In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on how the Golden Knights have fared this off-season factoring in the expansion draft, NHL draft, free agency, and everything in between.
Todd Cordell
There were a couple of questionable moves -- I'd have much preferred Lee Stempniak as opposed to taking Connor Brickley, a player they immediately let go of, and a 5th from Carolina, for example -- but I think the Golden Knights have done a fairly good job.
They had a great NHL draft from start to finish. Getting Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, and Erik Brannstrom in the 1st round is a fantastic haul even if they bombed their other picks (they didn't), they grabbed some good scorers in expansion (James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, David Perron, etc.) and they have some nice, young pieces to work with on defense (Shea Theodore, Colin Miller, Nate Schmidt, etc.).
The Golden Knights have enough talent on their roster to be at least somewhat competitive right now and their future looks really bright with all the young players and picks they accumulated.
James Tanner I don't think the Knights and George McPhee did all that well. Not horrible, but not excellent either. I think they made some weird e-draft selections, but McPhee clearly doesn't value players or think about the game the way I do, so I was probably always going to be critical of whatever he did. I think he's an awful choice to lead this team.
There were some things that fell in their lap (like whatever the Islanders were thinking with their protection list) and they ended up with 3 first round picks - but it almost seems like that's a disappointment considering how stacked in their favor the whole process was.
But, I would have liked to see them move up and get a blue-chip higher-end player.
It's hard to complain about getting three top 15 picks, but one sure thing would have been better in my opinion.
I also can't believe they settled for Theodore out of Anaheim - given the Ducks problems I would have thought the Knights could have pressed for more - i.e acquiring and flipping Josh Manson to a contender.
Same with Minnesota and Nashville.
That said, he came away from the draft with some decent players and I will withhold judgment until I see what he gets for Theodore, Neal, and Marchessault.
In order to get to the floor, the Knights should be taking on bad contracts in exchange for help. The fact that they didn't get a first rounder from the Capitals for Orpik is insane - it helps both teams. And that's just one example.
I give the job they've done a C-. Alright, could have been so much better.
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