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snowywolfowlSo congratulations to the residents of Las Vegas on their new NHL team, the Golden Knights. It will be a long couple of years at first until you're in the middle of the road but you'll get there. Here's what I'm hoping for you:
1. That you get a really good goalie. Good news is that with teams only able to protect one goalie on the roster, and several teams having reasonable depth in net you'll get that. Right now the smart money is that your goalie will be Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury. He's good, has a couple of Stanley Cups, including one as a starter, and will steal a few points.
2. You get some forwards who can score: This one is harder. Teams are going to protect their best scorers so you'll get a lot of third and fourth liners, which doesn't bode well for you. Still, you have a good General Manager in George McPhee, and if there's someone out there he can grab he'll likely find a twenty goal guy.
3. That you get some good defence that can at least keep the shot count down: You won't get any great offensive guys but you might be able to defend a bit. Without good defence it won't matter how good the goalie is, and if you get some good defencemen you might be able to swing a trade or two for some offence.
4. That the odds be in your favour: You will get the third seed for the draft lottery and I will be hoping you get that first overall pick. You can usually get a good player although with all drafts its a crap shoot. Trust me, I cheer for Ottawa. We drafted one of the biggest busts of all time with the first over all pick, and the next guy chosen is in the Hall of Fame. :( We would have been better off if we had drafted Satan himself.
Btw, I'm 100% serious there. Miroslav Satan had 735 points in 1050 games. Not bad for a fifth rounder. :) Lets just say thats the type of draft that gets your team somewhere. You need those later round picks to come up.
So with all that, welcome to the NHL Las Vegas!
1. That you get a really good goalie. Good news is that with teams only able to protect one goalie on the roster, and several teams having reasonable depth in net you'll get that. Right now the smart money is that your goalie will be Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury. He's good, has a couple of Stanley Cups, including one as a starter, and will steal a few points.
2. You get some forwards who can score: This one is harder. Teams are going to protect their best scorers so you'll get a lot of third and fourth liners, which doesn't bode well for you. Still, you have a good General Manager in George McPhee, and if there's someone out there he can grab he'll likely find a twenty goal guy.
3. That you get some good defence that can at least keep the shot count down: You won't get any great offensive guys but you might be able to defend a bit. Without good defence it won't matter how good the goalie is, and if you get some good defencemen you might be able to swing a trade or two for some offence.
4. That the odds be in your favour: You will get the third seed for the draft lottery and I will be hoping you get that first overall pick. You can usually get a good player although with all drafts its a crap shoot. Trust me, I cheer for Ottawa. We drafted one of the biggest busts of all time with the first over all pick, and the next guy chosen is in the Hall of Fame. :( We would have been better off if we had drafted Satan himself.
Btw, I'm 100% serious there. Miroslav Satan had 735 points in 1050 games. Not bad for a fifth rounder. :) Lets just say thats the type of draft that gets your team somewhere. You need those later round picks to come up.
So with all that, welcome to the NHL Las Vegas!
