If we took the negative approach, we would blame the Vegas Golden Knights for drafting very poorly. But anyone who is the least bit positive would call it genius to see the Canadiens’ opponents on Monday night maximize the value of their hopes before they fade…
It is very difficult to lean into the negative camp with the track record of Vegas, Stanley Cup champions in their sixth year of existence, after a final in 2018 and final fours in 2020 and 2021…
The Golden Knights have drafted six times in the first round between 2017 and 2022. Only Brendan Brisson, son of famous agent Pat Brisson, is still with the organization.
The five prospects traded allowed them to get their hands on three essential players in their conquest of the Cup: their captain Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev. Max Pacioretty spent four years there before changing camps and Nolan Patrick may never play hockey again, after only 25 games in his new uniform.
Of these five first-round picks, only Nick Suzuki, drafted at 13e rank in 2017, has become a top player. Ironically, Pacioretty was no longer there to drink the champagne in the precious trophy and Vegas got nothing in return for his services in 2022 except space on the payroll, an aspect that should not be overlooked in this era ceiling.
Peyton Krebs, 17e overall pick in 2019 behind Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook, traded to the Sabers along with Alex Tuch and first and second round picks for Jack Eichel, is still looking to launch his career. Krebs, 23 in January, had just 26 points, including 9 goals, in 74 games last year and is still hoping for his first point after nine games this season. He has four points in his last 23 games with the Sabres, including the end of last season and has just been relegated to the center of the fourth line.
Fifteenth overall pick in 2017, two ranks after Suzuki, Erik Brännström never became the offensive defenseman hoped for, even though he obtained a regular position in Ottawa for two years. Before being seriously injured last week, to the point of leaving the game on a stretcher, Brännström had been shut out in seven games, after a season of only 18 points, including 2 goals, last year.
This defender, now 24 years old, mainly plays in a third pair. Vegas obtained its valorous captain Mark Stone, 24 points in 22 playoff games last spring, for the services of Brännström.
The sixth overall pick in 2017, the first of three first-round picks, big right-handed center Cody Glass, traded for Nolan Patrick, is also looking to flourish offensively. This 24-year-old scored 35 points, including 14 goals, last year with Nashville, but he was shut out after five games this season before falling into action for around ten days. He was the center of the second line.
Most recent traded first-round pick, Zach Dean, 30e overall pick in 2021, begins his career in the American League, after four seasons with the Gatineau Olympics. After eight games in Springfield of the American League, he had an assist.
Dean allowed the Knights to get their hands on St. Louis Blues rental player Ivan Barbashev, 18 points in 22 playoff games. We managed to keep him in Vegas for five additional seasons for 5 million per year.
General managers will probably have to be wary the next time general manager Kelly McCrimmon offers them one of his prospects for a seasoned player…
Glass or Brännström?
PHOTO MICHAEL DWYER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Cody Glass
Some will call the Canadian lucky to have been able to get his hands on the best move of the Vegas Golden Knights recruiters, Nick Suzuki. Martin Lapointe candidly admitted a few years ago to Louis Jean, then at TVA Sports, that Suzuki had not necessarily been the CH’s first choice.
“He wasn’t the one we asked for first,” admitted Lapointe, personnel director at the time, without revealing the name of the coveted player. “The Golden Knights offered him (Suzuki) to us and Trevor Timmins told us it worked with him. »
Should we take away the credit from Marc Bergevin for this transaction? Many exchanges could be debunked if the content of the negotiations were known to the public. It would therefore be a bit unfair for Bergevin since in the end, he delivered a number one center to his successors. Shouldn’t we also play a little luck occasionally?
At the time of the trade, Glass, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound center, was coming off a 102-point season in 64 games in Portland of the Western Junior League. Suzuki also did well with 100 points in Owen Sound, but he lost four inches to Glass. Brännström had 15 points in 44 games in Jönköping, in the Swedish first division, an impressive haul for a young 18-year-old defenseman.