By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
So many new hockey fans in Las Vegas are learning an important lesson.
Be careful picking your favorite player and doling out those $200 for his hockey sweater.
One day he’s here.
The next day he’s off to Vancouver or Detroit or Winnipeg or Buffalo.
After the three-year-old Vegas Golden Knights shipped center Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets and defenseman/original Golden Knight Jon Merrill signed with Detroit, the VGK made big headlines Monday with late-day announcements saying original Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round draft selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and the Knights signed defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year contract worth an average annual value of $8,800,000 — or $61.6 million.
Schmidt was a popular Golden Knights player and one of the original Knights picked during the NHL expansion draft in June 2017. He was a puck-moving defenseman with a quick smile and a funny quip to anyone within earshot.
He even pitched Hyuandai cars for a Henderson car dealer.
Here’s a sampling of fan reaction comments on the Las Vegas Click fan Facebook page:
Nate Schmidt. Photo credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell/LVSportBiz.com
The game, business and job I have requires hard decisions on really good people. I’ve never worked with a finer man in my career than Nate Schmidt… as good a player as Nate is, he’s an even better person. — Vegas Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon
Here’s the lowdown on Pietrangelo, considered one of the top five defensemen in the NHL.
What about VGK goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and his $7 million-a-year salary as the Knights’ back-up goaltender?
Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said the Knights are keeping both starting goalie Robin Lehner, signed to a $25 million, five-year deal, and Fleury, an original Golden Knights player and considered the “the face of the franchise.” Remember, Fleury makes $7 million a year — a lot of money for a back-up netminder.
McCrimmon said committing $12 million to an overall salary cap total of $81.5 million is a lot, but with a condensed schedule next season and lots of back-to-back games having two quality goalies is important. McCrimmon also mentioned Lehner is getting shoulder surgery and should be ready when the next season starts around Jan. 1.
Do you believe McCrimmon when he says Fleury is here for the 2020-21 season? Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, was not too pleased with how Fleury was treated when Walsh posted this picture on Twitter at the start of the 2020 NHL pandemic playoffs.
Other popular original Golden Knights have been traded in previous seasons like Colin Miller and Erik Haula. Rosters change. That’s business. But will Fleury go, too?
And can the management/Fleury relationship be repaired? This is a general manager who fired a former coach-of-the-year, Gerard Gallant, who led the Knights to a Stanley Cup Final in Season 1.
Expectations, thus, are high every season. It’s Stanley Cup or bust for VGK because of year one and McCrimmon doesn’t appear to be stopping any time soon.
McCrimmon also said Schmidt was a popular player who was strong in the community, but shedding his salary had to be done to sign Pietrangelo, the former St. Louis Blue captain who led St. Louis to a Stanley Cup championship over Boston in 2019.
Check out the complete McCrimmon media session, including a question posed by LVSportsBiz.com toward the end of the session. And yes, the Golden Knights will hit the cap before the next season starts, McCrimmon said.