It didn’t take Dylan Guenther long to make up for lost time. In fact, it took less than two minutes. At the 1:47 mark of the Edmonton Oil Kings’ season opener Friday, the 2021 NHL Draft prospect banged home a power-play goal.
He was just getting started.
With the Western Hockey League back on the ice after nearly a year-long hiatus, Guenther’s hot start is solidifying him as one of the top prospects for July’s draft. He may be a player the Seattle Kraken have circled to be their first pick ever.
Guenther followed the early marker with an assist 45 seconds later and would finish the game with a pair of scores and two assists. The next night he matched those totals to earn the season’s first WHL Player of the Week award with eight points in two games.
If you talked to him 24 hours before the season opener you wouldn’t be surprised.
“Everyone is super excited to play and we have a lot of adrenaline,” he said the night before. “The guys will be buzzing on the first couple of shifts.”
The WHL is playing a shortened 24-game season focused on player development. Winning games is still important – and the Oil Kings started 2-0 – but so is being seen by NHL scouts for a guy like Guenther.
Waiting around to play has been stressful for everyone involved. It’s Guenther’s draft year, he needed to be seen by scouts, needed them to see the step he has taken after an impressive rookie campaign where he scored 26 goals.
“The whole uncertainty of the year was leaning on my shoulders a bit,” Guenther, 17, admitted. “I felt that, but I think I took that time to better myself and better my game and I’m excited about that.”
Dylan Guenther by the numbers
Playing in the WHL at 16-years-old is tough.
The jump from minor hockey to playing with NHL prospects can be a monumental one, but it’s one that Guenther made with ease last year. It helped that the 6-foot-1 winger had a brief call-up at the end of the previous season. He not only got his feet wet but produced by scoring three goals – including a game-winner – in eight games.
Last year he exploded. Along with the 26 goals he piled up 33 assists for 59 points in 58 games on the way to winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award. He chipped in on the power play as well, scoring eight times with nine assists.
Being considered for the top of a draft is not a new experience for the Edmonton native. The Oil Kings selected him with the first overall pick in the WHL’s Bantam Draft in 2018.
“Going into the Western League draft I just tried to play my game to the best of my ability,” Guenther said. “Just blocking out the outside attention is important. This is obviously a much bigger scale, but I think if I play my game and play the right way everything will fall into place at the end.”
What kind of player is he?
Speed, skill, with a scoring touch are attributes that describe Guenther’s game. He sees the ice well and can distribute the puck.
He has played on the wing with the Oil Kings but says that he can, and is comfortable, playing as a center.
“I’m a guy who plays with speed and I see the ice well,” Guenther said about his game. “I think my hockey IQ is the strongest part of my game, whether its finding open ice to jump into or creating space myself to score goals. I’m an offensive player. I have to work on my strength, with that will be my play along the boards.
“Skating is something I’m always looking to get better at. The game is always getting faster so that’s something I’m always looking to improve on.”
He’s the kind of player that puts pressure on the defense and attracts defenders to him.
That was on display Friday night with the play below. His teammate, St. Louis Blues prospect Jake Neighbours, takes a hit to get the puck to Guenther along the boards. Three defenders skate towards Guenther which leaves a teammate wide open in the slot.
Guenther easily flips the puck across ice, past the defenders for his mate to score an easy goal. Pick your poison with this guy.
The old adage "take a hit to make a play" has never rung more true for Jake Neighbours. But it pays off for the @EdmOilKings. pic.twitter.com/OII8UtmXhd
“I really like Dylan,” one NHL scout says. “He plays with really good speed and loves to attack the net off the rush. Along with that he plays a responsible three-zone game.”
The Kraken are promised a pick in the top six of the upcoming NHL Draft, depending on how the lottery balls bounce.
A lot of scrutiny and pressure comes with being a top prospect and he heard from 15 to 20 teams over the offseason. He’s playing with a couple of players, such as Neighbours who was selected by the Blues in the first round of last year’s draft, which will make it easier.
“It helps having a couple guys go through it before you,” Guenther said. “Just the way they handle themselves both on and off the ice. They conduct themselves like pros and that’s something I like to do and something I learned off them.”
These 24-games will be big for Guenther’s future.
He’ll finally be seen by scouts after waiting a year. He probably won’t continue at a four-point-per-game pace, but his skill will be on display and Edmonton is poised to win a lot of games.
How high he goes remains to be determined and he has no preference as to which team selects him. That team could be Seattle, which would make Guenther a part of Kraken history as the first-ever pick by the league’s newest franchise.
“The thought of that is crazy,” Guenther said. “An expansion team, I remember when they got announced. It’s super exciting. I remember their whole process. They have a logo and I really like the logo. It’s cool. I’ve never been to Seattle, but I’ve heard it’s a nice city. That would be pretty cool.”
It has been another relatively quiet week on the Seattle Kraken front, and around the Seattle sports scene in general there has been practically no news or semblance of significant controversy [slams door just in time to fend off barrage of rotten vegetables, daggers, and pitchforks].
There have been some major bombshells heard from around the rest of the hockey world, though, so those will be the focus of this edition of Weekly One-Timers. For the Kraken-minded reader, here are a couple items to at least whet your appetite because again, we know there hasn’t been much to talk about for Seattle sports fans.
What an odd ride the last six months have been for Claude Julien. In August, he was hospitalized with chest pains which led to him missing the entire NHL playoff bubble. In October, general manager Marc Bergevin made several huge splashes to improve the Canadiens. With newly acquired Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, and Jake Allen under his watch, Julien returned to training camp in January with elevated expectations. Fast forward a month and change, and Julien is out the door, despite the Habs getting off to a hot start and despite them still sitting in a playoff spot.
What happened?
Well, in 2019-2020, the Habs nosedived into a few pits from which they never could fully emerge, highlighted by two separate eight-game losing streaks. In 2021, after they came out looking like world-beaters in the early going, Bergevin saw the Canadiens heading into another one of those holes. After the team lost six of eight including its last three in a row under Julien, Bergevin decided to take a proactive approach to stopping the bleeding. Assistant coach Kirk Muller was also issued a pink slip.
Julien is replaced in an interim basis by Dominique Ducharme, 47, who has been at Julien’s side since 2018. He is viewed as a progressive coach that will bring a new philosophy to Montreal’s bench.
Julien to the Seattle Kraken?
So will Julien be the first head coach in Seattle Kraken history? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s the extent of our conjecturing at this point.
But seriously, he will likely at least get considered for the job. Julien has 18 years of NHL head coaching experience that consists of two stints with the Canadiens, a brief stop in New Jersey, and 10 years behind Boston’s bench. His Bruins also hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2010-2011, and he boasts a career record of 667-445-152.
We at SOH do believe Seattle will select somebody with NHL head coaching experience as its first benchboss, and the team has made no bones about being patient until the right candidate becomes available. Is Julien that guy?
Artemi Panarin allegations are questionable
The other whopper of a story this week was New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin taking a leave of absence after being accused of assaulting a young woman in Riga, Latvia, in 2011. The claim comes from Panarin’s former KHL coach, Andrei Nazarov.
While most reports of this manner result in society quickly piling on athletes and celebrities and finding them guilty in the court of public perception, the opposite has happened here. Instead, countless journalists and former teammates and even the Rangers themselves have rushed to support Panarin, calling the accusations fabricated.
Well, Panarin has spoken out against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. On Jan. 21, Panarin posted on his Instagram in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived an attempted poisoning while traveling abroad. Navalny eventually returned to Russia and was promptly jailed by Putin’s regime upon arrival. His arrest led to mass protests throughout Russia.
This is pretty significant: New York Rangers superstar forward Artemi Panarin showing support for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny ahead of planned Saturday protests all over Russia. Hashtags this Instagram post “Freedom for Navalny” https://t.co/9rwcP87oKKpic.twitter.com/8zZyjEjOeO
And wouldn’t you know? Coach Nazarov happens to be a staunch Putin supporter. VICE News had a fantastic write-up on the fascinating and generally bizarre story.
NHL Outdoors was a disaster… But then it wasn’t!
The ice melted. Hand up, I’ll admit it. I did not see that coming.
Through the first period of the Avalanche versus Golden Knights on Saturday, ruts in the ice were horrible, guys were falling all over the place, and play was generally slow and choppy.
So, the league made the very tough call to postpone until 9PM Pacific that night, and also to push back the start of Sunday’s game between Boston and Philadelphia until the evening.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the remainder of today's #NHLOutdoors game at Lake Tahoe will resume tonight at 9pm PTpic.twitter.com/cOGVvVzyFz
In the end, it still was a great event, even with what some would perceive as an embarrassing eight-hour delay in the middle of the first game. The visuals were still stunning, the off-ice coverage was fun to consume, and the Flyers-Bruins game was the most-watched regular-season game ever to air on NBCSN.
Stealing the show was undoubtedly Gritty, who took in the sights of Lake Tahoe, shredded some gnar, and even crashed a wedding.
We can’t help feeling bad for Blades the Bruin, who played second fiddle to his Philadelphian counterpart all weekend, earning just a small fraction of Gritty’s recognition. Blades did have the last laugh when the Bruins beat the Flyers 7-3 on Sunday, though.
WHL schedule released
The WHL announced the full schedule for its US Division’s abbreviated season. The Seattle Thunderbirds will open on March 19 at home against the Spokane Chiefs. The Everett Silvertips will open the following night also at home and also against Spokane. The season will last until early May, and there will not be any playoffs.
Fans will not be allowed to attend games in person, but the WHL did announce a new streaming service through CHL TV that will allow viewing access to all scheduled WHL games. WHL Live, as it’s called, is $59.99 for the full season or $6.99 for a 24-hour pass. If you are a WHL fiend, remember, the Central Division starts play on Friday, so you’ll immediately have something to watch.
Seth Jarvis is good at hockey, Dustin Wolf bounces back
Typically, 19-year-old CHL players are ineligible to play in the AHL until their CHL season ends. But with the ongoing pandemic leaving major junior hockey in limbo for so long, the leagues made an unprecedented agreement to allow those that had signed entry-level pro contracts to temporarily level up until their respective CHL teams return.
Portland’s Seth Jarvis was selected in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. While he waits for his Winterhawks to return to play, he has been allowed to compete for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where he has been very impressive. Despite playing his first professional hockey, Jarvis already has six goals and three assists in just seven games.
Everett’s Dustin Wolf—selected in 2019 by the Calgary Flames—has been suiting up for the Stockton Heat. Wolf made his debut on Sunday and got shellacked by the Toronto Marlies, allowing five goals on just 11 shots. We’re happy to share that the friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast recovered beautifully in his next appearance, stopping 36 of 38 shots to earn his first professional win and first-star honors.
Wolf and Jarvis will return to the WHL when their teams start back up in March.
The King is back
Oh, you thought you had seen the last of Henrik Lundqvist’s dashing good looks after he said he wouldn’t play this season because of a heart condition? Well, look who’s back on the ice after open-heart surgery!
Could you imagine looking this good while running? I certainly can’t.
Today is a good day. The checkup with the doctor this morning reaffirmed what I’ve been feeling last few weeks, everything looking great. It energized me so much I had to go out for a run (FYI, I’m not a runner) Today is a good day! 😃👍🏻#Stepbysteppic.twitter.com/AXrZzMDbts
The Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL will officially change its name (temporarily) to the Sioux Falls Fighting Wiener Dogs on Saturday. It’s the second time the team has performed this stunt, which comes in conjunction with the Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Races. Get your Wiener Dog gear here!
Bruce Boudreau bought his second USPHL team over the summer, this one in Hershey, PA, his full-time home. The team has cleverly named itself the Hershey Cubs, and the logo is a thing of beauty.
The Cubs logo takes after the old Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA, for whom Boudreau played in the 1975-1976 season.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Lots to talk about on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, as John, Andy, and Darren break down NHL Outdoors and all the good/bad times that were associated with the picturesque event. The star of the show was predictably Gritty, who gets plenty of airtime devoted to him on this episode.
There were also a couple major scandals that erupted this week in the NHL. Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the Rangers after a big accusation out of Russia. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes apparently have a lot of bad stuff happening behind the scenes, as was expertly reported by Katie Strang. The Sound Of Hockey guys fill you in on the details.
The guys give their Three Stars (all players this week!).
They then move from bits to segments, with segments including Let’s Get Quizzical, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
If you glance at Vegas’ crop of players in the 2017 Expansion Draft, and then back at their current Championship-caliber roster, you may wonder: How did we get here?
Vegas built a roster immediately ready to contend largely because of crafty side deals, but there were still some noteworthy selections purely from the Expansion Draft.
Although only five players actually selected in the draft remain with Vegas today, 15 players on the Golden Knights’ roster can be tracked back to Expansion Draft deals.
Here’s a look at where all these players are today:
Anaheim Ducks — Clayton Stoner, D
Stoner’s selection was contingent on the Ducks dealing promising prospect Shea Theodore to Vegas, presumingly so Vegas wouldn’t take defensemen Sami Vatanen or Josh Manson.
Stoner, a former Tri-City Americans star, never played that season — or again for that matter. Vegas absorbed the final year of his $3.25 million contract and the Golden Knights gained a player that could feasibly win a Norris Trophy in Theodore.
Despite never suiting up for Vegas, Stoner joined the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights coaching staff after he retired in 2019 and is currently an associate coach for the South Island Royals under-18 AAA team, based out of Victoria, British Columbia.
Arizona Coyotes — Teemu Pulkkinen, LW
Pulkkinen never played for Vegas after the Golden Knights selected him in the Expansion Draft, even though he put up 65 points for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in 2017-18. Pulkkinen left North America after that season and is currently playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL, Russia’s top league.
Boston Bruins — Colin Miller, D
Miller was a key contributor for Vegas in its first two seasons before being traded to Buffalo before the 2019-20 season for a second-round pick in 2021 and a fifth-round pick in 2022. Miller is still with the Sabres and remains a potent offensive threat, but his ice time has dipped a bit since moving on from Vegas.
Buffalo Sabres — William Carrier, LW
The Sabres slid over a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to ensure the Golden Knights selected Carrier instead of someone like goaltender Linus Ullmark. Carrier remains a solid depth piece for the Golden Knights.
With that sixth-round pick, Vegas selected Jiri Patera, who starred for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and was signed to an entry-level contract. He’s listed on the Henderson Silver Knights’ roster, the Golden Knights’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.
Calgary Flames — Deryk Engelland, D
Engelland, who was beloved during his time with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL in the early 2000s, was a feel-good story and a valuable contributor for the Golden Knights until his retirement following the 2019-20 season. Engelland is sticking around in Nevada and working for the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation as the special assistant to the owner.
Carolina Hurricanes — Connor Brickley, C
The Hurricanes, under the leadership of future Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis, dangled a fifth-round pick out to Vegas on the condition the Golden Knights took pending free agent Connor Brickley, who signed with Florida that offseason.
After a season with the Panthers organization and another with the Rangers, Brickley played last season with EC Salzburg in the Austrian Hockey League, where he put up 26 points in 33 games. He isn’t listed on any rosters for this season.
The Golden Knights selected Jack Dugan, a former Providence College star, with the fifth-round pick acquired. Dugan is currently with the Henderson Silver Knights and is Vegas’ third-ranked prospect, according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler.
Chicago Blackhawks — Trevor van Riemsdyk, D
The Golden Knights selected van Riemsdyk and immediately flipped him, along with a seventh-round pick in 2018, to Carolina for a second-round pick in 2017.
Van Riemsdyk signed with Washington in the offseason after three so-so seasons in Carolina and has been in and out of the lineup for the Capitals this season.
The Golden Knights used that second-rounder on Jake Leschyshyn, who played in the WHL for Regina and Lethbridge and is currently playing for the Henderson Silver Knights, but appears to have lost some prospect shine since being taken No. 62 overall.
Colorado Avalanche — Calvin Pickard, G
This selection seems pretty unassuming on the surface, but it has some interesting ramifications.
Pickard, a former Seattle Thunderbirds netminder, never played a regular-season game with the Golden Knights, as he was traded to Toronto for a sixth-round pick and prospect Tobias Lindberg.
Pickard, 28, remains an NHL journeyman. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native is on his fourth different franchise since being traded from Vegas. He is currently in the Detroit Red Wings organization.
Lindberg has bounced around the league, too.
The Golden Knights traded him to Pittsburgh for forward Ryan Reaves and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, then the Penguins moved him to Ottawa, the team that initially drafted him, and the Senators eventually dealt him back to Vegas in the Mark Stone blockbuster.
Lindberg is currently playing in Sweden, and Stone and Reaves are still integral parts of Vegas’ current roster.
The 2018 sixth-round pick acquired in the Pickard deal was used on Peter Diliberatore, who has 14 points in 22 games for Quinnipiac University this season.
The 2018 fourth-round pick in the Reaves deal was spent on defenseman Slava Demin, who played with the BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild in 2016-17 and is currently playing for the University of Denver.
Columbus Blue Jackets — William Karlsson, C
There’s a ton to unpack here.
Karlsson was one of the most noteworthy selections in the Expansion Draft, not just because of how influential he was in Vegas’ debut season, but for how much Columbus gave up to make sure he was drafted.
The Blue Jackets traded their first-round pick in 2017, a second-round pick in 2019, and veteran forward David Clarkson (and the rest of his $5.25 million AAV contract that ran through 2019-20) so that Vegas would select Karlsson.
Salary cap relief, along with ensuring forward Josh Anderson and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo weren’t taken, was the main directive for Columbus. But Karlsson blossoming into a top-line center that finished third in the NHL with 43 goals in his first season with Vegas is still a tough pill to swallow for the Blue Jackets.
Karlsson remains a top-line center while Clarkson never played in an NHL game — he was eventually traded to Toronto along with a fourth-round pick in 2019 for goalie Garret Sparks.
That first-round pick acquired by Vegas was flipped to Winnipeg for the No. 13 overall pick in the draft. Vegas selected Nick Suzuki, who is one of the best young players in hockey, and sent him to Montreal, along with the second-round pick from Columbus, in the trade that sent Max Pacioretty to Sin City.
Dallas Stars — Cody Eakin, C
The veteran pivot played two-and-a-half seasons with the Golden Knights until Vegas shipped him to Winnipeg for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021. Eakin signed with Buffalo this past offseason and has been a middle-six contributor in the Sabres lineup.
Detroit Red Wings — Tomas Nosek, LW
The 28-year-old remains with Vegas as a depth piece and is a key penalty killer. Nosek is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Florida Panthers — Jonathan Marchessault, LW
In one of the most puzzling situations in the Expansion Draft, Florida not only let Vegas select Marchessault, but traded away winger Reilly Smith for a fourth-round pick in 2018.
Marchessault remains a dynamic contributor high in Vegas’ lineup and inked a six-year, $30 million contract with Vegas. The 30-year-old won’t be a free agent until 2024.
Smith, 29, is also an important offensive producer for the Golden Knights. Perhaps Florida was eager to dump Smith’s $25 million contract after an underwhelming campaign in 2016-17. But considering Florida coerced Vegas to take Smith and Marchessault to avoid the likes of Mark Pysyk, Alex Petrovic, and Jason Demers from being taken, it’s easy to wonder what former Florida general manager Dale Tallon was thinking there.
Also, Florida fired Gerard Gallant, who immediately took Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas’ first season.
As the internet would say, that’s a big ole yikes.
But all was not lost for the Panthers. That fourth-round pick helped the Panthers trade for Mike Hoffman, who the Panthers let walk this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
At least you have that, Florida Panthers fans.
Edmonton Oilers — Griffin Reinhart, D
Reinhart was the No. 4 overall pick to the New York Islanders in 2012 but never turned into an NHL regular. Vegas gambled on his pedigree, but after two seasons in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, he signed with the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL last season and is currently with the Iserlohn Roosters in Germany.
Los Angeles Kings — Brayden McNabb, D
McNabb remains with the Golden Knights after Vegas signed the defenseman to a four-year $10 million extension early in his first year with the franchise. The 30-year-old rearguard is currently on long-term IR with a lower-body injury, but remains a key contributor to Vegas’ defensive core when healthy.
Minnesota Wild — Erik Haula, C
The Wild traded young forward Alex Tuch in exchange for a conditional third-round pick and Vegas’ selection of Haula in the Expansion Draft, presumably so the Golden Knights wouldn’t nab someone like defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella or forward Eric Staal.
Haula played a top-six role in Vegas’ debut season, but a knee injury derailed his sophomore season with the Golden Knights. Vegas eventually traded Haula to Carolina for Nicolas Roy and a conditional fifth-round pick, and the Hurricanes later flipped the Finnish forward to the Florida Panthers in the deal that sent Vincent Trocheck back to Carolina.
Haula is now with the Predators on a one-year deal, playing in a top-six role.
Tuch, 24, is still with Vegas and playing a significant role.
With that conditional third-round pick, the Wild selected former Everett Silvertips star Connor Dewar, who is playing for the Wild’s AHL team in Iowa.
Montreal Canadiens — Alexei Emelin, D
After selecting Emelin, the Golden Knights immediately flipped him to Nashville for a third-round pick in 2018. The Russian defenseman played one season in Nashville before bolting to his home country to play for Omsk Avangard of the KHL, where he still plays.
That third-round pick Vegas acquired was used on defenseman Layton Ahac, who is currently playing for Ohio State University.
Nashville Predators — James Neal, LW
Neal played one season in Vegas and was a top-six player for the Golden Knights’ Cup run before signing with the Calgary Flames the ensuing offseason. The 33-year-old winger was eventually flipped to Edmonton for Milan Lucic, but he was placed on waivers on Feb. 13 and it appears his tenure with the Oilers may be over.
New Jersey Devils — Jon Merrill, D
Merrill was a depth defenseman for Vegas for three seasons before signing with Detroit this past offseason. The 29-year-old blueliner has two points in 10 games for the Red Wings this season.
New York Islanders — Jean-Francois Berube, G
Berube never played for the Golden Knights — he signed with Chicago as soon as free agency began after the Expansion Draft — but the Islanders offered a king’s ransom (a first-round pick in 2017, a second-round pick in 2019, veteran Mikhail Grabovski, and prospect Jake Bischoff) so Vegas would take the pending free agent and New York wouldn’t lose someone like Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Thomas Hickey, or Calvin de Haan.
Berube played one season for Chicago and has bounced around the AHL ever since.
Grabovski, now 36, never played after the 2015-16 season and officially retired in 2019. Bischoff remains a part of the Vegas organization and is playing for Henderson.
As for the draft picks, Vegas nabbed defenseman Erik Brannstrom with the No. 15 overall pick, who was the crown jewel prospect in the trade that brought two-way dynamo Mark Stone to Vegas.
The second-round pick was flipped to Detroit in the package for Tomas Tatar.
New York Rangers — Oscar Lindberg, C
Lindberg played one-and-a-half seasons for Vegas in a bottom-six role before being flipped to Ottawa in the Stone trade. The Swedish forward is currently playing for Moscow Dynamo in the KHL.
Ottawa Senators — Marc Methot, D
Methot was immediately traded to Dallas for goalie prospect Dylan Ferguson and a second-round pick in 2020. After undergoing knee surgery in the 2019-2020 season, Methot appears to have retired.
Ferguson is currently playing in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights.
The second-round pick acquired by Dallas was included in the Mark Stone trade.
Philadelphia Flyers — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, RW
Bellemare played two seasons for the Golden Knights in a third-line role, and the 35-year-old is currently playing in a similar spot with Colorado after signing a two-year, $3.6 million deal before the 2019-20 season.
Pittsburgh Penguins — Marc-Andre Fleury, G
With Matt Murray seizing the reins of Pittsburgh’s crease — oh, how times have changed — the Penguins slid over a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Vegas selecting Fleury and alleviating Pittsburgh’s goalie logjam. It also cleared $5 million in cap space for Pittsburgh.
“Flower,” as Fleury is colloquially known, is still in Vegas after leading the Golden Knights to the Cup Final in 2017-18, and remains one of the most beloved athletes in the market, if not the entire NHL.
Sure, Robin Lehner claimed the bulk of starts last year, but with Lehner sidelined with an injury, Fleury, now 36, has played at an extremely high level this season. He is on the second year of a three-year, $21 million contract extension with Vegas.
Almost ironically, the second-round pick Vegas acquired to select Fleury was dealt to Chicago for Lehner during last year’s trade deadline.
San Jose Sharks — David Schlemko, D
Schlemko was flipped to Montreal immediately after the Expansion Draft for a fifth-round pick in 2019. After two seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL, Schlemko hasn’t played since the 2018-2019 season.
That fifth-round pick was used on Marcus Kallionkieli, who is with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. Brandon was previously owned by Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who remains the Wheat Kings’ alternate governor. Kallionkieli is a long shot to play this season in Brandon due to travel restrictions coming into Canada.
St. Louis Blues — David Perron, LW
Perron put up 66 points for Vegas in 2017-18 before returning to St. Louis as a free agent the following season. The 32-year-old is still playing a key role for the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions and is on the third year of a four-year, $16 million deal.
Tampa Bay Lightning — Jason Garrison, D
The Golden Knights picked up two draft picks — a second-rounder in 2017 and a fourth-rounder in 2018 — and promising prospect Nikita Gusev on the contingency that Vegas selected veteran defenseman Jason Garrison and took the remaining $4.6 million of his contract off Tampa’s books.
Garrison played eight games for Vegas in 2017-18, but mostly was stuck in the AHL for Chicago. He moved on to Edmonton in 2018-19 before jumping to Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Hockey League. He isn’t listed on a roster.
Gusev never played for Vegas, despite putting up huge numbers in the KHL. The Golden Knights traded Gusev to New Jersey when he was a restricted free agent, mostly due to salary complications, for a third-round pick in 2020 and a second-round pick in 2021. Gusev is playing in a key offensive role for New Jersey.
Vegas picked up former Seattle Thunderbird great Keegan Kolesar by trading the second-rounder acquired from the Lightning to Columbus. The Blue Jackets selected French forward Alexandre Texier with the pick, who is playing big minutes for the Blue Jackets. Kolesar has cracked Vegas’ lineup and has played in 10 games for the Golden Knights this season.
Vegas selected Paul Cotter with the 2018 fourth-round pick in the Garrison trade. Cotter has a point in four games with the Henderson Silver Knights this season.
The Golden Knights nabbed defenseman Lukas Cormier from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the third-round pick acquired in the Gusev deal.
Toronto Maple Leafs — Brendan Leipsic, LW
Leipsic, a former Portland Winterhawks star, played 44 games for Vegas in its inaugural season before being dealt to Vancouver for Philip Holm — who is currently playing in the KHL.
Leipsic is playing for CSKA Moscow after a social media controversy uncovering misogynistic direct messages prompted his release from the Washington Capitals last year.
Washington Capitals — Nate Schmidt, D
Schmidt struggled to make a huge impact with the Capitals, but developed into a bona fide top-pairing defenseman and a fan favorite with the Golden Knights.
Schmidt was traded to Vancouver this past offseason for a third-round pick in 2022. The 29-year-old rearguard is still playing a significant role for the Canucks.
Winnipeg Jets — Chris Thorburn, RW
In order to prevent Vegas from selecting Marko Dano or Tobias Enstrom — neither of whom are playing in the NHL now — the Jets flopped first-round picks, trading down from No. 13 to No. 24, acquired by Vegas from Columbus, in addition to a third-round pick in 2019 so Vegas would select Thorburn, a pending free agent.
Thorburn signed with the Blues in the free agency period. The veteran forward played just one game for the Stanley Cup Champion Blues in 2018-19, but still was a part of St. Louis’ Stanley Cup run. He retired soon after.
The third-round pick was flipped to several teams and eventually landed with New Jersey, who selected defenseman Michael Vukojevic from the Ontario Hockey League.
Vancouver Canucks: Luca Sbisa, D
The veteran defenseman played in 30 regular-season games and 14 playoff games in the Golden Knights’ inaugural season before signing as an unrestricted free agent with the Islanders the following offseason. Sbisa remains in the NHL with Nashville after the Predators claimed him off waivers in January.
Reliving Vegas’ Expansion Draft triumphs really makes you wonder: What kind of magic, especially with a flat salary cap, can Seattle GM Ron Francis pull off this summer?
Josh Horton is a freelance writer, former newspaper journalist, and former Western Hockey League writer for the Everett Herald and The Spokesman-Review (Spokane). He is NOT a juggler, nor is he a former professional baseball player. Follow him on Twitter @byjoshhorton.
It was a pretty quiet news week on the Seattle Kraken front, but the team did put out the below video showing that the tunnel into Climate Pledge Arena has been completed.
The tunnel will allow trucks to pull right onto the arena floor, making for easier set-up for large-scale events. Perhaps the most exciting part of the video, though, is the image of the future Seattle Kraken home as a whole. It’s getting there, folks.
NHL Outdoors
In case you’re missing Saturday’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, you’ll have another chance to take in the stunning imagery on Sunday when the Philadelphia Flyers face the Boston Bruins on the same makeshift rink. Read Andy Eide’s preview of the games here.
Nick Cotsonika has had some breathtaking photos on his Twitter feed the past few days.
I have a bone to pick with the Colorado Avalanche, though. This team has been wearing heinous blue pants that really don’t match with either their home burgundy uniforms or their road whites. The general understanding around the hockey universe was that since Colorado’s Reverse Retro jerseys are throwbacks to the Quebec Nordiques, the blue pants would eventually make more sense once those kits were put into game action.
So what do the Avs do? They show up to NHL Outdoors in BURGUNDY PANTS! WTF?!?
You’re telling me they could have been wearing burgundy pants all season long—which clearly would match better with both of their typical uniforms—and yet they continue to trot out in those blue monstrosities? Unacceptable. Sound Of Hockey demands an explanation from the Colorado Avalanche on this matter.
The Jack Eichel rumor mill churns again
Back in September, Bobby Margarita briefly came out of “retirement,” or whatever he’s calling it, to drop a classic Bob Bomb via a long Twitter thread starting with the below.
Imagine my surprise when I started making calls today and heard Jack Eichel trade rumours, including unverified chatter he may have at some point recently requested a trade out of BUF and that NYR were amongst interested teams. This, of course, required further investigation.
The gist of the thread is that what he was hearing was just a bunch of nonsense. But some of us here at SOH wondered at the time if there was any smoke to go with that fire, because frankly, why would Bob tweet about that at all if there really wasn’t anything there?
Well, fast forward five months and—surprise, surprise—the Buffalo Sabres stink again. This Tage Thompson play from this week sums things up nicely.
Before we move on from the Thompson play, it’s also remarkable how Tom Wilson reacted after receiving that generous gift in front of the net, but that’s beside the point.
Ok, back to Buffalo. The stinkiness of the Sabres has reignited the trade rumors surrounding Eichel, and as yet another Buffalo season heads down the trash chute, one can’t help wondering what happens with Taylor Hall as well. Remember, he is on a one-year deal, and we at Sound Of Hockey had surmised that he could end up a candidate for joining the Kraken as a free agent in the 48-hour negotiating window prior to the Expansion Draft. Hall will certainly be on the block at the trade deadline too if things don’t take a turn for the better in Buffalo very soon.
The Arizona Coyotes are still a mess
Optimism was in the desert air when billionaire businessman Alex Meruelo bought the Coyotes back in July, 2019. In his introductory press conference, he famously said, “We’re Coyote Nation, we want to win, and I sure as s**t want to win.”
The incomparable Katie Strang released a fascinating exposé in The Athletic this week documenting in great detail what has transpired since Meruelo’s purchase of the franchise. Let’s just say the optimism of 2019 has left the building.
Strang indicates some pretty serious financial issues, from missed payments to players, staff, and partners to shady business practices. She also paints a picture of a toxic work environment for staff that’s marred by finger-pointing, fear, and even some occasional harassment.
Strang goes so far as to point out that she herself was threatened by Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong. “After delivering a lecture on journalism ethics, Armstrong asked this reporter what she thought would happen if he were to tell general managers around the league how she did her job.”
Yikes.
Around the boards
Mike Babcock is apparently, uh… back… in… the… game?
Here’s a wild one. Sources say Mike Babcock will be announced head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies next week.
The ECHL’s Brampton Beast is (are?) ceasing operations, citing the seemingly endless economic challenges associated with the COVID pandemic. The Beast lasted seven seasons and served as an affiliate for the Lightning, Senators, and Canadiens at different stages. Brampton was also the subject of one of the best hockey articles ever, written by Scott Wheeler on his time embedded with the team in 2018. RIP, Beast.
To lighten the mood, check out these dirty dangles by young Elyssa Biederman.
GOTTA SEE THIS!!! Elyssa Biederman of the little Caesars u16 girls team pulls NASTY heel drag between the legs before scoring!!! pic.twitter.com/2FsaCvksWw
[Record scratch, freeze-frame, linesman Ryan Galloway narrating]: “You might be wondering how I got here.”
No, Galloway did not get hit with this shot, and yes, Seth Jones did score here.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Things get quite feisty in Goalie Gear Corner this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, as John goes on thin ice after making asinine claims about the legitimacy of Darren’s selections for the segment. That segment alone is worth the price of admission this week.
It’s a short and sweet episode, as John, Andy, and Darren rip through a couple of Seattle Kraken and women’s hockey headlines, then cover the… [checks notes]… blockbuster Ryan Dzingel and Alex Galchenyuk trade(s).
Bits this week include SOH Three Stars.
Segments include GGC, You Don’t See That Every Day, an impossible Let’s Get Quizzical, and Weekly One-Timers.
