On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, former NHL goaltender and now analyst Mike McKenna discussed the Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltending situation since Logan Thompson suffered a lower-body injury and if they need to acquire another goaltender ahead of the trade deadline. McKenna also spoke on the Ottawa Senators goaltending fiasco and whether Pierre Dorion should buy or sell.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Mike, let’s dig into things here starting out West in the Pacific Division with a team you know quite well the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson is out and is injured, what do you see in the crease there and does Vegas need to go out and add someone in the next three weeks?
Mike McKenna: You know, I think Vegas is probably wise to stay on pat with what they have between the crease unless things go completely sideways. Here’s the reason why Logan Thompson has been the rock for Vegas and the problem now is he has a lower-body injury. This will keep him out week to week and head coach Bruce Cassidy said that he would probably be back for the regular season but not anytime soon. That’s concerning to me, that’s four to six weeks probably. Cassidy also went on to say that with Laurent Brossoit called up from Henderson of the American Hockey League his playing time would be depended on how he plays during his opportunities. What that says to me is that this is Adin Hill’s crease in Vegas all season long. On the season, he’s 12-5-1 with a .911 save percentage. Now we need to look at this, according to MoneyPuck.com Hill’s saves are above expected are down to 73rd in the league and he’s also faced a really weak schedule. So this is a make-it-or-break-it type of deal for Hill and you also have Brossoit as your ace in the hole, which is why you have three goaltenders at a time. He played a lot of last year injured, and had off-season surgery and his .855 save percentage is well off his career .905 in 106 NHL games. He’s played pretty well in Henderson, who’s been a bottom-feeder team in the AHL’s Pacific Division. So, I think Vegas is okay in goal here, Hill and Brossoit should be able to carry the load until Thompson is back. I wouldn’t do anything drastic, but if the wheels fall off, or if there’s a setback in Thompson’s recovery, then maybe Vegas does something.