Vegas Golden Knights: George McPhee Named GM Of The Year Finalist
George McPhee deserves all the credit in the world for building the Vegas Golden Knights from the ground up.
Not many people knew what the Vegas Golden Knights were going to look like at the beginning of the season. The expansion draft came and gone, and not many people gave the team a chance. But that’s why they play an 82 game season.
The Golden Knights came in first place in the Pacific division in their inaugural season and number three overall in the Western Conference. No team in NHL history has come close to what Vegas has done. And all the credit is due to Golden Knights general manager George McPhee.
On Wednesday, the NHL announced McPhee is one of three finalists for general manager of the year. The other two nominees were Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets and Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s run down some of McPhee’s best work in the calendar year of 2017-18.
First of all, McPhee selected the man that’s responsible behind the bench. He hired Gerard Gallant in hopes of getting this franchise started off on the right foot. But like us, McPhee was pleasantly surprised with how well Gallant’s system worked with this roster.
McPhee selected Jonathan Marchessault and acquired Reilly Smith from the Florida Panthers, and he only gave up a fourth-round pick. Both players are key contributors to this Golden Knights as they have combined 135 points on the Vegas first line. The third member of that first line maybe McPhee’s biggest acquisition yet.
The Golden Knights acquired a first round pick in 2018 NHL entry draft to pick William Karlsson in the expansion draft from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Marsta, Sweden native, upped his goal total from six in 2016-17 to 43 in 2017-18. Additionally, Karlsson is one of the finalists for the Lady Byng trophy.
Another move that made McPhee look good was trading for Anaheim Ducks defenseman Shea Theodore. McPhee only had to pick Clayton Stoner in the expansion draft for the trade to go through. At 22-years old, Theodore looks like one of the league’s most promising blueliners.
Picking Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft was a no-brainer for McPhee. The 33-year old netminder was one of the league’s best goaltenders this year. The only reason why he wasn’t up for a Vezina trophy this season is because of a concussion that derailed him for the first two months of the season. He posted a 29-13-4 record with a 2.24 GAA and a save percentage of .927%.
From one veteran to another, McPhee went out and selected “Real Deal” James Neal from the Nashville Predators. The Whitby, Ontario native hot the 20 goal mark for a tenth straight season. Not many players can say they accomplished that milestone.
One of the most underrated expansion draft deals was selecting Erik Haula and obtaining Alex Tuch, and a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL draft. Haula scored a surprising 29 goals on the second line for the Golden Knights. Meanwhile, Tuch also exceeded all expectations and scored 37 points in his rookie season.
Colin Miller was one of those flashy players that everyone liked from the Boston Bruins, and they somehow let him go. McPhee gained one hell of an offensive weapon in Miller as he put up ten goals, 31 assists and 41 points in 82 games played. But that’s not all McPhee claimed Malcolm Subban off waivers from the Bruins for free.
Subban provided stability in net for this club, especially when Fleury went down. He went 13-4-2 with a 2.68 GAA, and a save percentage of .910%. Most people didn’t expect the Toronto, Ontario native to land an NHL backup job this year.
McPhee even haunted his former team, the Washington Capitals by selecting Nate Schmidt in the expansion draft. Schmidt constantly gets at least 20 minutes of ice time per night and while also racking up 36 points in 76 games played. He made an incredible jump as number seven defenseman from Washington to a number one in Vegas.
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All in all, McPhee built a team in one year and made it into a contender. There’s no doubt that the Vegas Golden Knights general manager would get my vote. He has done by far the most work out of any general manager in hockey in the offseason, and his in-season moves have paid off. This award will come down to the wire, but in my opinion, the winner should be McPhee.