It was mission accomplished for the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday after they finally announced the return of face of the franchise, Deryk Engelland.
The veteran defenseman, who has been an iconic figure for the Vegas Golden Knights since they entered the NHL in 2017, signed a one-year contract that will run through the 2019-20 season. Engelland’s new deal will have a base salary of $700,000, although that could rise to $1,500,000 a year based on bonuses and other incentives.
It is a key signing for a number of reasons for the Golden Knights. Not only do the franchise get a veteran defenseman back who can add depth on the blueline, but they are also getting one more year of leadership from their locker room leader. Engelland is a glue guy and he’s been the heartbeat of the Vegas locker room from day one.
Another important factor at play here is the role Engelland could play on the ice in 2019-20. With a roster spot expected to go to a rookie – Nic Hague, Jimmy Schuldt, Zach Whitecloud, Dylan Coghlan and Jake Bischoff are all expected to fight for it in training camp – the 37-year-old could partner up with one of those prospects as a third defensive pairing and act as a mentor.
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Engelland’s return ticks a lot of boxes for the Knights and you can’t understate the importance a veteran figure such as Engelland plays for a team, particularly for a franchise who are competing for a Stanley Cup.
It is also a deal that works for the Golden Knights in terms of their daily battle with the salary cap. By making Engelland’s new contract based heavily on bonuses and other incentives, the Knights are currently under the $81.5 million salary cap with a cap hit of $80,474,999 which will allow them to pull the trigger on another trade in order to re-sign Jimmy Schuldt and thrash out a deal with Russian stud Nikita Gusev.
Engelland is also a fans’ favorite and not only for what he does on the ice. From his emotional Vegas Strong speech at the Knights’ home opener following the tragic events of the mass shooting on Oct, 1, to all the charity work he does away from the rink, Engelland is a hero in Vegas and it is a city he’s long called home after beginning his length hockey career with the Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL.
He was awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award at the 2018 NHL Awards after creating the Engelland’s Vegas Born Heroes Foundation and there is no doubt that, when he does hang up the skates, his jersey will become the first one to be retired by the Golden Knights.
Switching to the on-ice production for a moment, however, and Engelland was hugely effective in 2017-18, posting five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 79 NHL regular season games, including a CF% of 48.0 and a oZS% of 47.9. He also blocked 150 shots, dished out 126 hits and had 25 takeaways in what was a hugely impressive statistical year.
Engelland did endure a dip in performance in 2018-19, though, and that is to be expected when you consider that the blueliner is now firmly in the twilight of his career. He wasn’t as effective when driving play last year and he ranked last among Golden Knights defensemen with a -6.3 Corsi relative to his team-mates at Even Strength.
There was also a slump in production for Engelland last year, with the veteran defenseman tallying two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in 74 regular season games, including just one point in seven playoff outings. Those numbers came despite playing with Shea Theodore for 58.18 percent of the season and with Nate Schmidt for 28.22 percent of the year, both high-end defensemen.
However, despite a down year and the expectation that Engelland’s best days are probably behind him, this is still an important signing and it gives Vegas depth on a blueline that relies on the efforts of the collective rather than one or two standout stars.
As already mentioned, Engelland is the glue that keeps this locker room together and he can now take on the role of a mentor to whatever rookie wins a roster spot out of training camp, be it Nic Hague, Zach Whitecloud, Jake Bischoff, Dylan Coghlan or Jimmy Schuldt.
After the benefit of having an increased rest this offseason, the Golden Knights will hope that Engelland comes back fresh and raring to go to ensure that he has a bounce-back year and continues to play a critical role both on and off the ice.
All in all, Engelland’s return is massive for the Vegas Golden Knights mainly for the impact he has in the locker room and in the Vegas community. His play has naturally declined but he’s still got a huge role to play on a team competing for a Stanley Cup and he will continue to be a monumental leader for this franchise.
In total, Engelland has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) in 153 regular season games for the Golden Knights since being acquired from the Calgary Flames in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, including an additional three points (three assists) in twenty seven postseason games.