Brannstrom versus Bischoff is over, but that's not the only camp roster battle left.
16 forwards remain on the Golden Knights roster. There are 13 forward spots up for grabs.
View post on imgur.com
Excluding the shoo-ins and assuming Cody Eakin (lower body injury, day-to-day) is banged up enough to miss opening night, that leaves us, arguably, with this trio contending for the final forward spot: Oscar Lindberg, Daniel Carr, and Curtis McKenzie.
McKenzie is a goner -- in all fairness, an injury has precluded the veteran from seeing any pre-season action so far, including last night's 2-0 win over Los Angeles -- so we're weighing Lindberg or Carr.
Both, in different ways, are compelling cases.
Lindberg is the breakout star that never was.
When the Golden Knights opened their inaugural season in Dallas, the Swede was on a line between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. William Karlsson was on the
third line with Erik Haula.
But after five goals in October, including arguably the prettiest
Golden Knights goal of the year -- that is, until Karlsson
upstaged him once more -- Lindberg recorded just four more over his last 52 games. A concussion and constant line shuffling didn't help.
Gerard Gallant fessed up, "[Oscar], probably more than anybody else, played every position up front. He played on every different line. I thought he did a pretty good job."
Gallant added, "I'm sure he wasn't satisfied because he was kind of roving all over the place. He was sort of the odd man out a lot."
"Obviously not consistent enough," conceded Lindberg, of his season.
That didn't stop George McPhee from
musing to The Athletic recently, "Could Oscar Lindberg break through and be a 20-goal guy this year?"
As a 13th forward, that'll be a challenge.
But McPhee's rhetorical question is a tacit admission of Lindberg's ability. There doesn't seem to be a physical reason why the two-way talent couldn't at least flourish on a third line.
To achieve that, Lindberg hopes to bring a sharper focus this year, "Play each game one at a time. Not trying to overdo things or look at things that you want to do that you can't do. Just be in the moment."
Meanwhile, a scout raved to me about Carr, "Always has found a way to be productive and score."
Can he light the lamp consistently in Vegas?
Carr's six goals in 38 games last year aren't staggering, but the Union College product himself reminded me of his strong rate stats: His 1.73 5v5 Points/60 trailed only Brendan Gallagher among Canadien forwards.
The secret to Carr's success might be surprising -- his Average Shot Length of 22.4 feet was also second among Montreal forwards:
View post on imgur.com
A slight 6'0," Carr revealed how he stands "tall" in traffic, "You can get underneath guys, where you're lower than they are. Also, will and determination."
He added, laughing, "Sometimes, I wish I was a few inches taller so I would get a few less cross-checks to the face."
Therein, however, lies the rub. At the NHL level, Carr may not be strong enough -- or quick enough -- to line up in the top-six role that best seems to suit his game.
In baseball parlance, Carr may be a AAAA player -- dominant at the Triple-A, or AHL level, but just short in highest competition.
"That's a fair comparison," conceded the same scout.
But don't tell Carr that. The 26-year-old rejected a lucrative KHL offer this past summer for his shot at making the Golden Misfits. "Nobody wakes up in the morning when they're six years old, dreaming of playing in the KHL," quipped Carr.
The flipside of the AAAA designation is that in baseball, sabermetrics has cast a different light on what was a pejorative term.
According to Baseball Reference, sabermetricians "think that teams tend to give up on such players too easily, leaving a population of potentially valuable players languishing in the minors."
In June 2018, analytics-leaning
Eyes on the Prize declared, of Carr's future, "It’s time to expand Daniel Carr’s role."
A couple weeks later, the talent-challenged Canadiens didn't even bother to qualify the fourth-liner, making him a UFA.
So how much does Vegas value Carr?
"He's exactly what our team is," offered Gallant. "Character guy who works hard, battles hard, plays the game the right way."
Flattery, of course, will get Carr nowhere. We'll see if Gallant's words hold much weight soon enough.
Two misfits, one fit up front.
Lindberg may have separated himself with four points in four exhibition contests. Carr has just one goal in the same number of games.
So the versatile Swede, who is probably a better fit for a bottom-six job, might get the nod...for now. But what happens to him when Eakin comes back?
***
Stats as of 9/28/18, courtesy of Cap Friendly, Corsica, Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com, and Sporting Charts.
++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad here at HockeyBuzz, then send me a PM!++++
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger •Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»