over the next few weeks. If the Golden Knights elect to stand pat and wait til next season, there is no guarantee that Gusev would be willing to come back and try again with this club. These negotiations are delicate and if they fumble their second-straight KHL cross-over attempt, good luck on any future attempts at Russian superstars.
Filling Out the Defense
NCAA standout and current Restricted Free Agent, Jimmy Schuldt remains unsigned. The Hobey Baker Award finalist suited up for one game last season, the regular season finale, and is looking to make the NHL full-time next season. This far, only four returning starters (five with Holden) are inked to contracts, meaning at the very least, one spot is open for rookie competition. Nic Hague, Zach Whitecloud, and Bischoff will be the primary competition there.
2018-19 Defensive Pairs: Nate Schmidt - Deryk Engelland* Brayden McNabb - Shea Theodore Jon Merrill - Colin Miller**
*Unrestricted Free Agent **Traded to the Buffalo Sabres
Engelland is all but guaranteed to come back, on a team-friendly one-year deal. He is an aging veteran who looked legitimately weak in his own zone. As a defenseman with limited offensive upside, that's not good. McPhee has stated that he and Engelland have agreed to a deal, but are hammering out the bonus structure, something that won't affect the team's cap hit. What is mind boggling is that the team has multiple younger, more talented defensemen they are willing to block with Engelland back in the mix. If I were McPhee, I'd let Engelland ride off into the sunset and roll with this defense corps.
McNabb - Theodore Schuldt - Schmidt Merrill - Hague
With those pairs, they'll still miss the offense added by Miller, but gain a big body who can play competently with the puck on his stick in Hague. Paired with Merrill, who had a legitimately great season, the pair could be effective at both five-on-five and the penalty kill, another area where Engelland was supposed to be solid.
Schuldt and Schmidt would be a fun pair to watch, as both men have effective two-way games and could look like a more stable version of the Theodore-Schmidt Corsi-God pairing we were teased with for a short time last season. Schmidt's enthusiasm and poise are great for a young guy of Schuldt's pedigree. The two are surely spending time together while playing in the off-season "Da Beauty League" up in their native Minnesota.
With those two main to-dos lingering, the Golden Knights and McPhee specifically, have decisions to make prior to training camp in September. Kelly McCrimmon already has a big say in personnel movement and management, but will become the official GM of the club on September 1. What team will he "inherit" from McPhee heading into training camp? Your guess is as good as mine.
Be sure to follow me on the Twitter (@VGK_Buzz) for up-to-date VGK news and analysis. I also have a writer page on Facebook, where I will be looking to do fun interactions, game recaps, and giveaways. Go check them out!
Jeff Paul - Writer
Jeff Paul - Writer. 65 likes. This is a page run by Jeff Paul, a writer for HockeyBuzz.com and KnightsOnIce.com, covering the Vegas Golden Knights.