A few weeks ago, just as the league was coming off the 4 Nations break, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon had an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal where he said, "I don't see us being big players at the trade deadline this year..." Most of the hockey world looked at that and understandably had a two-week long bout of laughter. But he was proven to be right on the money as Vegas was quiet at the Deadline for the first time in roughly the last three seasons.
The only bit of business (outside of Brandon Saad a few weeks ago) came on Thursday in a deal with the Rangers that brought back "Original Misfit" Reilly Smith in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a few draft picks. It was the kind of quiet that's been a rarity in recent memory at the Deadline, which given the great hockey this team's played the past few weeks might be a big plus in this stretch run. Not to mention, the deal itself is a great fit for Vegas.
As great as this team's been offensively this season (fifth in the league in goals per game), the wings for the Golden Knights have been hard to pin down from game to game, especially on the top line. Since January 30th, including Tanner Pearson who started on the left side of the top line tonight against Pittsburgh, there have been 10 different wing combinations starting alongside Jack Eichel.
Another utility winger to (hopefully) calm the "Line Blender"
Reilly Smith spent most of his last season with Vegas on the second line, but he can fit just as well on the top line alongside Jack Eichel. I mean, since January 30th, there have been 10 different winger combinations on the top line with Eichel. It's worth a shot sometime in these six weeks to see if it might work. Fans will likely know for sure when William Karlsson's back in the lineup.
He started on the fourth line tonight against the Penguins, which probably has more to do with getting acclimated with the team again. Though paired alongside Nicolas Roy and Cole Schwindt could prove interesting if it catches on somehow. However you slice it, he's gonna be a big weapon come playoff time (more on that a little later).
Bulked-up West gets even bulkier
If you came out of all the Deadline coverage with a little bit of a twitchy neck, it'd be quite understandable. Dallas wins the Mikko Rantanen sweepstakes. Colorado wins the Brock Nelson sweepstakes yesterday and picked up Charlie Coyle and Erik Johnson today. Winnipeg got Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn. That's three teams who just became supremely tougher to tango with in a hypothetical Western Conference Final.
The good news is that the rest of the teams at the top of the Pacific Division also stood pat on Deadline day, outside of the Kings picking up Andrei Kuzmenko. Edmonton did some work earlier this week acquiring Jake Walman and Trent Frederic. But like Vegas, it was mostly patching up depth around the edges of the team.
Regardless of what happened today, the race in the Pacific was and ultimately is going to be tight right up to the last week of the season. How well it ends up, as the last few weeks have taught us, will depend on how well either team's goaltending looks. If the hockey gods are feeling cinematic, they'd choose the final home game April 10 against Nashville. Speaking of "cinematic," in honor of Reilly Smith's return...