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Vegas Golden Knights Report Card: Brandon Pirri

By Andrew Steele-Davis

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 23: Vegas Golden Knights center Brandon Pirri (73) looking for an opening to pass through during Game 7, Round 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 23: Vegas Golden Knights center Brandon Pirri (73) looking for an opening to pass through during Game 7, Round 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 01: Vegas Golden Knights center Brandon Pirri (73) and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jaycob Megna (43) fight for position in front of the Ducks net in the second period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks played on March 1, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – MARCH 01: Vegas Golden Knights center Brandon Pirri (73) and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jaycob Megna (43) fight for position in front of the Ducks net in the second period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks played on March 1, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Why The Grade

Consistency. That is the main reason why we have opted to give Brandon Pirri a D+ Grade for his efforts throughout 2018-19. Now, we have only judged him on his performances in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights, but included his stats from the AHL for reference.

Pirri can be lights out one night but then the next night he disappears and is almost a hinderance for his team. He is an elite scorer and has put the puck in the net wherever he’s been, but he needs to bring the whole package to the ice on a night-to-night basis and he fails to do that a lot of the time.

It is obvious Head Coach Gerard Gallant and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee see something in Pirri, and that is backed up by the fact that the franchise signed Pirri to a two-year, $1.55 million contract earlier in the offseason when the expectation was that the 28-year-old would pull the curtain down on his Golden Knights career.

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However, he now has another chance to showcase his ability for Vegas and he will have a bigger role in 2019-20 as he is expected to begin the year on the third-line with Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch. He will be relied upon to provide secondary scoring, which has been a struggle for the Knights’ bottom-six unit, and he will also need to be responsible in his own zone.

If Brandon Pirri can put it all together in 2019-20 and add that elusive consistency to his game, then there is no doubt that the Vegas Golden Knights will have a high-end scorer on their hands. He’s no Nikita Gusev but he can certainly provide an offensive punch that the Knights need and crave from their bottom-six unit.

The Numbers

Games: 31

Goals: 12

Assists: 6

Points: 18

Power Play Goals: 3

Power Play Points: 4

Shooting Percentage: 14.6

Plus / Minus: +7

ATOI: 14:27

PIM: 6

Blocked Shots: 13

Hits: 29

Takeaways: 14

CF%: 57.0

oZS%: 62.4

Next Report Card: Ryan Reaves

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