In this edition of Vegas Golden Knights News & Rumors, Nicolas Hague is becoming more and more concerned over his contract status and may not attend camp later this month. In other news, general manager Kelly McCrimmon told reporters recently that he is hopeful Mark Stone will be available for the season opener on Oct. 13. Meanwhile, Laurent Brossoit’s recovery timeline from his hip surgery this offseason remains unknown. Last but not least, Pete DeBoer recently spoke on his firing from the organization back in May, something he seems to still be troubled by.
Hague Considering Skipping Training Camp
With training camp set to begin in two weeks, Hague does not yet have a contract in place. As you can expect, the 23-year-old is concerned and likely frustrated by the lack of a deal, and according to Fox 5 Las Vegas reporter Vince Sapienza, is considering skipping camp all together.
Sapienza also mentioned that Hague’s agent and the Golden Knights have had very little dialogue of late, which is quite confusing given improvement he has shown in each of the past two seasons. In 52 games last season, he registered four goals and 14 points while averaging a career high in ice time with 18:40 minutes per game. One would expect a deal to be hammered out in short time, but this is certainly a troubling development.
Stone Likely to Be Ready for Season Opener
Still recovering from back surgery this offseason, Stone’s status for the Golden Knights training camp is a serious question mark at this point in time. That said, he is progressing, and as of now is expected to play in the season opener on Oct. 13.
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“Mark’s in town, he’s skating,” said McCrimmon earlier this week. “Our expectation is he’s going to be available for the opening of the season. What that means exactly with respect to training camp, we’ll see.”
The back issue that Stone had surgery had an impact on him throughout the entire 2021-22 campaign. It not only limited him to just 37 games, but also hampered him during those outings. However, despite that, he still remained quite productive with nine goals and 30 points. His health will play a big role in whether or not the Golden Knights are able to turn things around this season.
Brossoit’s Return Date Unknown
After having hip surgery this May, Brossoit was expected to miss the opening few weeks of the 2022-23 regular season. Things around him have gone quiet as of late, and that may be due to the fact both him and the organization aren’t exactly sure when a return date will come, leading many to believe he may have had a setback in his recovery.
“He’s healing well from his surgery, again a guy that is highly motivated to get out there,” Cassidy told reporters days ago. “Whether he joins us at the end of the year or two or three weeks in, we’ll see him.”
These are somewhat strange comments, and perhaps ones Cassidy is making simply to be deceptive to the media. That said, the potential uncertainty of Brossoit’s status may have played a big role in why the Golden Knights traded for Adin Hill in late August.
DeBoer Still Bothered by Golden Knights Firing
When the Golden Knights chose to fire DeBoer after missing the playoffs this past season, the general consensus was that he was thrown under the bus for a lot of issues outside of his control. His team dealt with plenty of injury throughout the 2021-22 season, and were often handicapped lineup wise due to poor salary cap management by McCrimmon. While the 54-year-old himself is still bothered by the firing, he continued to take the high road when asked about the situation recently. (from ‘Ed Graney: DeBoer still not sure why Golden Knights let him go,’ Las Vegas Review-Journal, 09/05/22).
“You for sure move on,” DeBoer said. “Coaches compartmentalize things. The coaching part of my brain has moved on. I’m excited about Dallas and the group and the people I work for. Excited to get going.
“But it’s tough to completely walk away from what happened in Vegas because of the circumstances and situation. That’s going to stick in my head for awhile.
“What could we as a staff have done differently? There are always things we could have done better, for sure.”
As DeBoer himself admitted, there were things he and his staff could have done differently. One thing that instantly comes to mind is the drama he seemed to create between himself and Robin Lehner near the end of the season in regards to the goaltender’s injury situation. That said, he was far from the only reason the team struggled in 2021-22, and he should have no problem finding success with his new club in the Dallas Stars.
Looking Ahead for the Golden Knights
While the recoveries involving Stone and Brossoit are worth keeping an eye on, the main thing to monitor is the Hague situation. If signed, he is expected to be an every day player for the Golden Knights on the back end, but if not, someone else within the organization may be given that opportunity. If a deal isn’t worked out before training camp on Sept. 21, there will be some real cause for concern.
Colton Pankiw is a former Jr. A hockey player who now provides his knowledge of the game through writing. He’s been a very active and reliable source for nearly two years at The Hockey Writers. He is a credentialed writer for the Calgary Flames but also does features on other teams throughout the league. Other writing contributions include: Yahoo Sports, Las Vegas Chronicle, Oil On Whyte, and Markerzone.com. Colton is also a co-host of both Oilers Overtime and Flames Faceoff podcasts. Any interview requests or content info can be made through him on Twitter. Take a look at his work here.