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Breakout Candidates

September 10, 2021, 8:38 AM ET [5 Comments]
Guest Writer
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The Golden Knights will need a few things to go right to take another step forward. Which is needed if they intend to win the Stanley Cup.

They face an issue teams that routinely go deep in the playoffs face. Year after year of post-season attrition can hinder a team’s ability to take steps forward due to injury and fatigue accumulation. Pacioretty played through injury in the playoffs. Stone was out of gas by round three and was out of the lineup the season prior with injury. Martinez was playing through an injury before playoffs even began. Stephenson, Lehner, Karlsson all dealt with injuries that held them out of the lineup at some point last season.

With such a top heavy cap structure, GM Kelly McCrimmon has had to do a bit of bargain bin shopping in the hope that some of the acquired players exceed the on-ice value of their cap hit. Not ideal, but I think McCrimmon has done a decent job at doing exactly that.

You shouldn’t expect 40-50 point seasons out these players. This is a list of players that have a shot at seeing a bump in their production, ice time or responsibilities on the team. If that happens for a few of them; we might see the Golden Knights actually look better this upcoming season.



Peyton Krebs — Krebs has the best shot at a major increase in ice time and responsibilities next year. The organization seems to be extremely high on him and all it might take is a sore wrist or bout with the flu from Stephenson or Karlsson for Krebs to see time in the top 6. Given the mileage on the roster, that could happen even in week 1.

2020-2021 4GP 0G 1A 1pt
AHL 2020-2021 5GP 1G 4A 5pts

Tough to predict the opportunities he earns, but a 25-30 point season could be in the cards if he forces his way into the top 6.



RW Keegan Kolesar — It was physically painful to see this guy jump over the boards last season. The amount of times he hit a post or was robbed by a miraculous save was brutal. He had 3 goals and 13 points last season, but it could have easily been 8 goals and 25 points. The organization is well aware that he is scratching the surface of his potential. Cody Glass was subjected to the roster shuffle often due to McCrimmon not wanting to expose Kolesar to waivers. Almost any team in the NHL would want this guy with the physical package he brings .

2020-2021 44GP 3G 10A

Expect to see an increase in minutes and (hopefully) puck luck. His size (6’2” 227lbs) and skating is an important aspect in his contribution during the playoffs and I expect him to have a greater impact next post-season.



RW Evgenii Dadonov — His acquisition is rather baffling. The Knights still have to sign Nolan Patrick and the Knights are already at the cap. They either have a player or two beyond Alex Tuch that is going on to LTIR or McCrimmon has to make a move. He’s seen his production drop drastically in the last three years. Here’s a look at his production:

2017-2018 74GP 28G 37A 65pts
2018-2019 82GP 28G 42A 70pts
2019-2020 69GP 25G 22A 47pts
2020-2021 55GP 13G 7A 20pts

That decline is steep. At a five million dollar cap hit for the next two seasons; McCrimmon is betting on a rebound from the aging, offensively declining winger. Still, with more insulation in the lineup and easier competition he may have a chance at a bump in production.




RW/C Nicolas Roy — Roy had a big playoffs last year. He landed himself between Pacioretty and Stone by the third round. He was arguably the Golden Knights best player for a few of those games. Given DeBoer’s net driving offence there is a chance Roy has a good year. Particularly if there are injuries. Last year his stat line was:

2020-2021 50GP 6G 9A 15pts

With the right circumstances, Roy could push his production up to the 25 point range. Last playoffs he showed he has that ability.




C Nolan Patrick — First of all, Patrick needs a contract. His health is a huge question mark and he just couldn’t seem to get his play up to the tempo a regular spot in the NHL requires.

2020-2021 52GP 4G 5A 9pts +/-:-30

I include his abysmal +/- because it certainly tells a story. The season off really hurt his game — but he’s showed he can produce around 30 points in the past. With the right set-up and if stars align it could be even more. Realistically, expect a small bump in points. Likely sitting around 20-25 points if he’s healthy this season. The sky is the limit with his talent level, but everything just seems to go wrong for him so far in his young career.


Time will tell whether these were good moves or not. Dadonov would be a huge surprise and he is easily the biggest gamble McCrimmon made this offseason. Trading a Vezina winning goalie for space needs to be justified. I don’t think it’s a controversial opinion to say this was a poor bet, but if one or two of these guys have breakout seasons then there is a case to be made that the Golden Knights are a better team going into this season compared to last.


Thanks for reading,

Trevor Neufeld
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