Three November thoughts on the Vegas Golden Knights

2 of 3

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 13: Shea Theodore #27 of the Vegas Golden Knights battles Dominik Kubalik #8 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period at T-Mobile Arena on November 13, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2. Blueline Needs A Makeover

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, defense is the biggest and most obvious flaw on this Vegas Golden Knights roster.

And it needs a radical makeover.

Deryk Engelland has clearly regressed and it is likely that this will be his final year as a player, while both Jon Merrill and Brayden McNabb are having down years.

The rookies, Jake Bischoff and Nic Hague, have done okay in their first year in the NHL and Hague has fared better since being put on a defensive pairing with Shea Theodore.

Nick Holden is a -5 on the year and Theodore and Nate Schmidt, the franchise’s best two defensemen, have yet to really hit the peak of their powers.

Personally, I’m not worried about Theodore who missed most of the preseason having survived a cancer scare in the summer, while Schmidt also saw his season disrupted by a lower body injury.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 13: Nate Schmidt #88 of the Vegas Golden Knights stretches on the ice prior to the start of the second period of a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at T-Mobile Arena on November 13, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Theodore has seven points and a plus/minus rating of -7 but showed in his last outing that he’s slowly getting back to his best, while Schmidt is a -3 with three points (two goals, one assist) but I believe it won’t be long before he’s playing at a consistently high level again.

But, overall, this blueline unit is pretty average and the Golden Knights are lacking an absolute stud who can log monster minutes, drive play, help with the transition game, produce offense and play solid defense.

We’ll be doing a piece soon on some blueliners they should look to go after, while I’ve said before that the Knights should be among the frontrunners for Alex Pietrangelo should the St. Louis Blues Captain hit free agency in the summer of 2020.

And, whether or not the front office will look to add a defenseman before or at the Trade Deadline remains to be seen, but one thing is clear and that is the fact that this defense needs some serious upgrading.

Home/Analysis