Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Vegas Golden Knights

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Nate Schmidt, Curtis McKenzie, Nick Cousins, Paul Stastny, Jon Merrill, Brandon Pirri, Deryk Engelland, Valentin Zykov

Incoming – Alex Pietrangelo, Tomas Jurco, Carl Dahlstrom, Dylan Sikura

Impact of changes – Removing Stastny and Schmidt were cost-cutting moves making it possible to add a top impact defenseman like Pietrangelo. Regardless of how good Schmidt was, Pietrangelo is going to be a big upgrade. And no, Pietrangelo's arrival doesn't hurt the right-shooting Shea Theodore, as Theodore was producing at such a prolific rate that he has proven himself to be one of the top puck movers in the game today. The left-shooting Pietrangelo will perform in a secondary role offensively, while holding the line as the primary defensive guy. As a pairing, these two could be unbeatable and would rival the great Seth Jones–Zach Werenski combo we've enjoyed in Columbus.

Moving Stastny out pretty much hands key centermen jobs to Nicolas Roy and Cody Glass. While Glass has been somewhat injury prone early on in his career and he has shown some inconsistency at times, Roy has overachieved and has indicated the ability to handle more. Between them the team will have their No.2 and their No.3 centers, likely switching back and forth as the situation demands. They won't replace what Stastny brings, but Vegas also has Chandler Stephenson who can move to center and up and down the lineup as needed.

Ready for full-time – Nicolas Roy was the first guy called up last year when injury struck, with each stint better than the last. By the end of the shortened season it was impossible to send him down. Roy was making a noticeable impact with his hitting and the chances that he generated with minimal ice time. By the end of the season his ice time was up over 15 minutes per game. He had 10 points in 28 contests, but the only PP time that he received was 1:01 in the last regular season game – and he scored a PPG. In the Fantasy Guide I have him flirting with 40 points (pro-rated for a full 82-game season)

Nicolas Hague is a left-shot defenseman who was drafted 34^th overall in 2017. After posting 42 points in his last 96 AHL games, he was called up several times and fared well (11 points in 38 games with the Golden Knights). He received sheltered minutes with plenty of offensive zone starts and mostly seeing the lowest quality of competition on average. He should make the team and contribute, but by no means is it a lock.

Dylan Sikura gets one more true kick at the can. He's 25 now, and teams rarely give prospects a shot when they're 26. He hasn't dominated the AHL the way he did at the college level, but he's put up modest points – enough to indicate that he has upside as a third-liner in the NHL. He's slightly better than 50-50 to make the team.

Zach Whitecloud was a regular in the Vegas lineup in the postseason, averaging just over 14 minutes per game. He was only given protected minutes and the metrics weren't very good. He has size and strength, but doesn't use it. He's great for BLKS and Hits, but is not a fantasy asset for points.

Winger Lucas Elvenes had himself a fantastic first season in North America. The 21-year-old posted 48 points in 59 AHL games for Chicago. It is likely that the Swede will see just a few games with the big club this season before making the jump to full time in 2021-22. But a big camp could certainly change a few minds and his development trajectory has been pointing sharply upwards with each year that goes by.

Vegas Golden Knights prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The Golden Knights were 12^th in the league scoring last season on a per-game basis. This offseason the team upgraded at defense by a lot. Not only by adding Pietrangelo, but with Shea Theodore really coming into his own in the playoffs and blossoming as a legit superstar quarterback. Up front they take a bit of a hit losing Stastny, but overall the pro team probably gains in offensive potential. Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault are each still in their productive prime up front. Their goaltending improves by having Robin Lehner for a full season.

The pipeline is average, with no elite prospects who are potential superstars, but they do have seven players who are in the Top 115 of my Fantasy Prospect Forwards list, led by Peyton Krebs. Just one player, Hague, is in the Top 100 of my Fantasy Prospect Defensemen list.

Fantasy Grade: B (last year was B+)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

Washington

Winnipeg