Vegas Golden Knights: Brandon Pirri Belongs In The Big Leagues

Roster issues aside, Brandon Pirri has done enough to stay with the Vegas Golden Knights for the rest of the year.

The Vegas Golden Knights have ripped off six wins in a row and playing their best hockey all season long. Some say that it all changed when Nate Schmidt returned from his bogus 20-game suspension. While I do agree with that 100%, I also have another theory.

Max Pacioretty hasn’t been healthy all season long and when he has played, he’s hasn’t been nearly as effective as he was when he played with the Montreal Canadiens. Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant had a big void in their top six when Pacioretty went out due to injury. They needed someone to step up and take the place of a former 40-goal scorer.

Looking at the team’s minor league affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, Vegas turned to the leading point scorer in the American Hockey League. The club called up Brandon Pirri in hopes of getting some production to a starved Golden Knights offense. And not only did he produce, but he got on the scoreboard at a rapid pace.

The Toronto, Ontario native played great in a small sample size for the NHL’s newest franchise last season as well. Pirri scored three goals in two games last season during the Golden Knights inaugural season. He turned that positive experience into confidence in 2018-2019 starting with the Wolves.

In 29 games played, Pirri notched 18 goals, 24 assists and led the entire minor league in points with 42.  Those numbers obviously got the attention of the Golden Knights front office. And when the opportunity presented itself with the Pacioretty injury, Pirri feasted against NHL competition once again.

In seven games played during the Golden Knights second season, Pirri scored six goals, three assists, and nine points. Overall, Pirri has nine goals, three assists, and 12 points in nine games total during his run in Vegas. You’d think those numbers would be enough for him to keep his NHL job, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

As soon as the Golden Knights activated Pacioretty from injured reserve, Pirri got sent back to Chicago. You read that right; the Golden Knights returned the 27-year old goal scoring sensation to the AHL. With fans up in arms over that decision, there are some reasons as to why the team did what they did.

Although Pirri has a two-way contract to go back and forth between the NHL and AHL, as soon as he plays in game number ten, the Golden Knights can’t send Pirri down to the AHL without going through waivers. Any team looking for top-six forward help would absolutely claim Pirri in a heartbeat.

Another option is the Golden Knights could send down other players such as Oscar Lindberg and Ryan Carpenter to the minors. However, the front office may not want to mess with team chemistry and potentially lose a handy bottom six forward. General Manager George McPhee has a very tough decision on his plate when Colin Miller returns from injury, but that’s a story for another day.

In my personal opinion, Pirri deserves to stay on the current roster for the rest of the season. I would’ve waived Lindberg to see if you could sneak him through as he is the Golden Knights least valuable forward at this time. There are not many players that can score at the NHL level, and Pirri’s showing he could do just that.

But let’s note Pirri has shown in the past that he is a streaky goal scorer. As he goes through the ebbs and flows of a long hockey season, he may not be the same player he showed in the seven-game stretch for the Golden Knights. Gallant also doesn’t play him too often for his defensive liabilities.

All in all, despite his deficiencies, Brandon Pirri should be on the Vegas Golden Knights roster full-time. He’s just done so much in a very short amount time. Mark my words, this not the last you’ll see of Pirri, whether he’s in a Golden Knights uniform or not.