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Vegas Golden Knights: Winners / Losers of the NHL Stoppage

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 17: Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 17: Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against Dmitry Orlov of the Washington Capitals in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 17, 2020.
Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck against Dmitry Orlov of the Washington Capitals in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 17, 2020. /

The sports world is currently on hiatus due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and there are some clear winners and losers for the Vegas Golden Knights because of the stoppage.

We are entering week three of no sports and the Vegas Golden Knights are on lockdown with the rest of the NHL.

At the time of the pause button being hit on the 2019-20 regular season, the Golden Knights were sitting pretty at the top of the Pacific Division with 11 games remaining before the playoffs.

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Hitting their stride at just the right time, it appeared as though the Knights would dominate down the stretch, building some vital momentum before getting ready to do battle in the heat of the postseason.

On the flip side of that, though, Vegas was also pretty banged up with a slew of key players nursing various ailments.

As a result, and as frustrating as this current sporting hiatus it is, there are some winners to emerge from this whole mess as well as losers.

We decided to take a look at the Vegas Golden Knights players who have actually gained something from this lockdown, in addition to the ones who could lose out big time.

Let’s delve in…

Max Pacioretty of the Vegas Golden Knights in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Max Pacioretty of the Vegas Golden Knights in action against the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome. /

Winner #1 – Injured Players

Before the NHL hit the pause button on the 2019-20 regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights were getting ready to take on the Minnesota Wild without a bevy of key players.

Mark Stone (lower-body) and Alex Tuch (lower-body) were already missing for the Knights, while Cody Glass saw his rookie year come to a premature end after undergoing knee surgery.

But then the Golden Knights were dealt two more body blows after Chandler Stephenson went down with a wrist injury, before Max Pacioretty was rated as week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

The Pacioretty injury was a cruel body blow in particular given the year the veteran was carving out, recording 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists) in 71 games.

However, if hockey does return this year then the above players will be big winners in the wake of this current hiatus.

After all, Stephenson was a game-time decision for the Wild game while Stone was expected to be back before the end of the regular season.

The current stoppage will allow all of the walking wounded the chance to get back fit and raring to go, which will be good news for the Golden Knights come playoff time.

Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up before a game against the Arizona Coyotes in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena.
Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights warms up before a game against the Arizona Coyotes in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena. /

Loser #1 – Shea Theodore

Although the season may not be over yet, it will be a crying shame for Shea Theodore if he can’t finish what he started.

After missing some of Training Camp following a scary battle with Cancer, Theodore has taken the next step this year towards morphing into one of the best two-way defensemen in the entire NHL.

Emerging as one of the Golden Knights’ most consistent players all year, the 24-year-old was busy carving out a career-year prior to the hiatus.

Achieving career-highs in goals (13), assists (33), points (46) and power play points (16), Theodore was on track to pad out those numbers even more before the postseason got underway.

As such, Theodore may have to settle for the points he put up prior to the hiatus even if hockey does return, with a jump straight into the playoffs looking the most feasible option at the moment.

But, if the season doesn’t return at all, it will be a travesty that Shea Theodore didn’t get the opportunity to put the icing on top of the cake of what was a coming-out year.

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