Vegas Golden Knights: Should Zykov be given a second chance?

The injury bug is eating away at the Vegas Golden Knights right now, which led to a surprising and somewhat controversial decision on Monday.

After losing Cody Eakin to an upper-body injury last week, the Vegas Golden Knights were dealt another significant blow on Sunday when rookie Cody Glass took a Brendan Lemieux elbow to the head.

It looked a serious injury for Glass who had to get help in order to leave the ice, and it remains to be seen how the young forward will be out for, although we know he will be absent for tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks.

As a result, the Golden Knights were hit depth-wise and it was expected that center Nicolas Roy would be recalled from the AHL.

However, in a surprising twist, the Knights decided to leave Roy with the Chicago Wolves and instead call up Valentin Zykov.

Now, why this is surprising is because Zykov has just completed a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

After completing his suspension, Zykov was sent down to the AHL and I don’t think too many expected to see the forward back in the NHL anytime soon.

For starters, it was pretty evident in the wake of the news that Zykov had been suspended that the forward had knowingly used a banned substance, and the tone of the franchise and from some of his teammates was telling.

But, back in the NHL Zykov is and it is now expected that he will play against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, with line rushes during practice on Monday suggesting that Zykov will slot in on the fourth line, with Chandler Stephenson being promoted to the second line and Paul Stastny being bumped down to the third line.

Now, here is the million dollar question, should Valentin Zykov have been recalled?

Personally, I don’t think he should have and it has nothing to do with the fact that he was suspended, because I do believe in second chances.

However, I just don’t think Zykov brings much to the table and there is enough of a sample size to back that up now.

For instance, after winning a roster spot out of training camp, Zykov recorded just two assists in seven games with the Golden Knights which just isn’t going to get the job done.

He did record four points (one goal, three assists) in five games with the Chicago Wolves, but he only has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 47 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Edmonton Oilers and the Knights, and that isn’t good production.

I just don’t think Zykov is cut out to be a consistent offensive threat in the NHL, especially on a contender, and I think there were other options for the Golden Knights.

They could have recalled Brandon Pirri, although he didn’t exactly light it up with one point in 11 games in the NHL this year before being sent down, while calling up Nicolas Roy was another option given that the center has tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) in 14 games for the Wolves this year.

If the Knights did recall Roy then you could have bumped Chandler Stephenson up to the third line as center between William Carrier and Alex Tuch, which I believe has the makings for an effective checking line that can provide offense.

That would have allowed Paul Stastny to remain on the second line, given that the top six forward unit as a whole has been producing this season.

Just think of the raw speed on that third line between Carrier and Stephenson too, before throwing in Tuch who is riding a hot hand with six points (three goals, three assists) in four games. For me, that would have been a fun line combination to experiment with.

Overall, I’m not a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights recalling Valentin Zykov because of his lack of success in the NHL, but the proof will be in the pudding and we will see how he fares against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.