Brandon Pirri (USA Today Sports)

This afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights distributed a press release, announcing the designation of forward Brandon Pirri to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Prior to his call-up, Pirri led the AHL in points (and still does), even after spending seven games with the NHL club. Pirri's assignment was made concurrently with the activation of Max Pacioretty off of Injured Reserve.

During his time with the Golden Knights, Pirri played in Pacioretty's place on the second line, with center Paul Stastny and winger Alex Tuch. Pirri also got power play time with the 2nd unit. Both groups have looked better in the last seven games with Pirri, than they have all season.

Most notably, Paul Stastny has produced solid numbers, flanked by Pirri, following his trip to the IR. Below you can find the stats for Stastny, Tuch, and Pirri during his seven game stint with the Golden Knights this season.

Stats in the Seven Games with Pirri:
Stastny: 4 goals, 3 assists
Tuch: 2 goals, 4 assists
Pirri: 6 goals, 3 assists

During that span, Pirri led the Golden Knights in both goals and points. His assignment to the AHL is likely due to his exemption from the waivers process where any team in their right mind would claim the goal scorer. Vegas also claimed forward Valentin Zykov after the Edmonton waived him. It seems as if they will give Zykov a shot, at Pirri's expense. I would have expected Ryan Carpenter or Oscar Lindberg to be the casualty, even Brad Hunt made more sense to me. This is a developing story, so stay tuned for follow-up on Twitter. Follow me by clicking the button below. Updates will be posted as they come in.

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