Vegas Golden Knights: An interview with The Athletic’s Jesse Granger

With the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and free agency both in the books, we caught up with Jesse Granger of The Athletic to talk all things Vegas Golden Knights!

Jesse does a superb job of covering the Vegas Golden Knights for The Athletic, which is an online publication that has changed the sports journalism landscape.

Consistently breaking stories and bringing Golden Knights fans a slew of exclusives, we thought who better to get an offseason lowdown from than Jesse!

Jesse kindly agreed to speak with me over the phone a few days ago and we covered a slew of topics, including the latest on Nikita Gusev, prospects that impressed in Development Camp, expectations for 2019-20 and what it is like covering the Vegas Golden Knights.

So, grab a coffee, load up on some snacks and sit back and enjoy our extensive Q&A session with The Athletic’s Jesse Granger…

VGK: Jesse, thank you for doing this. Let’s start with a topic that is very much dominating Vegas Golden Knights news at the moment and that is of course Nikita Gusev’s future. What is the latest on that situation?

JG: “The biggest issue surrounding the whole Nikita Gusev situation is the salary cap obviously, and the Golden Knights are pressed up against it already. They’ve got about $2 million in space and they’ve just signed Malcolm Subban to a new deal and they still have to sign Deryk Engelland to a new deal and restricted free agent Jimmy Schuldt to a new deal.

“That $2.5 million will probably go to those two which leaves them with nothing for Nikita Gusev. You then look at the negotiations and, from what I’ve been told, right now he’s looking at two years for $4 million per year and the Golden Knights are looking to lock him in at two years at $2 million per year.

“They aren’t close in negotiations, they are pretty far apart and and because of that, because of the cap space issue and because of the negotiations being so far apart, they are looking at the option of trading him.

“I wouldn’t say the Golden Knights want to trade him but they are looking at the option. They’ve had teams call from around the league, they’ve had a few offers but I don’t think the offers are what they would like. Right now they are getting something like a second round pick with a prospect or a late draft pick attached to that, which is not nearly the value Nikita Gusev should draw.

“They are kind of stuck right now but I do think it is better for this team in the long run if they can find a way to move some players to sign Nikita Gusev because I think they are a lot better this season with him on the roster, but we’ll see what they do.”

VGK: It is a tricky one isn’t it because Nikita Gusev has shown throughout his KHL career and at the IIHF World Championships what he’s capable of. What do you make of his potential to succeed in the NHL?

JG: “It is never a sure thing when a guy is coming over from another league or when a guy has been drafted from junior hockey or college, it is always projecting but Gusev’s numbers project extremely well in the NHL.

“Dom Luszczyszyn, our analytics guy at The Athletic, and myself did a deep dive and we found that for these KHL stars, roughly 80% of their points will translate to the NHL and if that were to happen it would be 57 points, which is roughly 21 goals and 36 assists which would be phenomenal.

“That would have been second on the Golden Knights last year behind only Jonathan Marchessault, so I think he has the potential to be a playmaker on this team.

“He’s really good on the power play, we saw him at the World Championships with Nikita Kucherov and he was one of the best players on the ice, that is including a bunch of top level NHL stars, and he was just as good if not better than all of them.

“He projects really well, I think he could be a power play guy who scores a load and gets a lot of assists.”

VGK: As already mentioned, in order to sign Nikita Gusev to a new deal the Golden Knights are going to have to pull the trigger on another trade or two, so who would be the most likely candidates to be dealt?

JG: “As for who they get rid of that’s what makes this tough. If they had guys the team just wanted to get rid of then this would be easy but the trouble is they’ve already traded Colin Miller to open up salary, they’ve already traded Erik Haula and now it is looking like Ryan Reaves and you mentioned Cody Eakin, plus I think Nick Holden is another guy.

“Holden is making $2.2 million this year and he may not play many games, he could be a healthy scratch for the majority of the season which is obviously a waste of $2.2 million dollars.

“I don’t know how many teams would be willing to take on that contract, you probably would have to pay them to do so with a draft pick, so that is one option, and the other option is Ryan Reaves who I don’t think is as valuable as some, but the coaching staff certainly does.

“Gerard Gallant likes him a lot and George McPhee likes having his presence on the ice, so you have to consider that. Cody Eakin is a really important piece to this team but he’s probably gone after next year as a UFA because I doubt this team can re-sign him and Cody Glass is close to being ready for the NHL.

“This is probably Cody Eakin’s last season so do you want to lose him for nothing next summer or do you want to trade him for something now? I think it comes down to do you need Cody Eakin to win a Stanley Cup this year?

“This is a Stanley Cup contending team and that is obviously the goal, so do you need Cody Eakin to win the cup more than you do Nikita Gusev?

“That is the decision they are going to have to make and I’m glad I don’t have to make it!

“Nikita Gusev could score 30 goals this year and Ryan Reaves and Nick Holden could combine to score five goals this year, that wouldn’t surprise anyone, so the potential with Gusev is obviously a lot higher.”

VGK: Moving on from Nikita Gusev now, you’ve mentioned him already but what is the latest on Deryk Engelland’s proposed new deal with the Vegas Golden Knights?

JG: They are going to come to an agreement and by all accounts it is probably going to be a one-year deal.

“The only thing holding it up right now is they are trying to work out the bonus structure, but once you reach that stage they can put bonuses in your contract and they are making it a very heavy bonus-laden contract in order for the deal not to hurt against the cap as much.

“They are trying to work all that out and figure out the bonus structure, but I expect sometime before training camp that Deryk Engelland will be announced to a one-year deal.”

VGK: One final question on contracts and the business side of hockey, what will the front office do with David Clarkson’s rather hefty contract?

JG: “I don’t believe that they are going to have to move the David Clarkson contract. They can put it on the long-term injured reserve list, the LTIR, and once they’ve done that the second the season starts it basically disappears from the salary cap.

“He’s making $5.25 million and that will disappear the day the season starts, which is good for Vegas.

“It isn’t much of a salary cap hinderance as you would think, it is more just paying the player $5 million a year. I’ve spoken to George McPhee about the David Clarkson contract and the Golden Knights did request his no-trade list, which is funny because he hasn’t played for five years but he’s still got to submit his no-trade list.

“It made people think that maybe they were trying to trade him but I’ve spoken to George McPhee about it and he’s told me that it’s not an issue, it isn’t hurting them and he doesn’t expect them to do anything with it.

“David Clarkson’s contract will probably stay on the Golden Knights for this season and he’ll retire after that because that’s the end of his deal.”

VGK: Let’s move onto the 2019 NHL Entry Draft now where the Golden Knights significantly bolstered their farm system. You were in attendance at Development Camp, so what prospects, both new and old, stood out to you the most?

JG: “Cody Glass was dominant and he should be at this point because he’s pretty much ready for the NHL and he’s dominated every level, so it was good to see him at the first scrimmage.

“He actually got banged up and didn’t play the rest of the week but we got a limited look at Cody Glass and he was absolutely dominant, so that was good.

“The two kids who stood out to me were two defensemen the Golden Knights took in the draft this year, Kaedan Korczak and Layton Ahac.

“Korczak was really, really good and Layton Ahac was another who really stood out. Those two skate really well, they jump into the play on the offensive side, they were really good in the defensive zone and they are only 18-years-old.

“Usually 18-years-old, especially defensemen, can tend to look lost in the Development Camps and if they aren’t great I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, they are 18, it is their first camp and they just trying to figure out where they are at.

“But those two were actually impressive at their first camp and I think the Golden Knights have drafted extremely well, especially on the defensive end.

“You look at Nic Hague, you look at Dylan Coghlan who was an undrafted guy and has developed extremely well.

“They’ve got two good defensemen in Kaedan Korczak and Layton Ahac that have a really bright future. Those two both stuck out to me in Development Camp.”

VGK: Cody Glass and Nic Hague are two players that appear ready to make the leap to the NHL sooner rather than later, but what are the percentages of those two having some sort of role in the NHL in 2019-20?

JG: “For the defensemen it is a lot more simple because when George McPhee traded Colin Miller to Buffalo, he told us that ‘we now have a spot open and it is up to those rookies.’

“There are pretty much five guys who are going to compete for that one spot in training camp and one of them is going to win, so it is going to be exciting and it is the first time we’ve really had this situation in Vegas where the rookies are going to compete for a spot.

“It is going to come down to Jimmy Schuldt, Zach Whitecloud, Nic Hague, Dylan Coghlan and Jake Bischoff and, after camp and pre-season games, one of those guys will get a spot in the line-up.

“It is exciting knowing for sure that one of them will be in the line-up and it going to be fun to see who comes out of it.

“I think Jimmy Schuldt is probably the leader in the clubhouse. He came from college so late and he did play that last game (of the 2018-19 regular season) against the LA Kings, but we haven’t got to see him on the ice with Nic Hague, Zach Whitecloud, Dylan Coghlan and Jake Bischoff so it is hard to compare.

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“We’ve watched the others in the AHL and it is easier to compare them because they are playing against the same competition, but with Jimmy Schuldt you really can’t.

“I think he’s the best of the bunch but it is going to be interesting to see them all together on the ice in training camp.

“From Cody Glass’ perspective it is a little bit more complicated. He’s good enough to be in the NHL right now.

“I think he’s ready, I think he’s an NHL player and I think he can play well in the NHL but the issue for him is there is just no room on the roster because the Vegas Golden Knights are just so good and deep at center.

“I think it comes down to Cody Eakin and if the Golden Knights decide to move on from Eakin, then Cody Glass is probably the third-line center to start the year.

“I don’t think either of the top two center spots are even a question, it is obviously William Karlsson and Paul Stastny, so Cody Eakin is likely to slot into that third-line center spot and the fourth-line center is probably going to be Tomas Nosek or Nicholas Roy, who they just acquired from Carolina in that Erik Haula trade.

“However, I don’t think they will put Glass as a fourth-line center because I don’t think his style mixes well with guys like William Carrier and Ryan Reaves.

“I think he needs to be on the third line if he plays in the NHL, so it is going to be up to if they move Eakin or if a guy gets hurt. Cody Glass could start the year in the AHL because he’s waiver exempt and it is easier to send him down.

“But if somebody gets hurt, if Paul Stastny or William Karlsson goes down or if Cody Eakin gets something, then you can call him up from the AHL and plug him in and play.

“I do think he’ll get some NHL play this year but it isn’t easy to determine how much and when.”