Vegas Golden Knights fans were surprised to see that their team didn't make a big splash on Trade Deadline day. They were anticipating a blockbuster move that only Kelly McCrimmon could pull off. After all, that's what he's known for, right?
When in doubt, whip Kelly out. He's willing to do whatever it takes to upgrade at a position, draft picks and current Golden Knights be d*mned. It's no wonder the Golden Knights have won a Stanley Cup during his tenure as the general manager. Yet, that's not enough to sway the people.
Some people wanted the Golden Knights to put Adin Hill on a rocket and jettison him out of Las Vegas. Some people were even willing to go as far as bringing Jordan Binnington or Sergei Bobrovsky into the mix. Cue up the boards and the Facebook peeps trying to justify bringing another goaltender on.
But here's the thing. This was actually the right move. You might not like it. You might cry into your pillow like some copywriter from Idaho who didn't get her fill from the endless supply of potatoes and French fries. But you had better accept it, dear reader.
Why is that the case? Well, there are actually a few reasons why.
Why the Vegas Golden Knights were right in not pursuing goaltending at the trade deadline
Sometimes, it's always the depth moves that make more sense than getting one big name. Why go for a $6 million netminder when you can add two defensive pieces for less? That also applies to Sergei Bobrovsky, where you'd have to extend him afterwards.
Considering that Vegas already has plenty of mouths to feed for the upcoming offseason, that would be too much to bear. As for Binnington, you'd get one more year of service from the Canadian Olympian than Bobrovsky. But the stats show that he's actually worse than Adin Hill this season.
That includes the goals saved above expected statistics where Hill sits at -15.3 (67th in the NHL, according to MoneyPuck, minimum of 10 games). Certainly, Binnington couldn't do much worse, right? Well, the Blues goaltender is actually the worst netminder with a goals saved above expected of -23.
The Golden Knights are getting defensive gems in Nic Dowd and Cole Smith
It's been mentioned how you're not getting many goals from Cole Smith or Nic Dowd. The two forwards are relegated to lower-line duty, adding more back-checking oomph to Vegas. In a league where goals are king, that's not selling tickets.
However, it's much-needed for a Golden Knights squad that needs stay-at-home defenders. Dowd is great at taking on the league's best offensive stars and is also awesome at faceoffs (Dowd has a 50.8% career faceoff win percentage). Cole Smith has 737 career hits, making him one of the better physical punishers in the league.
I understand that some fans will be, well, angry about the trade deadline. But the goaltender market isn't exactly strong, nor will it get stronger. McCrimmon understands this and took appropriate actions to ensure that the Golden Knights add more depth overall. I mean, that's why they pay him the big bucks, right?