Photo: Claus Andersen/Getty Images
The Vegas Golden Knights currently sit at 9-4, good for 2nd in the Pacific Division as of Saturday night; not too shabby for a bunch of castoff misfits. However, injuries have decimated the team, especially at the goalie position. Here’s how they got there:
- October 6 – Vegas trades Calvin Pickard to the Maple Leafs for Tobias Lindberg and a 2018 sixth-round pick
- October 15 – Starter Marc-Andre Fleury is placed on the Injured Reserve (out indefinitely, concussion)
- October 22 – Backup Malcolm Subban is placed on the Injured Reserve (out 4 weeks, lower body injury)
- October 31 – Oscar Dansk, who relieved Subban on 10/21, is placed on the Injured Reserve (out indefinitely, lower body injury)
The Golden Knights traded away Pickard because they had a logjam at the goalie position. It didn’t make sense to carry 3 capable goalies at the time, and at the time, Subban appeared to have the higher ceiling. Now, with three consecutive injuries to goalies, Vegas is hoping AHL backup Maxime Lagacé (pictured above) can hold the fort until the cavalry arrives. He hasn’t had a great start though, as he’s 1-3 in games he’s filled in for, in addition to giving up 15 goals. What should be even scarier is the fact that should anything happen to Lagacé, 19-year old Dylan Ferguson is his backup. Pulled out of junior hockey, Ferguson hasn’t even faced AHL competition in his career, and on top of that, he’s sporting a 4.05 GAA and .878 SV% in the WHL this season.
This young franchise will try to weather the storm until one of their NHL-capable goalies is healthy. Until then, expect the losses to begin to rack up unless Lagacé can channel his inner Julie “The Cat” Gaffney.
