Vegas Golden Knights Activate Goaltender Malcolm Subban

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 21: Goalie Malcolm Subban #30 of the Vegas Golden Knights looks on against the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena on October 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 21: Goalie Malcolm Subban #30 of the Vegas Golden Knights looks on against the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena on October 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Vegas Golden Knights finally have one of their goaltenders back from injury.

After picking up a huge 5-2 win in Vancouver, the Vegas Golden Knights and their fans got some exciting news. Knights goaltender Dylan Ferguson tweeted thanking Vegas for the opportunity and that he was going back to his junior team in Kamloops. He then took the tweet down a few hours later which kind of raised some eyebrows as to what was going on.

But sure enough, the Golden Knights did make a transaction Friday afternoon. Ths team announced that they have activated Malcolm Subban and loaned Ferguson back to the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. After all the lousy luck Vegas has had with their goalies to start the season, they deserved this news.

So now with Subban and Maxime Lagace holding down the fort, the overall ability at the goaltender position boosted dramatically. Lagace has shown he could definitely hold his own in the net, but with little NHL experience , I think it’s best for Subban and Lagace to split games.

Obviously, if one netminder outplays the other, then a split is not necessary. But splitting games would help keep each goaltender stay fresh and lower the risk of any soreness or injury.  However, if I had to pick the number one starter, it would be Subban.

Let’s keep in mind Subban was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NHL entry draft. The Toronto, Ontario native has a very high ceiling and this his first big chance to prove himself. Who knows, if he could impress in this stretch with Marc-Andre Fleury out, there’s a fair shot he could be the future starting goaltender for this Golden Knights team in a couple of years.

In 2017-18, Subban has so far gone 2-0-0 with a GAA of 2.06 and a save percentage of .936%. Given he’s only played three games this season and five NHL games overall, he’s a significant improvement over Ferguson who’s just 19 years old.

Outstandingly, the Vegas Golden Knights have hung in there pretty well considering the circumstances. Today they sit in second place in the Pacific division only trailing the Los Angeles Kings by one point for first place. Ironically, the NHL’s newest franchise will take on the division leaders on Sunday evening at T-Mobile Arena.

Next: Brendan Leipsic And Shea Theodore Back In The Lineup For The Vegas Golden Knights.

I’d say that’s a pretty big test for this hockey club. If I were Head Coach Gerard Gallant, I would go with Lagace one more game and make sure Subban’s 100%. You can catch puck drop at 5 PM PT  on AT&T Sportsnet where Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy will have the call.