Vegas Golden Knights: Sparks given a shot at redemption in NHL

Garret Sparks will get a chance to prove he has what it takes to succeed in the NHL after being called up by the Vegas Golden Knights earlier today.

On what was a busy day transactions wise, the Vegas Golden Knights opted to call up Sparks and send down Oscar Dansk to the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, who was absolutely lit up against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday after allowing six goals on 37 shots.

The Knights also recalled Nic Hague from the Chicago Wolves, a call up that capped off what was an eventful 24-hours for the rookie defenseman.

Hague, who made his NHL debut for the Golden Knights on October, 4 at the San Jose Sharks, was sent down to the AHL on Wednesday morning and was thrown straight into the fire after appearing in the Chicago Wolves’ AHL matchup against the Texas Stars, a game the Wolves won 3-2.

And a manic day was completed when Hague was notified that he would be jumping straight back on a plane to head to Las Vegas and join the Knights ready for their four-game homestand, which starts with an afternoon matchup against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Hague has skated in seven games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019-20, posting two assists for two points with a plus/minus rating of 0 with 14 PIM.

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Back to Sparks, however, and it was also a frantic Wednesday for the 26-year-old who was lights out in Chicago’s success over the Texas Stars, saving 39 of 41 shots and pulling off some absolutely huge highlight-reel stops.

Sparks will now join up with the Golden Knights for the first time since the preseason and he could make his NHL debut for this franchise during this upcoming homestand, especially when you consider that Marc-Andre Fleury has played in all but one of Vegas’ 11 games.

It will be a gigantic opportunity for Sparks should he get a start between the pipes over the coming days given his recent history in the National Hockey League.

And, unfortunately, it doesn’t make for pretty reading.

After tearing up the AHL with the Toronto Marlies on their way to winning the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2017-18, posting a 2.22 Goals Against Average and a .915 Save Percentage through 19 games, Sparks was promoted to the big leagues with the Maple Leafs.

It couldn’t have panned out any worse for Sparks, however.

On the ice, Sparks struggled and posted a 8-9-1 record with a 3.15 Goals Against Average and a .902 Save Percentage, while off the ice there were reports suggesting that Sparks didn’t mesh in the Maple Leafs locker room.

He also suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by a wayward shot from teammate William Nylander during practice on Jan, 3, and that may or may not have played a role in his 2-7-0 record once he returned to the team.

The 2017-18 Baz Bastien Memorial Award winner – presented to the AHL’s most outstanding goalie – was assigned to work before the postseason and only returned to serve as Frederik Andersen‘s backup with Michael Hutchinson on a leave of absence for Games 1 & 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round due to the birth of his child.

However, this is a fresh start and a clean slate for Sparks who may well benefit from being out of the glare of the media spotlight and scrutiny that plagues the Toronto market.

He impressed in the preseason for the Golden Knights and he clearly possesses some level of talent as seen during his time in the AHL.

So, now he has been called-up and with Malcolm Subban still day-to-day, Sparks will get the opportunity to wipe the slate clean on what has happened and start to write a new narrative when it comes to his career in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights.