Is it Oct. 10 yet? With the roster pared down to 26 players and not a ton at stake beyond finalizing the group that will suit up opening night, the NHL preseason seems to be dragging with about a week to go until the Stanley Cup banner is raised at T-Mobile Arena.
In the meantime, with two games remaining on the preseason docket, the objectives are clear: sort out the forward line combinations, determine the health status of Zach Whitecloud (upper-body injury) and figure out a possible contingency plan, identify the last three roster cuts and, most importantly, keep the rest of the group healthy.
Up front, Pavel Dorofeyev and Paul Cotter continue to battle for the third-line wing spot vacated by Reilly Smith and neither one should be considered much of a threat for demotion. That leaves 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson and former Anaheim Duck Max Comtois, here on a professional tryout offer (PTO), to vie for the last forward slot (from ‘Golden Knights sign forward Comtois to tryout deal,’ Las Vegas Sun, 09/12/23). On the back end, Whitecloud’s status will determine availability, with Brayden Pachal and Kaedan Korczak appearing poised to be potential injury beneficiaries.
Let’s break down the remaining roster battles set to come down to the final week of the preseason.
Dorofeyev or Cotter?
In the interest of continuity, it appears all but certain that one of Dorofeyev or Cotter will be lined up alongside William Karlsson and Mike Amadio to start the year. Based on last season’s contributions, Cotter seems like the more familiar option, having played in 37 more games, including some time spent on that third line.
It’s possible, however, that head coach Bruce Cassidy sees Dorofeyev as a better fit by virtue of his offensive finish. With 26 goals, Smith was the leading scorer on the line a year ago. At that same time, Dorofeyev managed to score more than half as many goals as Cotter (seven, compared to 13) despite seeing action in one-third as many games. In the preseason, each player has recorded an assist over two games.
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While neither man is expected to be sent down (both would need to clear waivers in order to do so), questions linger for whoever doesn’t land on the third line. There isn’t a clear fourth-line fit for either man, so the “loser” of the positional battle may be relegated to press box duty on opening night as the extra forward.
Comtois or Brisson?
It should be noted that Brisson has been one of the best stories of training camp, with two goals scored and some notable budding chemistry alongside Jack Eichel. While that production will certainly serve as a major confidence booster moving forward for the 21-year-old, it probably doesn’t mean much at present time when it comes to roster decisions.
If, as expected, Vegas is to carry an extra forward, Comtois makes more sense at this stage. Though hardly a seasoned veteran at 24 years of age, the former 16-goal scorer already has the pedigree to keep himself ready and to step into the lineup after a stretch of press box duty. Choosing Brisson to stay in the NHL would not only force the Golden Knights to release Comtois from his tryout, but would likely mean making one of their prized prospects a healthy scratch rather than a lineup regular in Henderson.
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Whitecloud, Pachal and/or Korczak?
Obviously, Whitecloud is in the lineup if he’s healthy enough to be. The 26-year-old blueliner exited last week’s preseason loss to the Colorado Avalanche after getting hit by Avalanche defenseman Kurtis MacDermid and was subsequently shut down for the remainder of the preseason.
The loss of Whitecloud, who averaged over 17 minutes a night last season, deals a costly blow to Vegas’ depth on the back end. But it also provides opportunities. Against Colorado, top defensive prospect Lukas Cormier responded to an increased role by recording a goal and an assist in 22 minutes of action. If the injury extends deeper into the regular season, more opportunities would be made available.
With Ben Hutton likely poised to make the blue line regardless of Whitecloud’s status, that leaves Pachal and Korczak as the parties who could potentially be impacted by the injury. Once again, the big difference between the two defenders is that Pachal is not waiver-exempt, whereas Korczak is.
Ironically, Cassidy has recently lauded Korczak by comparing his game to Whitecloud’s, but the 2019 second-rounder will probably have to wait in order to follow up on last year’s 10-game sample. Pachal got into just 10 games of his own last season (plus a playoff game), but his contributions were sufficiently notable to warrant his name being engraved on the Cup.
With so much of the lineup already set, the preseason continues to largely be about having players get their legs under them after a short but celebratory summer. The end-of-roster battles up from and on the back end not only help stoke the competitive fire in camp, but they offer a small taste of what could be both the present and future of the club.
