The incredible run continues, leading to a change of heart from your humble narrator...

THIS TEAM IS FOR REAL

When I decided I was going to become a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights, I did so with the idea that I would be witness to a team slowly being built in the salary cap era. The Expansion Draft was supposed to stock the roster with average players, and I imagined the team was going to struggle to compete in the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the team would trade away all of the players with expiring contracts and build a “war chest” of draft picks for the future.

But then the season started.

Two surprising wins on the road, followed by a very successful 7-game home stand, propelled the Knights into first place by the end of the season’s first month. They were the talk of the NHL, but that couldn’t possibly last. On top of that, the top three goalies on the roster all suffered injuries and a formidable road trip in November would seemingly bring the team back to Earth.

But it didn’t.

Yes, the team did limp through that road trip and fall out of first place, but they quickly rebounded once they returned to Vegas to continue their hot streak at home. Convincing wins over strong teams in the West (Winnipeg, Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim) helped to solidify their status as a serious contender.

But I still wasn’t convinced, until the final month of 2017 rolled around.

December would only feature five road games, but they were all in tough environments: I was sure the Knights would lose many of them, perhaps even all five. Instead, they won four of those five contests: a hard-fought shootout victory in Nashville; an impressive win in Dallas against a Stars team that had dominated Vegas during their two previous matchups; and back-to-back wins in Anaheim and Los Angeles after the Christmas holiday.

But what about their home record? Could they continue their terrific play at T-Mobile Arena?

In a word, yes. A five-game home stand against Eastern Conference opponents saw the team go 4-0-1, besting both the defending Stanley Cup champions from Pittsburgh and the Tampa Bay Lightning, owners of the NHL’s best record. The team was clicking on all cylinders and distancing themselves from the rest of the teams in the West.

As a result, I’m prepared to say something I never thought I’d say during the summer: this team is a legitimate contender in their inaugural season. But if the organizational philosophy was to seemingly blow off this season and the next to build for a playoff run in Year 3, how do they alter their course to continue winning now while also setting the team up for long-term success? I’ve got some thoughts on that…

DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRADE A UFA OR TWO

This team has perfectly adopted the style that head coach Gerard Gallant chose to implement - which means that removing one or two key contributors might not set the team back as far as one might think. When Luca Sbisa went down with injury, Brayden McNabb filled in on the top pair and Jon Merrill came out of the press box for added depth, and yet the team didn’t miss a beat. As impressive as Sbisa was during the early part of the season, I see no reason why trading him away would be detrimental to the team. In fact, he should have good value to another team pushing for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, star forwards (and pending free agents) David Perron and James Neal continue to rack up points and increase their trade value - wouldn’t it make sense to sell high? I previously supported the notion of promoting Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Hyka - who are both playing well in the AHL - so that even if there was a slight dip in scoring with the departure of Perron and Neal, the team could conceivably remain significantly unharmed.

On the other hand, Jonathan Marchessault needs to be extended immediately. He has been arguably the Knights’ MVP so far, and he’s young enough to remain a part of the team’s core for years to come.  It's time to reward one of the NHL's best kept secrets!

CONTINUE DEVELOPING THE DRAFT PICKS

If George McPhee holds onto some key pieces after the trade deadline, I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world. That’s because he already loaded up on prospects in last summer’s Entry Draft (selecting 12 players), and has amassed multiple picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts to keep the pipeline stocked moving forward. The key here is making sure the drafted players continue to develop successfully.

First-round picks Cody Glass and Nick Suzuki were both invited to Team Canada’s camp for the World Junior Championship, though both were cut before the final roster was announced. Hopefully, this will be motivation for them to continue their already impressive seasons in the CHL. While fifth-round pick Lucas Elvenes was one of the final roster cuts for Sweden’s World Junior team, his countryman - first-round pick Erik Brannstrom - has already turned heads in the tournament.

Second-round pick Nic Hague has dazzled in the OHL this season, and is eligible to play with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves as early as 2018-19. As he seemingly has little left to prove at the Junior level, one can only hope he’ll be with the Wolves by the start of next season. Free agent signee Dylan Coghlan has also been impressive with Tri-City of the WHL and should make his debut in the AHL next year as well.

As you can see, the Knights have a solid group of prospects, combined with multiple picks in future Entry Drafts - so if the team decides NOT to trade for more picks this year, I don’t think it will be entirely bad. As compared to previous expansion teams, Vegas was able to fill their roster with younger players who can actually grow with this team.

What does this all mean? I guess it means the Knights can fight for the playoffs this year AND be in great shape for the foreseeable future. It’s the best of both worlds and it’s absolutely blowing my mind. Consider me a believer!!


LAST MONTH'S PREDICTIONS

I. MARC-ANDRE FLEURY WILL NOT RETURN TO THE LINEUP
I have never been so happy to be so wrong - call it “reverse psychology”. After a shootout loss to Carolina in his first game back, Fleury has looked like the #1 goalie we hoped he would be, winning four consecutive starts and backstopping the team to the best record in the Western Conference. I know the team’s goalie depth has been surprisingly strong, but I certainly hope "The Flower" can stay healthy and keep up this level of play all season.

II. WILLIAM KARLSSON WILL REACH 20 GOALS AND 40 POINTS ON THE SEASON
A hat trick on the final day of December brought Wild Bill to 20 goals on the season, but his 13 assists so far have left him short of my prediction.  I guess it was bound to happen, but I was enjoying Karlsson's red-hot start and didn’t want it to end - I prefer being optimistic but I may have gone too far.  Still, he has solidified his line with Marchessault and Reilly Smith and will continue to put up career-best numbers, even if he didn’t reach both of the lofty goals I had set for him this past month. 

III. NO, SERIOUSLY, A TRADE WILL FINALLY BE COMPLETED
Okay, I give up on this.  As I just explained, the team’s success on the ice is preventing McPhee from shaking up the roster, so the lack of a trade is not surprising. Even though the trade deadline will soon be upon us, I really don’t know if we should expect any moves at all - until possibly the last minute, of course.


NEXT MONTH'S PREDICTIONS

I. MARC-ANDRE FLEURY WILL BE NAMED TO THE ALL-STAR TEAM
This seemed like the obvious call after the Expansion Draft: the “face of the franchise” would be the lone bright spot on a middling team and would be forced to be the lone Vegas player at the All-Star game. But now it seems even more likely, as he has stood out as one of the best goaltenders in the league, let alone the Pacific Division.

II. ONE MORE KNIGHT WILL JOIN FLEURY ON THE ALL-STAR TEAM
Just when you thought Fleury would be their only All-Star, the team went out and surged to the top of the division. As a result, I would not be surprised one bit if another Knight was selected to play in Tampa later this month.  James Neal seems like the obvious choice, just from his name recognition and knack for scoring big goals, but I would love to see Jonathan Marchessault continue his Cinderella story with an All-Star nod.  And what about William Karlsson?  Vegas has no shortage of talent to send to the All-Star Game, so I fully expect multiple representatives from the Silver State.

III. BRENDAN LEIPSIC WILL QUINTUPLE HIS SCORING OUTPUT
I’m one of his biggest fans, so I hated to see Leipsic struggle to score a goal all year.  Just as I was set to predict that he’d finally score his first goal next month, he got the monkey off his back and tallied a huge marker against the Kings on December 27. As the cliche goes, I firmly believe this will “open the flood gates” and Leipsic’s scoring touch will flourish - a nice round number like 5 seems like a healthy prediction for the following month!

And with that, I bid thee farewell!