For some, Phil Kessel is a godsend for the Vegas Golden Knights. For others, it’s another confusing last-minute decision for a club that no longer seems to have a plan.
Posted at 10:29
At almost 35 years old, Kessel has just signed a one-year contract for 1.5 million in Vegas, after a season of 52 points with the Arizona Coyotes.
The Golden Knights had a void to fill on offense since the departure of Max Pacioretty, who was sold to the Carolina Hurricanes this summer without getting anything in return to free up space on the payroll.
At such a salary and for such a duration, we obviously cannot cry foul. But what will be his contribution to the Golden Knights, excluded from the playoffs last year for the first time in their young history?
Kessel’s 50 points are obviously inflated by the fact that he was playing for a dismal team. He would not have played 2m 43s on average on the power play at a quality club, second among Coyotes forwards in this area, behind Clayton Keller and ahead of… Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse and Nick Ritchie .
Despite his huge defensive deficiencies (only 3% of his face-offs in defensive territory), we could also keep him on the ice in contexts where he should not have been if the Coyotes were fighting for a place in the playoffs.
But whatever, Kessel is the least of their worries. The Golden Knights, if they hope to make the playoffs again, need to find a top goaltender. Robin Lehner, the chosen one at the expense of Marc-André Fleury, transferred to the Blackhawks last summer with little or nothing in return, once again to free up space under the mass, is lost for the season due to a serious injury.
Vegas is counting on Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit for now. Thompson, 25, undrafted, had an interesting end to the season, but he has only 20 games of NHL experience and has played almost as many games in the ECHL as in the American League. Brossoit, 29, is a career assistant.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon is worthy of the city he represents. He likes to bet. His biggest bet will have been Jack Eichel.
PHOTO JOHN LOCHER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jack Eichel (9)
The second overall pick in the National League draft behind Connor McDavid in 2015 cost him one of his top prospects, Peyton Krebs, one of his good forwards, Alex Tuch, and a 2022 first-round pick, turned center Noah Östlund, drafted in 16e rank by the Sabres.
And to keep the payroll below the ceiling, with Eichel and his annual salary of 10 million, it was necessary to sacrifice Pacioretty, among others. The former captain of the Canadiens was obtained through Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick in 2019 (transformed into third-round pick, Mattias Norlinder, and fifth-round pick, Jacob LeGuerrier).
Tatar, almost as productive in Montreal as Pacioretty in Vegas, had cost first-, second-, and third-round picks a year earlier (Joseph Veleno was drafted in the first round by Detroit).
You don’t always lose by betting, of course. The acquisitions of Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, Chandler Stephenson and Alec Martinez paid off.
But if you push the risk too far, you can also get burned. One or two more difficult seasons could mark the end of the current regime.