Sometimes the tall trees must be felled to make room for saplings. In farming they slash and burn to revive a field’s soil. In pro sports, older more expensive players give way to the younger and cheaper. It’s part of life whether in the forest, an acreage, or a sheet of NHL ice.
Front office preparations for inevitable roster churn determines how long a window of contention remains ajar. A general manager must be ready for players from a championship roster to be coveted by 31 other teams. Expect everyone to stick around forever at one’s peril.
Golden Knights management didn’t need to read any tea leaves to know this offseason would unfold with some players exercising their free agency rights. They asked and got answers. Expensive ones.
It can be said Kelly McCrimmon kept his bat on his shoulder in free agency this summer. Sure. But he’d already hit a grand slam at the trade deadline. Make that a pair of grand slams when he acquired Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin.
Combining how teams fared at both the trade deadline and in free agency this summer it can be argued no team outstripped the Golden Knights in terms of incoming talent.
No question, the additions of goaltender Ilya Samsonov, wingers Victor Olofsson and Alexander Holtz as well as the previously mentioned Hertl and Hanifin makes for an impressive haul.
The counterpoint, of course, is who left. Losing Jonathan Marchessault is a blow on the ice as well as in the dressing room and the community. Simply put, the entire package of Marchessault won’t be replaced. He chose to leave for his own reasons. He picked Nashville’s offer over the one made by the Golden Knights. The same must be said about Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, Will Carrier and Michael Amadio who signed free agent deals with other franchises. All leave Vegas as Stanley Cup champions.
And while such transactions come with a hint of sadness, one can also choose to be happy for what transpired rather than grow maudlin over the inevitable ending.
These players made history in Vegas. The collective us in the VGK community will always have that to share with them no matter where they have chosen to play.
Combine Logan Thompson and Paul Cotter departing in trades and it’s a sizeable chunk of roster churn.
Which brings us to the question of the future in Vegas. Elite on the blue line, at center ice, in net and behind the bench. The Golden Knights are an obvious contender.
Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Hertl and Nicolas Roy make for one of the best cores down the middle of the ice in the NHL.
The Golden Knights group of defensemen is one of the best in the NHL led by Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Hanifin, Nic Hague, Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud and Ben Hutton. They are a super seven.
Adin Hill is a Stanley Cup champion goalie and his new battery mate Samsonov is talented and experienced. Having NHL ready Akira Schmid in the AHL provides insurance.
Vegas was hit hardest on the wing in terms of departures. If a team is going to have to live through some defections – this is the area which results in the least stress. Holtz and Olofsson are young players with scoring pedigree and the blossoming Pavel Dorofeyev could be on the verge of consistent scoring. If one or more of these players pop – the losses on the wings will seem far less significant.
By refusing to overpay this summer in a free agency frenzy which saw managers commit over $1 Billion on July 1st, McCrimmon enters the season with cap space and flexibility. If he needs to adjust he can, and history tells us he will.
The roster is one aspect of how a team will play. Health, culture and mindset are also critical factors.
Vegas lost in the first round last spring following an historic Stanley Cup championship the previous season. The group is extremely talented and following a longish off-season should be healthy, humble and hungry.
This group believes in itself and has gone through a reset. They’re at their best when they feel they have some something to prove.
Overlooking them would be foolish.
Camp hasn’t opened yet but the question in Vegas, which has become a hockey mad market with an enviable record including a Stanley Cup through seven short seasons, is will the Golden Knights be good?
Good? Absolutely. Great? Why not? McCrimmon and his crew have once again put together championship pieces.
Sports franchises sell excitement for various reasons. In Vegas the buzz is in the winning.
The buzz remains.
