By Jordan Long
The Las Vegas Golden Knights ended last season at 43-31-8 for a total of 94 points. They missed the postseason by 3 points. It was also the first time in franchise history that dates back to 2018 that they didn’t make the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights are making sure that won’t happen again.
The Knights though didn’t begin the offseason well. Goaltender Robin Lehner will not play this upcoming season as he recovers from hip surgery. He was limited to 44 starts last year. His record was 23-17-2 with a goals against average of 2.83 and a save percentage of .907. With him shelved for the year, their goaltenders are Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit. Both are going to need to step up their play.
Thompson’s career record is 10-5-3 with a goals against average of 2.66 and a save percentage of .914. Brossoit wasn’t much better for the Knights last season. His record was 10-9-3 with a goals against average of 2.90 and a save percentage of .895. Both of them are questionable goaltenders.
Even with uncertainty at goaltender, that didn’t stop Vegas from signing veteran forward Phil Kessel. He agreed to a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million.
Kessel is entering his 17th NHL season. Vegas is his 5th team. Kessel has suited up for Boston, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. Last year he was with Arizona, the worst team in the Western Conference. Arizona finished with a record of 25-50-7 for 57 points. There was only one team in the NHL worse than them, the Montreal Canadians, who ended the year at 55 points.
Kessel had a career worst 8 goals. At least he was dishing the puck to his teammates for them to score, totaling 44 assists. Kessel spent time on the power play for Arizona. He had 2 goals and 12 assists. Once the season was over, Arizona decided to let him test free agency because it was clear they didn’t want him back.
Vegas signed him to a very team friendly deal at $1.5 million. They hope Kessel can regain his scoring touch. For Vegas to be successful this upcoming year, he needs to break the 20 goal mark which he did in 2021. Kessel should see time on the power play even if it isn’t on the first power play unit.
The Knights anticipate this move will improve their team. The worst case is the team struggles and Kessel can’t find the back of the net or his teammates for them to score. If this happens, the Knights could always trade him at the deadline since he is a veteran who could help a team in the postseason. The Knights gave him a deal that is basically a tryout for a year. Playing well could earn him another year or two. Hopefully, the Knights find a way to play well with Kessel on the team. Their goal this year needs to be earning a playoff spot. This will give them a chance to do something special with the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
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