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Vegas Golden Knights: Who will fill out the third-line?

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 16: Brandon Pirri #73 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena on February 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 16: Brandon Pirri #73 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring a goal during the second period against the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena on February 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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WINNIPEG, MB – JANUARY 15: Brandon Pirri #73 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates his third period goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammates at the bench at the Bell MTS Place on January 15, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB – JANUARY 15: Brandon Pirri #73 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates his third period goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammates at the bench at the Bell MTS Place on January 15, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Brandon Pirri – The Favorite

It was somewhat of a surprise that Brandon Pirri agreed terms on a two-year, $1.55 million deal with an average annual value of $775,000 on the opening day of free agency, given that the forward has failed to stick in the NHL on a consistent basis with the Vegas Golden Knights.

However, maybe President of Hockey Operations George McPhee knew all along that Nikita Gusev wasn’t going to be on the 2019-20 roster and, as a result, Pirri now seems the most logical choice to take the Russian’s place on the left side of the third-line.

Since being signed by Vegas as a free agent on Oct, 4, 2017, Pirri has recorded 94 points (47 goals, 47 assists) in 86 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, compared to 21 points (15 goals, six assists) in 33 games for the Golden Knights in the NHL.

That has been the story of the 28-year-old’s career so far, prolific in the minors but he’s never been quite able to translate that to the majors, although he did tally 24 points in back-to-back seasons for the Florida Panthers between 2014-16, where Gerard Gallant just happened to be his Head Coach, so the two share a working relationship going back a few years now which could stand Pirri in good stead this summer.

And the evidence is there to suggest that Pirri can be a potent and dangerous scorer on a consistent basis at the NHL level. During their 173 minutes together at even strength last year, Pirri and Alex Tuch helped the Golden Knights outscore their opponents 11-1 (info per Jesse Granger of The Athletic). With Cody Eakin, who achieved career-highs in goals (22) and points (41) in 2018-19, between those two, there could be potential for fireworks on the ice from that trio.

After all, they did outscore the opposition 3-0 last year and they had one of the best goal-share totals of any line on the team last season, which is hugely encouraging for the year ahead even if it is a tiny sample size.

It seems likely that the job is Pirri’s to lose and it will be up to him to cement that spot during training camp. He can blow hot and cold, as perfectly illustrated by 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his first 11 games where the Knights went 7-2-2 during that stretch, before going through an almighty slump in the final throes of the season which resulted in a seat in the press box for six of Vegas’ seven postseason contests.

If Pirri can add some consistency to his game then there is no doubting his quality and the firepower he can bring to the table. The Golden Knights have struggled to get regular secondary scoring from their bottom-six and they will be hoping that a third-line of Pirri-Eakin-Tuch could be the spark to provide consistent offense from lower down the line-up.

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