It’s Christmas! Yes, the holidays are upon us and the Vegas Golden Knights are certainly in the festive mood as they enter the break riding high in the Pacific Division.
It is that time of year where we are all looking forward to seeing what Santa has left for us under the tree, and the Vegas Golden Knights will be no different.
Despite suffering a blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the final game before Christmas, the Golden Knights are currently tied with the Arizona Coyotes at the top of the Pacific Division.
However, it is perfectly reasonable to state that the Knights are nowhere near the peak of their powers and they are far from the finished product.
As such, the Golden Knights would be wise to ask Santa for three things in particular that could really bolster their bid to win a Stanley Cup this year.
Let’s get started…
1. Help on the blueline
We sound like a broken record as we’ve been banging on about this for the majority of the regular season so far, but the point remains:
The Vegas Golden Knights are in dire need of a puck-moving defenseman.
Granted, a tweak in the defensive system which saw a shift from man-to-man to zone coverage has contributed to a much sharper and more effective transition game.
However, the blueline is still in need of a makeover and the Knights will need a high-end blueliner in order to embark on a deep postseason run.
There are many avenues they can explore and it would be a huge surprise if the front office didn’t make a move either prior to or at the Trade Deadline.
And there are some hugely attractive options that would be a perfect fit for the Knights, although they will be hindered by salary cap constraints.
That means the front office tandem of President of Hockey Operations George McPhee and General Manager Kelly McCrimmon would have to work some magic in order to go after an elite defenseman in the ilk of St. Louis Blues Captain Alex Pietrangelo, who is set to become a UFA in the off-season.
A more feasible option, and one we’ve mentioned plenty of times before, could be New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo.
For starters, DeAngelo currently carries a cap hit of $925,000 and will be a RFA in the summer, so the Golden Knights would have the advantage when it comes to signing the blueliner long term if they trade for him prior to Feb. 24.
And, DeAngelo has also really found his game this year with 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists), which puts him fourth on the Rangers in points.
DeAngelo is a modern-day offensive defenseman who can man the power play, he would greatly help Vegas’ transition game and he’s also a right shot, which would bring some much-needed balance to the Knights’ defensive pairings.
Whatever route the Vegas Golden Knights go down, it has become abundantly clear that this team needs a shiny new defenseman under the Christmas tree.