Nobody saw this offseason coming. They didn't expect a bunch of trades to fly through the air, with countless players going to different teams. That consisted of names like Brady Tkachuk and Alex Tuch, making the NHL hot stove fiery hot. You gotta love the NHL offseason and the chaos that it brings.
That even included the Vegas Golden Knights, who got a first-round pick out of the ordeal. Of course, they acquired a few more draft picks before settling on Juho Piiparinen with the 29th overall pick. What a time to be alive. Kelly McCrimmon getting more draft picks? Who would've thought that this was going to happen?
Well, considering that the Golden Knights didn't have much cap space or draft picks to work with, it makes sense. You can't get names like Dylan Larkin to come to Las Vegas without accumulating some capital. Therefore, that's where we stand at the moment.
So, let's look at the eventful week that was for the Golden Knights. Who got hired by the Henderson Silver Knights and will be their new bench boss? Who got moved and who did Vegas miss out on?
The Henderson Silver Knights hired Joel Ward as their new head coach
Ryan Craig led the Henderson Silver Knights to near-uncharted waters this past season. We're talking about a third-place finish in the Pacific Division while beating the San Jose Barracudas. Now that he got a promotion, who will replace him?
That would be none other than Golden Knights assistant head coach Joel Ward. The former Washington Capital started his coaching career as an assistant with the Silver Knights in 2020. He follows a similar path to Craig, who also started with the Golden Knights in the team's first season in Nevada.
Mike Babcock joins the Edmonton Oilers as their new head coach
The Edmonton Oilers filled the final vacant head coaching spot by hiring controversial figure Mike Babcock. If you don't know the lore behind Babcock, he's notorious for checking through his players' cell phones for any dirty photos and asking Mitch Marner who's the hardest worker.
That alone marks a win for Kelly McCrimmon and company, based on the controversies surrounding Babcock himself. However, the Golden Knights dodged a bullet with their Bruce Cassidy situation, keeping him safeguarded from going to a division rival. It's good to be the king.
Brady Tkachuk joins Matthew Tkachuk to form the real-life Bash Brothers in Broward County
The Vegas Golden Knights were one of the teams that Brady Tkachuk had interest in playing for. After all, what better way to leave Ottawa than to go to Sin City? Alas, it wasn't meant to be as the former Senators star was traded to the Florida Panthers.
So, what's a team to do now? Well, you have options like Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin available. The bad news? The Carolina Hurricanes are trying to get Hellebuyck and Larkin expanded his destination list.
Pavel Dorofeyev goes to the New York Rangers
The New York Rangers weren't afraid to sign Pavel Dorofeyev to a seven-year extension worth $11 million AAV. So, they gave up three draft picks and acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights.
It seems that the asking price was too much for Kelly McCrimmon to handle, leaving Rasmus Andersson to have the extension floor all by himself. The bad news? He's 25 years old and peaking. The good news? You can fill your roster with depth guys and potentially get a home run trade.
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