Post by Vegas Golden Knights on Nov 23, 2022 12:35:10 GMT -6
LAS VEGAS, NV - Stay the course.
That was the motto for the Golden Knights last season, where they almost squeaked in to the postseason. They ended up missing the playoffs, but that approach seems to have paid off.
Besides the returning Claude Giroux, the rest of the team is very young and still developing. Instead of spending assets to push for a likely early playoff exit, GM Tom Jervis decided instead to be patient and wait for his young players to develop. With cheap reinforcements on the way in the form of Matt Boldy & advancement of other players such as Filip Chytil & Igor Shesterkin, Vegas had reason to be optimistic this season. No one could have predicted they would be as dominant as they have been, so far.
Vegas ranks in the top 5 in the league in Goals per game, goals against per game, PP percentage, shots for & they rank 1st in goal differential.
Oh yeah, and 1st in the most important category, Wins.
Needless to say, Vegas has been one of the best, if not the best, team in the PFHL so far this season.
A lot of that can be attributed to their dynamic duo down the middle between Auston Matthews and Claude Giroux. They rank 2nd & 6th, respectively, in points among centers and have anchored their lines in leading the high powered Golden Knights scoring.
Lets also not forget that Vegas has been great at keeping the puck out of the net, as well. Igor Shesterkin has been nothing short of spectacular this year. He leads the PFHL in save percentage and currently sits 4th in GAA.
And don't forget the blue line, where Jacob Trouba is currently tied for the league lead in points among defensemen. Adam Boqvist and Noah Hanifin have shown quite a bit of chemistry together on the 2nd pair, with Boqvist at 2nd on the team in +/- with +12, and Hanifin right behind him at +11.
Could this be the time for GM Tom Jervis to finally pull the trigger on a big trade?
"With the amount of assets we acquired in the Kirby Dach offer sheet, and having the most cap space of any team in the PHFL, we definitely have the ability to go after a big name. At this point, we feel like we don't want to mess with the chemistry we've established. We love the team we've assembled and they've rewarded us with exceptional results. I will always listen to any offer and explore every possibility but right now I'm not actively shopping for anything. I know, it's been the same response from me since the start but nothing has dramatically changed...so far. But as we know, other teams aren't going to stay put, they are going to be active to try and catch us. We will need to be ready to respond. It's only 20 games...it's a solid sample size but we've got a long way to go. I'm excited to see how the rest of the season pans out."
