Granger on the Draft, Free Agency & more
What insight can you provide on the Golden Knights’ work for things like the NHL Entry Draft and Free Agency in the wake of this hiatus?
JG: Yeah, so I spoke to General Manager Kelly McCrimmon a couple of weeks ago and he basically said that they are in mid-season mode right now. He can say that but I know that they’ve got to be doing preparation for the off-season. They aren’t going to have as much time as they normally would to get ready once the season is over, so I’m sure they are preparing now.
They’ve just signed Connor Corcoran to his Entry-Level deal so they are still doing some kind of business, and I think they have a plan in place.
Of course, the Playoffs could change that. This isn’t something I’ve heard but just as an example, if they were thinking of letting Robin Lehner walk and then he comes in and replaces Fleury and helps lead them to a cup, then obviously that changes things so I do think they have a plan in place for Free Agency but there are things that could change that depending on how these guys play in the Playoffs.
You are around this team all the time and we know they aren’t flush in cap space, but where do you think they will look to improve the roster in Free Agency and in the Draft?
JG: You mentioned it but they don’t have a lot of room to work. At this point it is almost like how they can keep the most talent on this team, so I don’t think they are going to add a lot. It is going to be tough to fit them all and if they do end up letting a guy like Lehner go, it does give them a little bit more cap space to work with because he’s going to be expensive so if they keep him then it is going to be really tight.
I think it is going to come down to this; if they can keep guys that they acquired this season that are RFA’s like Nick Cousins, that almost works as an off-season addition because you are improving your bottom-six and I think he’s an upgrade on Cody Eakin so you got better there. He may be able to provide a bit of scoring and the bottom-six has lacked that scoring punch.
You’ve got Chandler Stephenson who is another guy who is an RFA that they traded for this season, and I expect him to be back this year so, again, improves your bottom-six and he’s a guy that can play in the top-six if needed.
I don’t expect much happening in free agency as far as bringing guys in but, at the same time, I think they have already added to this roster so it isn’t a big deal if they don’t bring anyone in.
I’m just putting this out there but do you think they would consider trying to move Paul Stastny, or will they be content to let him play out the final year of his deal?
JG: He’s a guy who everyone points to, including myself, in regards to if you are going to move a salary to make room to bring Robin Lehner back and keep that two-headed monster in net, then Stastny is the most likely because he’s the oldest of the group, he’s got a year left and it makes the most sense from a financial standpoint.
But, from a team building standpoint, I don’t know how equipped they are to move on from Paul Stastny unless they have full faith in Cody Glass because if you move on from Stastny then you’ve got William Karlsson as your top center but, after that, the center depth isn’t so great if you move Stastny.
Chandler Stephenson had a really good month when he first came to Vegas when he played between Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, but are you really going to ride on a guy who has played in the bottom-six for most of his career between Stone and Pacioretty or between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith? I don’t know if they are going to want to do that.
Then you have Cody Glass who has a great ceiling and one day he’s going to be a really good center, but I don’t know if you can rely on him to be that guy especially with his injuries this year.
Moving on from Stastny makes the most sense financially but, if you were to move him, the center depth isn’t that great.
One other big chunk of news away from the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the birth of the Henderson Silver Knights, so how beneficial will it be to the Golden Knights to have their own AHL team right on their doorstep?
JG: From a hockey operations standpoint it helps a lot and I asked (Owner) Bill Foley the other night when they unveiled the logo how big a role Kelly McCrimmon and George McPhee played in this.
They actually went to Bill Foley with a list of reasons why they should bring an AHL team to Vegas and, to be honest, I think it is a better move from a hockey operations standpoint than it is an actual hockey business standpoint.
Now, they are going to sell tickets and they are going to do fine but I think this is more to have those players available so that they can move around the salary cap, especially when they are as tight to the salary cap as they were this year.
Poor Nicolas Roy had to fly to and from Chicago 30 times this season, so that won’t be happening anymore. Also, I spoke with Head Coach Peter DeBoer and he said that when these players get a call-up and they come up to the NHL, it is a huge moment in their career and this is their shot to show everyone what they’ve got and they may only have a game or two to prove that they belong before they are sent down again.
They are doing all of this on very little sleep, they are doing it jet-lagged a lot of the time because of the time-zone difference and they are doing it after sleeping on a plane and those aren’t optimal conditions to show an NHL team what you are made of.
What Vegas is hoping now is the players will get the call that morning, they will drive to a different rink that morning for practice and it will be a much better situation to show what they’ve got. I’m excited to see what these AHL players can do.
Let’s finish on a high. You did a brilliant story a while ago diving into the journey to design an all-gold third jersey, which is expected to be revealed to the public soon, so what exactly are you expecting?
JG: I haven’t seen it yet but from everyone who has seen it that I have talked to, it is bright and it is very bold. It is either going to be awesome or it is going to be horrible, there’s going to be no in-between. It is either going to be one of the best jerseys ever or one of the worst jerseys ever. I can’t wait to see it and I know Owner Bill Foley wants the fans to be seen to be noticed in the arena and the grey jersey doesn’t really accomplish that, so this shiny gold one certainly will.
I can’t wait to see what they are going to do with it. I wish I could tell you I have seen it but I’m really looking forward to seeing what they have come up.
The most interesting thing Bill told me in the interview was that this jersey could be the one they wear a lot going forward, so even if it doesn’t become the primary jersey I still think they will wear it for half their home games.
You are going to see this jersey quite a bit.
Huge thanks to our good friend Jesse Granger for this brilliant and insightful interview – we hope you enjoyed it! And, again, you can see all of Jesse’s brilliant work on the Vegas Golden Knights for The Athletic right here.