Vegas Golden Knights: Revisiting the curious case of Vadim Shipachyov
Hockey is on hiatus which gives us the chance to get creative in our coverage of the Vegas Golden Knights.
With no sports at all at the moment due to the coronavirus crisis, reporting on the Vegas Golden Knights has been different to say the least.
I believe in looking at the positives, however, and this current lockdown on all sports does allow us the freedom to head down certain avenues we may not usually have the time to do so.
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As a result, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to revisit a period in Golden Knights history that will always go down as a bemusing one.
The curious case of Vadim Shipachyov.
Signed as a marquee free agent before the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, and the second player signed in franchise history behind Reid Duke, many looked at Shipachyov as being the franchise center an expansion team needed to build around.
However, the dream soon escalated towards becoming a nightmare and the marriage made in heaven quickly become a match forged in hell.
It is a saga that can be filed under the bonkers category, and Shipachyov will be forever seen as the one that might have been for the Golden Knights.
So, with plenty of time on our hands at the moment, we decided to revisit those crazy days early in the inaugural year of the Vegas Golden Knights…
The Beginning
Deep in the process of preparing for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee was also scouring all corners of the globe for NHL-ready talent.
His extensive search brought him to a Russian stud who went by the name of Vadim Shipachyov, a skilled center with excellent vision.
Needing a big-ticket guy to help generate interest ahead of their first year in the NHL, McPhee decided to throw his chips into the middle of the table by signing Shipachyov to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $4,500,000.
By shelling out $9 million over two years for a player not yet tried and tested in the NHL, McPhee and the Golden Knights were sending out a clear message in regards to their belief in Shipachyov.
In other words, the Knights were wasting little time in crowning the talent their first franchise center.
A scoring star in Russia, including 76 points (26 goals, 50 assists) for SKA St. Petersburg the year prior to heading to Sin City, Shipachyov had the swagger and the reputation to lead the Golden Knights into an exciting new era.
However, the honeymoon period was over before it really started and things began to turn ugly pretty quickly…
What Went Wrong
Having committed signifiant dollars to Vadim Shipachyov, the Golden Knights were set up nicely heading into the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft,
With their franchise center already in place, Vegas added depth at center ice by selecting the likes of William Karlsson, Erik Haula and Cody Eakin while also hitting the jackpot by bagging future Hall of Famer goalie Marc-Andre Fleury in the Expansion Draft.
Shipachyov was the star of the show, however, and the fact that he was the highest-paid center on the roster backed that up.
Entering Training Camp, the Russian stud slotted in on a top line between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, a trio the coaching staff felt confident would strike fear into the hearts of the 30 other NHL franchises.
However, Shipachyov looked a little bit lost at sea throughout the preseason and that began to spark fears that he was struggling to adjust to life in North America both on and off the ice.
As a result, the center was not in the lineup for the first-ever game in franchise history at the Dallas Stars, thus being sent to the AHL where he didn’t report.
Vegas General Manager George McPhee seemed okay with that decision and any bumps in the road appeared to have been smoothed over when Shipachyov was recalled to the NHL later on in the month of October.
And a corner looked to have been turned after Shipachyov scored his first career NHL goal in his first NHL game on Oct. 17, 2017, beating Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask with a snipe.
It was a sweet moment for the Russian and many Golden Knights fans would have hoped that goal would have been the first of many in a Vegas jersey for Shipachyov.
However, this story continued to take an ugly nosedive and from Russia with love it wasn’t…
Despite marking his NHL debut in the best way possible, Shipachyov was sent back to the AHL after Jonathan Marchessault returned from injury.
However, rather than take the demotion like a man, Shipachyov opted to take the drastic route by leaving after just one practice.
That swiftly led to a suspension by the Golden Knights and, again, the forward didn’t take this punishment lightly.
Things were escalating quickly and, after no trade partner was found, Shipachyov decided to retire in order to end his contract with the Golden Knights.
And, just as quickly as it had begun, the NHL dream was over for Shipachyov and what was intended to be a dream partnership ended up in flames.
Shipachyov quickly returned to the KHL and an unexpected chain of events ensured that his name was quickly forgotten in Vegas, with the Golden Knights getting off to a stellar 9-5-1 start.
Where is Shipachyov now?
While Vadim Shipachyov was back in Russia licking his wounds, the Golden Knights continued to make history after a stunning start to their NHL adventure.
Building momentum, Vegas never looked back and they made a jaw-dropping run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.
And, Shipachyov’s mysterious meltdown acted as a secret blessing for the Golden Knights with William Karlsson emerging from the shadows to make the top line center role his own, finishing his first year in Vegas with a career-high 78 points (43 goals, 35 assists) in 82 games.
Thus, the legend of Wild Bill was born.
But what about Vadim Shipachyov?
Where is he now?
Well, after seeing his NHL dream collapse around him in stunning fashion, the center returned to his homeland in an attempt to resurrect both his career and his reputation.
Recording 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 22 games for SKA St. Petersburg, Shipachyov has spent the last two years with Dynamo Moskva, enjoying great success.
Wearing the ‘C’ on his chest this year, Shipachyov put up 17 goals and 48 assists for 65 points in 61 games and was named to the KHL All-Star Game, while finishing with the most assists and the most points in Russia’s top league.
Currently on hiatus like the rest of the sporting world, the 33-year-old is a star in his homeland but his ill-fated stay in the NHL will forever act as a stain on his resume.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, there will be no regrets given that they hardly missed a beat in the wake of Shipachyov going AWOL, instead developing the ultimate Golden Misfit in William Karlsson into a franchise center while breaking record after record in the NHL as an expansion team.
They competed for the Stanley Cup in their inaugural year, while they were let off the hook from Shipachyov’s $9 million salary due to the fact that he retired from his NHL contract.
Next. Four players who may have played their last game for Vegas. dark
It is a strange tale that will forever live on in the rich history of this beloved sport of ours and, while both parties have moved on to great success, the Vegas Golden Knights and Vadim Shipachyov will forever be linked for all the wrong reasons.