Vegas Golden Knights: An early look ahead to home opener against San Jose Sharks

We are still very much in the dog days of the summer and all is quiet in the world of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Baseball is entering its peak period and, if like me you happen to be a New York Mets fan, then the last couple of weeks have been fun. Football is also back and I’m sure many Las Vegas residents will be keeping half an eye on the Oakland Raiders ahead of their move to Sin City next year. However, it just isn’t the same without Vegas Golden Knights hockey and the sooner October arrives the better.

So, we thought to keep you ticking over until training camp begins next month, we would take a very early look at the Golden Knights’ 2019-20 season opener against the San Jose Sharks on Oct, 2 at T-Mobile Arena.

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Now, there is no doubt that the home opener will also be one of the must-watch games of the year given the history these two franchises share, much of it coming from that playoff game last year. You all know the story by now and we won’t dig up old bones, but that Game 7 was one for the ages and it will be forever rehashed by the NHL as one of the greatest postseason games of all time.

That of course doesn’t make it any easier for anyone connected with the Golden Knights who probably still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat over what unfolded on that fateful night on Apr, 23, where the Sharks scored four power play goals in as many minutes after Cody Eakin was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a cross-check on Joe Pavelski.

Pavelski, of course, is now a member of the Dallas Stars after signing a three-year, $21 million deal on the opening day of free agency. However, Eakin is still on the Golden Knights roster and there is no doubt that he will enter opening night with added motivation in order to try and erase the memories of that heartbreaking Game 7 contest.

These two teams have got to know each other pretty well since Vegas entered the NHL in 2017, and the Knights have the upper hand so far with a 12-9-0 record, which comes in at a winning percentage of 57.1. The Golden Knights also boast a 7-3-0 record at T-Mobile Arena against the Sharks but are 5-6-0 at SAP Center, although Vegas do have a 7-6-0 record against San Jose in the postseason.

There is no doubt that there will be plenty of snarl, grit and tenacity on display when these two franchises meet in early October, while they will also do battle twice in the preseason. Ahead of those games, we’ve taken a look at how both teams are shaping up.

San Jose Sharks

Let’s start with the Sharks. Their biggest business of the offseason was without doubt re-signing two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92,000,000 contract. Karlsson, despite again being hindered by various injuries, had a solid first year for San Jose in 2018-19, tallying three goals and 42 assists for 45 points in 53 games, in addition to a further 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 19 postseason contests.

Karlsson is an elite offensive defenseman and, when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best to have ever played the game. Along with Brent Burns, Brenden Dillon and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Karlsson gives the Sharks one of the best blueline units in the NHL.

San Jose also did a good job of re-signing restricted free-agent forwards Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc to team-friendly deals, while unrestricted free agent defenseman Tim Heed was also signed to a new deal. The Sharks are yet to sign veteran and franchise icon Joe Thornton to a new contract, although they remain hopeful that they can thrash out a deal before training camp starts.

However, the Sharks did lose depth and some key pieces during the off-season with Joe Pavelski signing with the Dallas Stars on the opening day of free agency, while Joonas Donskoi (Colorado Avalanche) and Gustav Nyquist also signed elsewhere. Blueliner Justin Braun was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers and Joakim Ryan departed to the Los Angeles Kings in free agency, while forward Jonny Brodzinski and defenseman Dalton Prout were both signed to one-year deals.

The Sharks will have a different look and feel to their roster in 2019-20, especially if Joe Thornton decides not to return. However, with players in the ilk of Evander Kane, Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on the team, there is no doubt that San Jose’s Stanley Cup window is still open, although for how long is a different question entirely.

Vegas Golden Knights

Like the Sharks, the Golden Knights did a good job of re-signing key pieces but they also lost some roster depth in the process. The franchise completed their main objective of the offseason by signing William Karlsson to a new eight-year, $47,200,000 contract, but they had to trade defenseman Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres and forward Erik Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes as a result.

They got back bottom-nine forward Nicolas Roy from the Hurricanes as part of the Haula trade, although the 22-year-old is likely to start the year in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves. Forwards Brandon Pirri and Tomas Nosek both returned on new deals, as did veteran defenseman Deryk Engelland who signed a new one-year contract.

Malcolm Subban will backup Marc-Andre Fleury for the third straight year after signing a new deal, although he will now have some competition after Garret Sparks was acquired in a trade that saw David Clarkson‘s hefty contract shipped off to the Toronto Maple Leafs in order to free up some much-needed cap space.

The Golden Knights battled with the salary cap ceiling of $81.5 million for 2019-20 for much of the summer and, as a result, they had to trade Russian stud Nikita Gusev to the New Jersey Devils for two draft picks in order to make sure they were cap compliant. Gusev is projected to tally roughly 56 points in the NHL based on his projection in the KHL, and there is no doubt that he would have added even more firepower to the Knights’ roster.

However, with the likes of Karlsson, Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Marchessault on the roster, in addition to defenseman Shea Theodore who is a rising star and future Hall of Fame goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, the Knights still boast one of the strongest rosters in the NHL and their Stanley Cup window remains wide open.

We are still a couple of months out from opening night but already we can’t wait to see these two heavyweights slug it out for the first points of the 2019-20 season. It is a contest that is sure to feature plenty of bite and a dollop of snarl, and we’re all in for it.

Bring on October!