OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - What Happens In Vegas: A Golden Knights Story

dannibalcorpse · 03-27-2017, 04:02 PM

We’ve hit the midway point of the inaugural Golden Knights season and the team is still exceeding expectations under rookie NHL coach Luke Richardson. The team stands at 20-20-1 at the midway point, and has seen contributions from up and down the lineup.

Leading the team with 18 goals is the team’s first free-agent signing, and the franchise’s first captain, Tyler Johnson. Johnson also shares the team lead in points with Jakob Silfverberg (12-15-27). While that may seem like a low number to lead a team at the halfway point, the true depth of the team shines through when you look at the main roster of 21 skaters, only four of them have less than 10 points at the midway point. T.J. Brodie continues to lead the time in ice time (24:16 per night) and assists (23), and marquee offseason addition Kevin Shattenkirk came back from a 7 game absence to continue his strong two-way play. The biggest disappointment, if you could call it that, would be the offensive production of Ondrej Palat - coming off a 23-40-63 season in Tampa, Palat has struggled to a 6-14-20 mark at the halfway point. However, Coach Richardson seems confident that Palat will turn it around in the second half, and his paltry 6.7% shooting does point to a possible bounce back.

The goalie situation has stabilized somewhat, as Craig Anderson has worked hard to bring his record up to 12-16-0, with a 2.94 GAA, .899 SV%, and 2 shutouts; Antti Raanta continues to push for the starting job, going 8-4-1 with a .918 SV% and a 2.28 GAA.

Meanwhile, down in Lowell, the Golden Knights’ AHL charges have run out to a 21-13-5 start. Ivan Barbashev has spent the campaign proving he belongs with the big club, going 20-29-49 and leading the AHL in assists and points (he’s 2nd in goals, to boot!) His linemate, center Chase De Leo, has also shown a deft scoring tough, putting up a line of 13-24-37 and leading a dangerous power play unit. The glut of young defenders that GM Dan Hampton picked up in the expansion draft have done well but no one has really stood head above shoulders amongst them; Oliver Kylington earned some NHL time when Shattenkirk went down earlier in the year but he’s the only one to have seen action with the parent club so far. Goalie Malcolm Subban has been a steady hand, going 13-6-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .910 SV%. Checking in on some ECHL prospects, Anthony Beauregard, a 22 year old RW signed in the offseason, has 12 goals and 21 assists in 33 games for the Reno Raiders, and Jeremy Brodeur has acquitted himself nicely in goal, going 9-6-1 with a .889 SV% in the notoriously high-scoring ECHL.

Around the big league, the Blackhawks continue their dominant season, with their record standing at 33-6-2, and the team having a 12 point cushion in the Presidents’ Trophy race at the halfway point. They’ve been nearly unbeatable at home - their only blemish on their 22-0-1 home record was a shootout loss to the Blues in the 6th round of shooters. Sidney Crosby leads the league with 32 goals, while Connor McDavid’s 41 assists have helped him top the Art Ross race with 61 points. Meanwhile Corey Crawford is seemingly running away with the Vezina race, leading all goalies with 31 wins, a 1.56 GAA, and an amazing 12 shutouts in his 37 starts.

Trade-wise, there haven’t been many moves - the biggest deals so far have been the Islanders trading prospect Taylor Cammarata to the Sharks for their new starting goalie, Aaron Dell; the Rangers trading Dan Girardi away to Seattle, who immediately flipped him to Edmonton for a draft pick; and the Flyers and Predators swapping Radko Gudas and Craig Smith. With plenty of time between now and the trading deadline, including the Olympic break in February, we’re sure to see some big names moving around soon - rumor has it the Kings are looking to move Marion Gaborik now, and we are sure to see more big names hit the trade block once more teams give up on their playoff dreams.

Next update will be coming out of the Olympic break - most teams will have about 15 games left at that point, so we’ll see if the Golden Knights can continue outplaying their expansion team pedigree and make the playoffs in their first year of existence!

03-27-2017, 04:02 PM	#5
dannibalcorpse Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 168	We’ve hit the midway point of the inaugural Golden Knights season and the team is still exceeding expectations under rookie NHL coach Luke Richardson. The team stands at 20-20-1 at the midway point, and has seen contributions from up and down the lineup. Leading the team with 18 goals is the team’s first free-agent signing, and the franchise’s first captain, Tyler Johnson. Johnson also shares the team lead in points with Jakob Silfverberg (12-15-27). While that may seem like a low number to lead a team at the halfway point, the true depth of the team shines through when you look at the main roster of 21 skaters, only four of them have less than 10 points at the midway point. T.J. Brodie continues to lead the time in ice time (24:16 per night) and assists (23), and marquee offseason addition Kevin Shattenkirk came back from a 7 game absence to continue his strong two-way play. The biggest disappointment, if you could call it that, would be the offensive production of Ondrej Palat - coming off a 23-40-63 season in Tampa, Palat has struggled to a 6-14-20 mark at the halfway point. However, Coach Richardson seems confident that Palat will turn it around in the second half, and his paltry 6.7% shooting does point to a possible bounce back. The goalie situation has stabilized somewhat, as Craig Anderson has worked hard to bring his record up to 12-16-0, with a 2.94 GAA, .899 SV%, and 2 shutouts; Antti Raanta continues to push for the starting job, going 8-4-1 with a .918 SV% and a 2.28 GAA. Meanwhile, down in Lowell, the Golden Knights’ AHL charges have run out to a 21-13-5 start. Ivan Barbashev has spent the campaign proving he belongs with the big club, going 20-29-49 and leading the AHL in assists and points (he’s 2nd in goals, to boot!) His linemate, center Chase De Leo, has also shown a deft scoring tough, putting up a line of 13-24-37 and leading a dangerous power play unit. The glut of young defenders that GM Dan Hampton picked up in the expansion draft have done well but no one has really stood head above shoulders amongst them; Oliver Kylington earned some NHL time when Shattenkirk went down earlier in the year but he’s the only one to have seen action with the parent club so far. Goalie Malcolm Subban has been a steady hand, going 13-6-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .910 SV%. Checking in on some ECHL prospects, Anthony Beauregard, a 22 year old RW signed in the offseason, has 12 goals and 21 assists in 33 games for the Reno Raiders, and Jeremy Brodeur has acquitted himself nicely in goal, going 9-6-1 with a .889 SV% in the notoriously high-scoring ECHL. Around the big league, the Blackhawks continue their dominant season, with their record standing at 33-6-2, and the team having a 12 point cushion in the Presidents’ Trophy race at the halfway point. They’ve been nearly unbeatable at home - their only blemish on their 22-0-1 home record was a shootout loss to the Blues in the 6th round of shooters. Sidney Crosby leads the league with 32 goals, while Connor McDavid’s 41 assists have helped him top the Art Ross race with 61 points. Meanwhile Corey Crawford is seemingly running away with the Vezina race, leading all goalies with 31 wins, a 1.56 GAA, and an amazing 12 shutouts in his 37 starts. Trade-wise, there haven’t been many moves - the biggest deals so far have been the Islanders trading prospect Taylor Cammarata to the Sharks for their new starting goalie, Aaron Dell; the Rangers trading Dan Girardi away to Seattle, who immediately flipped him to Edmonton for a draft pick; and the Flyers and Predators swapping Radko Gudas and Craig Smith. With plenty of time between now and the trading deadline, including the Olympic break in February, we’re sure to see some big names moving around soon - rumor has it the Kings are looking to move Marion Gaborik now, and we are sure to see more big names hit the trade block once more teams give up on their playoff dreams. Next update will be coming out of the Olympic break - most teams will have about 15 games left at that point, so we’ll see if the Golden Knights can continue outplaying their expansion team pedigree and make the playoffs in their first year of existence!