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Vegas Golden Knights Should Give Brandon Pirri A Chance

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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With the end of the regular season rapidly approaching, the Vegas Golden Knights should give Brandon Pirri a look.

As we near to the end of the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights need to start resting players. With the Pacific division championship already well in hand, it’s best that the team decides to give players days off before the big run. The Golden Knights don’t want to see their top players injured right before game one of the first round.

If the team decides to go that route, it’ll involve calling up players from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. A bunch of players on the Wolves are having great seasons such as Oscar Dansk, TJ Tynan, and Teemu Pulkkinen. However, there’s one player not on that list that has yet to don a Golden Knights jersey.

The player I think the Golden Knights should take a look at is Brandon Pirri. If his name sounds familiar than it should, he has played for four NHL organizations. The Toronto, Ontario native represented the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers.

Focusing on Pirri’s game, he’s a shoot first type of player and brings a ton of energy to the offensive side of the puck. He has the kind of ability to score a bunch of goals when he’s with the right linemates. He never had top-flight linemates when he was in the NHL as he was always in a bottom six role.

The problem with Pirri is he’s very one dimensional and doesn’t like to play in his defensive zone. He’s very careless with the puck and turns the puck over a ton. However, an NHL stint could be on the horizon shortly.

With the Golden Knights regular season winding down, the team could start making changes to the lineup and start resting key players. A ten point lead in the division is a massive luxury for Vegas, and they need to take advantage of it. Perhaps put in the former 20-goal scorer for a few games down the stretch.

Vegas already reassigned Tomas Hyka which means “Real Deal” James Neal could be ready for a return to the lineup. Reilly Smith is also skating so a return to the lineup could be any day for him as well. Although, Gallant should play it safe until both are at 100%.

Pirri’s having a fantastic season for the Chicago Wolves, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s called up sooner rather than later. The 26-year-old notched 24 goals, 21 assists, and 45 points in 46 games played. The Golden Knights would be in for a treat If they can get anything close to that type of production from Pirri.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury Earns 400th Career Win

All in all, the Vegas Golden Knights should take a risk and see what they have in  Brandon Pirri. I think he would fit well on the second or third line because both units need a spark. Next game for Vegas is against the Minnesota Wild at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night. Catch puck drop at 7:30 PM PT with Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy on AT&T Sportsnet.

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