Vegas Golden Knights April Fools: Top 3 players that got away
While the Vegas Golden Knights have hit many home runs during their short time in the National Hockey League, they have also committed their fair share of blunders.
Today is April Fools Day but, due to what is currently going on in the world, we will be avoiding the usual prank-related content that takes place on this day and instead take a look at some of the players that got away from the Vegas Golden Knights.
As always, we are here to try and provide a distraction for you all and ensure that hockey can still be an escape despite the fact that the NHL is on hiatus due to the coronavirus crisis.
Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this terrible health crisis and also with all the incredibly brave people putting their own health at risk in order to help others.
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Thank you.
When it comes to today’s content, we decided to take a look at the three players that got away for the Golden Knights.
Since entering the NHL in 2017, the Knights haven’t really put a step wrong in the grand scheme of things, although they have made mistakes when it comes to roster construction.
Granted, some of their decisions to trade or allow certain players to walk in free agency boil down to the fact that they have invested a significant amount of money into their core, thus limiting the amount of role players they can invest in.
So, given that the NHL is currently on lockdown, we thought it would be the right time to take a look at the three best players that the Vegas Golden Knights let get away…
3. Nikita Gusev, LW
How could we not include Nikita Gusev on this list?!
One of the most talented and productive players to have graced the KHL, Gusev was meant to be the secret weapon for the Golden Knights in 2019-20.
However, after locking franchise center William Karlsson down to an eight-year, $47,200,000 contract, Vegas needed to shed some bodies off the roster in order to become cap compliant.
And, despite trading defenseman Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres and forward Erik Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Golden Knights still needed to make one more move.
Hence, Nikita Gusev’s Vegas Golden Knights career was over before it ever really started.
It was well documented at the time that Gusev had a certain amount of money he was targeting, and the Golden Knights couldn’t nor did they want to pay over the odds for an unknown commodity in the NHL.
As a result, and following a summer that became known as the ‘Chronicles of Gusev,’ the Knights pulled the trigger on a trade that angered many, sending Gusev to the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and a second-round selection in 2021.
Gusev also got what he wanted, immediately signing a two-year, $9 million contract with the Devils who had significantly upgraded their roster during the off-season having also traded for defenseman P.K. Subban while selecting franchise center Jack Hughes with the 1st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
While this year was a dumpster fire for the Devils, Gusev proved he could flourish in the NHL and he was second on the team in points prior to the hiatus, putting up 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 points in 66 games.
Not bad at all considering the lack of help Gusev had around him, and the Russian’s exploits only further rubbed salt into the wound for the Golden Knights who struggled to generate much secondary scoring all year.
2. Colin Miller, D
From what I remember, there wasn’t too many naysayers when it was announced that the Vegas Golden Knights had traded Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres last off-season.
However, Miller is a fine example of the old saying you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
A top-four defenseman with the Golden Knights, Miller put up 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in 2017-18 and three goals and 26 assists for 29 points in 2018-19.
Not only was Miller able to contribute offense, but he was also one of the team’s best puck-moving defensemen and he is also a right shot, which is a rare commodity in Vegas given that only two of the current eight blueliners on the active roster are right-shot defensemen.
He helped with Vegas’ transition game, an area they struggled in this season, and the 27-year-old also boasted a canon of a shot.
Miller was also solid in his own zone, recording a total of 128 blocked shots, 287 hits and 57 takeaways in two years with the Golden Knights.
While he was prone to the odd Giveaway, 102 in two seasons, Miller was a staple of that Golden Knights blueline and his presence was missed this year.
With Deryk Engelland nearing the end of his career, coupled with Jon Merrill’s struggles, the Knights could have done with Miller in their top-four this year in order to help Shea Theodore carry the load.
However, their recent battle with the salary cap ensured that they had to give up one of their most accomplished puck-moving blueliners, only getting back a second-round pick in 2021 and a fifth-round selection in 2022 which further rubs salt into the wound.
1. David Perron, LW
In my opinion at least, this will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in the short history of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Letting David Perron walk in free agency was an absolute crime, especially when you consider that the front office didn’t really engage the forward’s representatives in contract talks.
Instead, they let a key offensive weapon join the St. Louis Blues and the rest is history as they say (but more on that later).
One of many gems taken from the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Perron was an instant hit in Vegas and he was the heartbeat of the team that made a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year.
A key weapon on the power play, Perron gave the Golden Knights a real added offensive punch and he was relied upon a lot, averaging 17:49 minutes of total ice time per game.
He finished third on the Golden Knights in points in 2017-18 with 66 points (16 goals, 50 assists) in 70 games, including 18 points on the power play.
The wing carved out new career-highs in assists (50), points (66) and power play points (18), while he also recorded 118 hits.
Furthermore, Perron was productive in the postseason with nine points (one goal, eight assists) as Vegas flirted with the Stanley Cup.
Having more than proved himself, it was expected that Perron would be signed to a new deal by the Golden Knights but, instead, he was allowed to walk in free agency where he returned to the Blues.
Of course, the Knights went on to trade for Max Pacioretty and that deal has worked out pretty well, but Perron was a vital member of the Blues team that won the Stanley Cup in 2018-19 and he would have provided the depth scoring that the Golden Knights so missed this season.
Next. Player Poll illustrates how far the Knights have come. dark
Overall, while the Vegas Golden Knights have a pretty clean resume when it comes to constructing a roster, they whiffed on the decision not to sign David Perron to a new deal given what he brought to the table for this franchise in his one year in Sin City.
He was the one that very much got away.