Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: Nick Holden
Nick Holden’s struggles to make a mark in the NHL continued in 2018-19 after he failed to really impress for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nick Holden: Grade D-
Another day means another Report Card as we continue to assess every player who laced up their skates for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19. Today it’s the turn of Nick Holden who endured a tough first year in Sin City…
His Season
Signed as a free agent by the Vegas Golden Knights on July, 1, 2018 after inking a two-year, $4.4 million contract, Nick Holden was brought in to add some depth to the blueline.
After a mixed 2017-18 which saw the left-shot begin the year with the New York Rangers before being dealt to the Boston Bruins at the Trade Deadline, Holden hit free agency and was swiftly picked up by the Knights.
Holden arrived in Sin City seen very much as a depth defenseman to help bolster the defensive options on the depth chart and provide competition for the likes of Jon Merrill and Brad Hunt.
It panned out that way with the 32-year-old spending large chunks of the season as a third-pair defenseman.
He spent 37.20 percent of the year playing third-line minutes alongside Merrill, while he also played alongside two high-end blueliners in Colin Miller and Shea Theodore for 24.55 percent and 16.81 percent of the season respectively.
Holden was on the ice for 2.65 goals per-60 and, perhaps more noteworthy here, the Knights had a save percentage of .904 with Holden on the ice, which was worse among team defenseman at 5-on-5 according to naturalstattrick.com.
His offensive production was steady, if not spectacular, with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 61 regular season games, while he only skated in one playoff game with a plus / minus rating of -2.
Defensively, Holden’s core stats were okay with 76 blocked shots, 104 hits and 26 takeaways while he averaged 18:18 minutes of ice time per game, which is impressive given his struggles at times.
There are some positive stats that jump out at you, however, with Holden having a CF% of 55.7 and a oZS% of 56.5.
But, overall, it wasn’t a vintage year by any means for Holden who has seen a clear regression in his game over the last three years.
He spent time on the injured reserve list in February and, as already mentioned, was almost a no-show in the postseason after being scratched for six of the Golden Knights’ seven playoff contests.
Entering the final year of his deal with a cap hit of $2,200,000 in 2019-20, Holden could well find himself expendable as the Vegas Golden Knights continue to explore ways to create cap space in order to sign Russian stud Nikita Gusev to a new deal.
Why The Grade
Although he had some bright spots, it was a disappointing year overall for Holden who never really made his mark for the Golden Knights.
He played third-line minutes for the majority of the season and his lack of action in the postseason probably tells you all you need to know about his importance to this franchise.
With underwhelming numbers in both zones, he was also worse among team defensemen at 5-on-5 when it came to the team’s save percentage while he was on the ice.
Holden has struggled at the NHL level for a few years now and hasn’t really been able to stick anywhere, bouncing from the Rangers to the Boston Bruins and then to the Golden Knights last year.
In truth, the veteran blueliner was always signed to add some depth to the defense corps and he was never going to log top-line minutes for the Knights.
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And it remains unclear as to whether or not Holden will actually play out the final year of his contract in Vegas.
As mentioned in this article already, the Knights need to pull the trigger on some more moves if they are to sign Nikita Gusev to a new deal, and shedding Holden’s $2,200,000 salary would go some way to achieving that goal.
Another caveat to consider is the fact that, with Deryk Engelland on the cusp of signing a new deal and with Jon Merrill evolving into a solid presence on the blueline, Holden’s ice time may take a hit in 2019-20.
He could even find himself playing the role of a seventh defenseman given that the Vegas front office have indicated that one of Nic Hague, Jimmy Schuldt, Zach Whitecloud, Dylan Coghlan and Jake Bischoff will be on the NHL roster next year.
Next. Cody Eakin Report Card. dark
In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if all five get the chance to impress in the big leagues at one point or another next year, further restricting Holden’s minutes and ice time.
The Vegas Golden Knights have options with Nick Holden in terms of either trading the defenseman or even buying him out, so don’t be surprised if 2017-18 was his one and only year in Sin City.
The Numbers
Games: 61
Goals: 3
Assists: 12
Points: 15
PIM: 14
ATOI: 18:18
Plus / Minus: +5
Hits: 104
Blocked Shots: 76
Takeaways: 26
CF%: 55.7
oZS%: 56.5
Next Report Card: Daniel Carr