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Vegas Golden Knights Sign Forward Brandon Pirri

By Richard Cardinale

SUNRISE, FL - MARCH 7: Brandon Pirri #73 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on March 7, 2017 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL - MARCH 7: Brandon Pirri #73 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on March 7, 2017 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Brandon Pirri signs on with the Vegas Golden Knights.

It’s the opening week of the NHL regular season, so that means teams have to make some tough cuts. But with an added expansion team like the Vegas Golden Knights, it brings opportunities for more NHL players. And today, the NHL’s newest franchise did just that.

On Wednesday, the Vegas Golden Knights signed Brandon Pirri to a one year, two-way contract. Pirri’s cap hit will be the league minimum of $650,000. Pretty solid signing here by Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee. Pirri once again has to go through waivers to officially become a member of the Golden Knights or their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves.

Pirri played for four different franchises, Chicago, Florida, Anaheim and the New York Rangers. Last season with the Rangers, he scored eight goals, ten assists and 18 points in 60 games played.

The 26-year-old is notorious of being known as one of the streakiest scorers in the NHL. Pirri has always had trouble playing in his defensive end. He needs to limit being a liability if he wants to make his chance in the NHL count.

However, I feel this signing could pay off for both Pirri and the Golden Knights. It’s a low cap hit, and he could provide some scoring depth towards the bottom of the roster. The Toronto, Ontario native also had his best season in 2014-15 under Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant where he scored 22 goals, and two assists in 49 games played.

Perhaps Gallant was in McPhee’s ear on this deal and made it happen. There indeed is a connection between Gallant and Pirri. If Gallant can rekindle what Pirri brought a few seasons ago in Florida, that would be a huge boost for a below average looking offensive lineup for the Golden Knights.

Pirri loves to shoot the puck often but again, he’s streaky and needs to be more consistent. He has the talent to put it all together, but he needs to add some muscle as well.

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All in all, this is a solid signing. I don’t mind the deal at all, and I see why the team would pull the trigger on the deal. The young NHL journeyman will be one of the first call-ups once an injury to a forward occurs as long as he makes it through waivers.

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