George McPhee stepped up to the podium this morning to address Nate Schmidt's suspension. Well, kind of.
"I'm precluded from talking about it," opened McPhee. "There's a confidentiality that was agreed to between the player's association and the league.
"I'd love to be an open book. I can't."
But...
"I probably shouldn’t even talk about this," said McPhee, before talking about it.
"The organization isn't responsible. It didn't come from us. Everything we have, any supplements, any vitamins, are all approved. We know where our food comes from. There are no issues in respect to the club."
Schmidt, of course, noted in his official statement on Sunday, "I have only used supplements provided by my NHL team and I have always been extremely careful about what I put into my body."
If we're to take McPhee on his word, that clears the Golden Knights of blame. The general manager, understandably, went out of his way to protect his organization. Schmidt, perhaps unintentionally, had raised the possibility that Vegas was responsible for his positive test.
So what caused the test then?
The 2013 CBA doesn't require full disclosure, so we may never know. However, this doesn't appear to have prevented both McPhee and Schmidt from being the source of speculation.
"A lot of you could go for a protein shake in a health food store around here and be positive tomorrow," offered the general manager.
McPhee also revealed the substance of what was said in a team meeting about Schmidt's suspension.
"Make sure you're taking the right things. Whatever we supply you here is enough. You don't need anything from anywhere else. Don't trust it."
As for Schmidt,
Katie Strang of The Athletic wrote, "Multiple sources told
The Athletic that Schmidt believes he unwittingly consumed a contaminated meat product this past spring, which ultimately triggered his positive test."
Shake? Supplement? Steak? Steroid?
Suspicious. After Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong and Ryan Braun and countless others, sports fans should remain skeptical.
While Schmidt's emphatic denial is noteworthy -- the detail that he provided about his appeal is unprecedented -- he still must offer more to clear his name in the court of public opinion, confidentiality be damned.
Can he?
Schmidt is expected to speak when training camp opens on September 13th.
***
"We're negotiating the best we can," said McPhee, when asked about the contract impasse with RFA Shea Theodore.
He added, "It's an interesting part of the CBA. There's a group of players like Shea who don't have arbitration rights. As much as some people don't like arbitration, I've always liked it because it's a tool to get a contract done."
While McPhee did not sound optimistic, perhaps contracts like Noah Hanifin's -- the 21-year-old blueliner just inked a six-year, $29.7 million dollar agreement with Calgary -- will bridge the gap between the organization and Theodore.
"Everything's related to everything else," admitted the general manager.
***
McPhee also offered the most official optimism that we've heard yet on KHL star Nikita Gusev joining the Golden Knights next season, "We're hoping he will [come to the NHL next year]. Had conversations. It sounds like it's something that he'd like to do. We'll see what next year brings."
Vegas holds Gusev's NHL rights after this season. However, if the winger chooses to play in the KHL during the 2019-20 campaign, the Golden Knights will lose his rights and Gusev will become an NHL UFA during the summer of 2020.
***
++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad here at HockeyBuzz, then send me a PM!++++
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger •Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»