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Vegas Golden Knights: Revisiting the curious case of Vadim Shipachyov

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 15: Vadim Shipachyov #87 of the Vegas Golden Knights picks up a puck with his stick during warmups before the team's game against the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on October 15, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 15: Vadim Shipachyov #87 of the Vegas Golden Knights picks up a puck with his stick during warmups before the team's game against the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on October 15, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights won 3-1. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Vadim Shipachyov of the Vegas Golden Knights shoots against Troy Grosenick of the San Jose Sharks in the second period of their preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on October 1, 2017.
Vadim Shipachyov of the Vegas Golden Knights shoots against Troy Grosenick of the San Jose Sharks in the second period of their preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on October 1, 2017. /

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.

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