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

dannibalcorpse · 04-13-2017, 07:09 PM

The third season of existence for the Vegas Golden Knights has come to a close, and the team put together a good final stretch to pull themselves out of the Western Conference basement, going 11-7-0 in their last 18 games to finish the year with a 33-41-8 record. GM/Coach Dan Hampton was optimistic on locker clean-out day: “To be honest, I’m happy with how the boys played hard through the end of the year. It can be easy to just sit back and coast when you know your season is cooked, but the guys put up a good string and left us with a good feeling we can build on going into next season.”

The team was definitely buoyed by newcomers Anthony Beauvillier and Nick Leddy. In 18 games as the team’s second-line center, Beauvillier put up a 3-11-14 line, to finish up at 17-25-42 overall. Leddy chipped in 2 goals and 9 assists in his 18 games, finishing the year with a 7-20-27 line. Late season callup Blake Weyrick showed some promise as well, going 8-4-0 with a 2.90 GAA and .903 SV%.

Overall, the team saw some progress offensively from last year, with 8 players total scoring at least 40 points on the year. Ondrej Palat led all scorers with his 14-41-55 line, while Wayne Simmonds had the most goals scored on the team (33-21-54). Offseason acquisitions Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(20-33-53) and P.K. Subban (13-33-46) acquitted themselves nicely, while team captain Tyler Johnson (28-23-51) and T.J. Brodie (11-38-49) overcame slow starts to put up some above average numbers.

With the offseason looming, the only UFAs currently on the roster are Malcolm Subban, and AHL goalie Jack Campbell. Campbell was signed after Carter Hart’s injury, and despite his 5-0-1, 1.70, .909 line, he’ll most likely be looking for another team in the offseason. Subban brings up an interesting point - most feel the 26 year old still has some potential to grow, but with how both Weyrick and Hart performed in the AHL this year, his time may be up in Las Vegas.

Turning to the RFAs on the roster, some higher-profile names show up. Both Julius Honka and Darnell Nurse will be looking for new contracts, along with mid-season waiver pickup Samuel Girard. Ivan Barbashev, Jason Dickinson, Jack Becker, and J.J. Piccinich headline the group of forwards that the team will have to make decisions on - many would not be surprised to see some of those names move on in the offseason, as the likelihood of them all being tendered a qualifying offer is very slim.

With the season in the books, we can take a look at a few of the NHL awards that will be locked up without a vote necessary. Jack Eichel will be taking home the Rocket Richard Trophy, leading the league with 49 goals - just edging out his season-long nemesis, Vladimir Tarasenko, who finished with 47. Jonathan Drouin made a late charge to take home the Art Ross, scoring 98 points to be the top scorer in the league. His linemate Steven Stamkos finished 3rd, with 94 - Tampa’s top line was certainly in high gear this year. Devan Dubnyk will be taking home the Saving Grace Award after posting a .922 SV%, beating out runner-up Keith Kinkaid by .001! Henrik Lundqvist looks to be the front-runner for the Vezina - he led the league with 49 wins, finished second in goals-against average (2.34 to Michael Hutchinson’s 2.25), and was 4th in save percentage (.919). The King proved that royalty ages gracefully, appearing in 77 games in his age-38 season.

With the regular season behind us, 16 teams are getting set for the arduous journey to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. The first round is set to begin this Sunday, and the brackets have brought us some interesting matchup.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Philadelphia Flyers (46-31-5, #2 WC) v. Tampa Bay Lightning (53-25-4, #1 ATL)
The Flyers slide over to “play” in the Atlantic this year, making the playoffs on the back of their tandem of goalies: Mike Condon (24-16-3, 2.78, .907) and Anthony Stolarz (22-15-2, 2.45, .917). Claude Giroux overcame injuries to put up 65 points in 68 games, second only to Jakub Voracek (30-45-75). Meanwhile, Tampa sports two of the top 3 scorers in the NHL in Jonathan Drouin (37-61-98) and Steven Stamkos(42-52-94). The scoring drops off after that, with Victor Hedman’s 53 points third on the team. Michael Hutchinson (35-18-1, 2.25, .915) led all goalies in GAA this year.

Montreal Candiens (51-29-2, #3 ATL) v. Ottawa Senators (49-27-6, #2 ATL)
Carey Price predictably carried the load for Les Habitants, playing in 76 games and going 48-25-2/2.37/.919. Last season’s big free agent signing Jeff Skinner delivered a 39-41-80 line, pairing on the top line with Alex Galcheynuk (33-53-86). The Senators rely on the premier defenseman in the game, Erik Karlsson (27-63-90) and a pair of goalies with no NHL postseason experience - whether it’s Louis Domingue (25-16-4, 2.49, .913) or Joonas Korpisalo (8-8-3, 2.78, .907) in the crease, it’ll be either’s first playoff game of their career.

Columbus Blue Jackets (46-29-7, #1 WC) v. New York Rangers (51-25-6, #1 MET)
Big Ben Bishop mans the crease for the Blue Jackets, having gone 27-13-2 with a 2.59 GAA and .913 SV%. The offense is led by Alex Wennberg (11-67-78), Brandon Saad (32-43-75), and Nick Foligno (33-24-57). Tasked with shutting them down is Henrik Lundqvist, enjoying a career renaissance at age 38, and a Rangers defense captained by Ryan McDonagh (14-28-42). The Rangers will rely on J.T. Miller, coming off a breakout season which saw him score 34 goals and dish out 54 assists.

New York Islanders (49-27-6, #3 MET) v. Pittsburgh Penguins (51-26-5, #2 MET)
The Islanders find themselves back in the playoffs on the back of, predictably, John Tavares (34-53-87). Defenseman Slava Voynov (14-57-71) and Ryan Strome (29-40-69) chipped in with career years, but goalie Jared Coreau (34-15-3, 2.43, .919) will have to prove he’s not a one-year wonder against the deep Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens are hoping to have Sidney Crosby (46 GP, 22-39-61) back by Game 3 of the series, but even without The Kid, the Isles will have their hands full with Evgeni Malkin (40-49-89) and Maxim Shulanov (26-54-80).

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Calgary Flames (42-35-5, #2 WC) v. St. Louis Blues (51-24-7, #1 CEN)
The Flames had to fight until the last day of the season to get in, and many wonder if the efforts given by their top line of Jonny Gaudreau (27-52-79), Sean Monahan (23-52-75), & Patrik Laine (37-35-72) will leave them with anything in the tank. Goalie Calvin Pickard (28-23-4, 2.69, .913) will have his hands full with a Blues team headlined by Vladimir Tarasenko (47-45-92) and a resurgent Alex Steen (30-43-73).

Chicago Blackhawks (45-32-5, #3 CEN) v. Nashville Predators (44-29-9, #2 CEN)
Years of salary cap attrition seemed to finally catch up with the Blackhawks this year - of course Patrick Kane (34-58-92) and Jonathan Toews (31-51-82) produced, but the new group of younger players looks like they might not be ready for prime time just yet. They did get lucky to run into a Nashville team missing Filip Forsberg (61 GP, 33-37-70) and Dion Phaneuf, but will they have enough firepower to make it to the second round?

San Jose Sharks (42-32-8, #1 WC) v. Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, #1 PAC)
The Sharks bring a deep, if not superstar-laden, lineup into the series against the Oilers. Led by Logan Couture (22-44-66) and Timo Meier (26-35-61), the Sharks had 9 players average more than half a point a game in their lineup this year. Edmonton still managed to win their division despite Connor McDavid missing all but 5 games - McDavid is expected back if the team makes it to Round 2. Leon Draisaitl (39-53-92) picked up the slack in McDavid’s absence, and the team added Antti Raanta at the deadline to ease some of the workload on Cam Talbot (30-18-2, 2.77, .911) and keep him fresh for a hopefully-deep playoff run.

Seattle Metropolitans (44-32-6, #3 PAC) v. Arizona Coyotes (43-29-10, #2 PAC)
Making the playoffs for the first time in their 3-year existence, Seattle will be led by Jaden Schwartz (29-33-62), Conor Sheary (20-31-51), and an offense that seems to get contributions from different players every night. Keith Kinkaid was a workhorse for this team, going 40-30-5 with a 2.39 GAA and .921 SV% - but if he falters, Marc-Andre Fleury (4-2-1, 3.06, .900) is available to fill in. Arizona looks to build on the successes they had in last year’s playoffs, led by Max Domi (29-41-70), Tyson Barrie (12-53-65), & Christian Dvorak (33-28-61). They will be without winger Nino Neiderreiter (63 GP, 19-27-46) for the entirety of the series, but will have him back sometime in Round 2 if they get that far.

04-13-2017, 07:09 PM	#33
dannibalcorpse Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 175	The third season of existence for the Vegas Golden Knights has come to a close, and the team put together a good final stretch to pull themselves out of the Western Conference basement, going 11-7-0 in their last 18 games to finish the year with a 33-41-8 record. GM/Coach Dan Hampton was optimistic on locker clean-out day: “To be honest, I’m happy with how the boys played hard through the end of the year. It can be easy to just sit back and coast when you know your season is cooked, but the guys put up a good string and left us with a good feeling we can build on going into next season.” The team was definitely buoyed by newcomers Anthony Beauvillier and Nick Leddy. In 18 games as the team’s second-line center, Beauvillier put up a 3-11-14 line, to finish up at 17-25-42 overall. Leddy chipped in 2 goals and 9 assists in his 18 games, finishing the year with a 7-20-27 line. Late season callup Blake Weyrick showed some promise as well, going 8-4-0 with a 2.90 GAA and .903 SV%. Overall, the team saw some progress offensively from last year, with 8 players total scoring at least 40 points on the year. Ondrej Palat led all scorers with his 14-41-55 line, while Wayne Simmonds had the most goals scored on the team (33-21-54). Offseason acquisitions Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(20-33-53) and P.K. Subban (13-33-46) acquitted themselves nicely, while team captain Tyler Johnson (28-23-51) and T.J. Brodie (11-38-49) overcame slow starts to put up some above average numbers. With the offseason looming, the only UFAs currently on the roster are Malcolm Subban, and AHL goalie Jack Campbell. Campbell was signed after Carter Hart’s injury, and despite his 5-0-1, 1.70, .909 line, he’ll most likely be looking for another team in the offseason. Subban brings up an interesting point - most feel the 26 year old still has some potential to grow, but with how both Weyrick and Hart performed in the AHL this year, his time may be up in Las Vegas. Turning to the RFAs on the roster, some higher-profile names show up. Both Julius Honka and Darnell Nurse will be looking for new contracts, along with mid-season waiver pickup Samuel Girard. Ivan Barbashev, Jason Dickinson, Jack Becker, and J.J. Piccinich headline the group of forwards that the team will have to make decisions on - many would not be surprised to see some of those names move on in the offseason, as the likelihood of them all being tendered a qualifying offer is very slim. With the season in the books, we can take a look at a few of the NHL awards that will be locked up without a vote necessary. Jack Eichel will be taking home the Rocket Richard Trophy, leading the league with 49 goals - just edging out his season-long nemesis, Vladimir Tarasenko, who finished with 47. Jonathan Drouin made a late charge to take home the Art Ross, scoring 98 points to be the top scorer in the league. His linemate Steven Stamkos finished 3rd, with 94 - Tampa’s top line was certainly in high gear this year. Devan Dubnyk will be taking home the Saving Grace Award after posting a .922 SV%, beating out runner-up Keith Kinkaid by .001! Henrik Lundqvist looks to be the front-runner for the Vezina - he led the league with 49 wins, finished second in goals-against average (2.34 to Michael Hutchinson’s 2.25), and was 4th in save percentage (.919). The King proved that royalty ages gracefully, appearing in 77 games in his age-38 season. With the regular season behind us, 16 teams are getting set for the arduous journey to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. The first round is set to begin this Sunday, and the brackets have brought us some interesting matchup. EASTERN CONFERENCE Philadelphia Flyers (46-31-5, #2 WC) v. Tampa Bay Lightning (53-25-4, #1 ATL) The Flyers slide over to “play” in the Atlantic this year, making the playoffs on the back of their tandem of goalies: Mike Condon (24-16-3, 2.78, .907) and Anthony Stolarz (22-15-2, 2.45, .917). Claude Giroux overcame injuries to put up 65 points in 68 games, second only to Jakub Voracek (30-45-75). Meanwhile, Tampa sports two of the top 3 scorers in the NHL in Jonathan Drouin (37-61-98) and Steven Stamkos(42-52-94). The scoring drops off after that, with Victor Hedman’s 53 points third on the team. Michael Hutchinson (35-18-1, 2.25, .915) led all goalies in GAA this year. Montreal Candiens (51-29-2, #3 ATL) v. Ottawa Senators (49-27-6, #2 ATL) Carey Price predictably carried the load for Les Habitants, playing in 76 games and going 48-25-2/2.37/.919. Last season’s big free agent signing Jeff Skinner delivered a 39-41-80 line, pairing on the top line with Alex Galcheynuk (33-53-86). The Senators rely on the premier defenseman in the game, Erik Karlsson (27-63-90) and a pair of goalies with no NHL postseason experience - whether it’s Louis Domingue (25-16-4, 2.49, .913) or Joonas Korpisalo (8-8-3, 2.78, .907) in the crease, it’ll be either’s first playoff game of their career. Columbus Blue Jackets (46-29-7, #1 WC) v. New York Rangers (51-25-6, #1 MET) Big Ben Bishop mans the crease for the Blue Jackets, having gone 27-13-2 with a 2.59 GAA and .913 SV%. The offense is led by Alex Wennberg (11-67-78), Brandon Saad (32-43-75), and Nick Foligno (33-24-57). Tasked with shutting them down is Henrik Lundqvist, enjoying a career renaissance at age 38, and a Rangers defense captained by Ryan McDonagh (14-28-42). The Rangers will rely on J.T. Miller, coming off a breakout season which saw him score 34 goals and dish out 54 assists. New York Islanders (49-27-6, #3 MET) v. Pittsburgh Penguins (51-26-5, #2 MET) The Islanders find themselves back in the playoffs on the back of, predictably, John Tavares (34-53-87). Defenseman Slava Voynov (14-57-71) and Ryan Strome (29-40-69) chipped in with career years, but goalie Jared Coreau (34-15-3, 2.43, .919) will have to prove he’s not a one-year wonder against the deep Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens are hoping to have Sidney Crosby (46 GP, 22-39-61) back by Game 3 of the series, but even without The Kid, the Isles will have their hands full with Evgeni Malkin (40-49-89) and Maxim Shulanov (26-54-80). WESTERN CONFERENCE Calgary Flames (42-35-5, #2 WC) v. St. Louis Blues (51-24-7, #1 CEN) The Flames had to fight until the last day of the season to get in, and many wonder if the efforts given by their top line of Jonny Gaudreau (27-52-79), Sean Monahan (23-52-75), & Patrik Laine (37-35-72) will leave them with anything in the tank. Goalie Calvin Pickard (28-23-4, 2.69, .913) will have his hands full with a Blues team headlined by Vladimir Tarasenko (47-45-92) and a resurgent Alex Steen (30-43-73). Chicago Blackhawks (45-32-5, #3 CEN) v. Nashville Predators (44-29-9, #2 CEN) Years of salary cap attrition seemed to finally catch up with the Blackhawks this year - of course Patrick Kane (34-58-92) and Jonathan Toews (31-51-82) produced, but the new group of younger players looks like they might not be ready for prime time just yet. They did get lucky to run into a Nashville team missing Filip Forsberg (61 GP, 33-37-70) and Dion Phaneuf, but will they have enough firepower to make it to the second round? San Jose Sharks (42-32-8, #1 WC) v. Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, #1 PAC) The Sharks bring a deep, if not superstar-laden, lineup into the series against the Oilers. Led by Logan Couture (22-44-66) and Timo Meier (26-35-61), the Sharks had 9 players average more than half a point a game in their lineup this year. Edmonton still managed to win their division despite Connor McDavid missing all but 5 games - McDavid is expected back if the team makes it to Round 2. Leon Draisaitl (39-53-92) picked up the slack in McDavid’s absence, and the team added Antti Raanta at the deadline to ease some of the workload on Cam Talbot (30-18-2, 2.77, .911) and keep him fresh for a hopefully-deep playoff run. Seattle Metropolitans (44-32-6, #3 PAC) v. Arizona Coyotes (43-29-10, #2 PAC) Making the playoffs for the first time in their 3-year existence, Seattle will be led by Jaden Schwartz (29-33-62), Conor Sheary (20-31-51), and an offense that seems to get contributions from different players every night. Keith Kinkaid was a workhorse for this team, going 40-30-5 with a 2.39 GAA and .921 SV% - but if he falters, Marc-Andre Fleury (4-2-1, 3.06, .900) is available to fill in. Arizona looks to build on the successes they had in last year’s playoffs, led by Max Domi (29-41-70), Tyson Barrie (12-53-65), & Christian Dvorak (33-28-61). They will be without winger Nino Neiderreiter (63 GP, 19-27-46) for the entirety of the series, but will have him back sometime in Round 2 if they get that far.