Vegas Golden Knights

The NHL announced Thursday that Vegas Golden Knights forward Valentin Zykov has been suspended 20 games without pay for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing substances. 

Zykov, 24, is in the midst of his second season with the Knights. After posting two goals in 10 games for Vegas during the 2018-19 season, he has two assists while appearing in all seven games so far this season.

The Russian winger was originally a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2013 NHL draft.

Although Zykov is in the midst of his fourth NHL season, he has played sparingly during his career. Zykov played a total of 12 games in his first two seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and then split 28 games between the Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and Golden Knights last season.

He finished with just two goals and three assists for five points last season, and his most productive campaign to date was 2017-18 when he racked up three goals and four assists in 10 contests for the Canes.

With a strong group of forwards including Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Paul Stastny leading the way for Vegas, Zykov has played a complementary role on the third and fourth lines.

The Golden Knights' forward depth will take a hit with Zykov out, but it could give Brandon Pirri an opportunity to establish himself as a full-time player.

Pirri scored a career-high 22 goals for the Florida Panthers in 2014-15 in just 49 games, but he has been in and out of the lineup for the Golden Knights over the past three seasons.

After posting 12 goals and 18 points in 31 games for Vegas last season, it stands to reason that Pirri could add some more offensive punch to the lineup for the 4-3 Golden Knights.

The Vegas Golden Knights announced Monday that they agreed to an eight-year, $47.2 million contract extension with forward William Karlsson.

Karlsson, a 26-year-old native of Sweden, has played a significant role in the Golden Knights reaching the playoffs in each of their first two years of existence.

Last season, he registered 24 goals and 32 assists in 82 regular-season games, and he added two goals and three assists in seven playoff contests.

For as productive as Karlsson was during the 2018-19 campaign, it actually represented a drop-off. During the Golden Knights' inaugural season, he racked up 43 goals and 35 assists in 82 games, and his plus-49 rating led the NHL. He also put up 15 points in 20 playoff games, as Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final during its inaugural season.

Jesse Granger of The Athletic believes that both Karlsson and the Golden Knights will benefit from the new contract:

Fantastic deal for the Golden Knights, who get one of the best defensive centers in hockey who has the upside to score 30+ goals/year.

Great deal for William Karlsson, who finally gets his long-term deal, and in Las Vegas where he absolutely loves it.

Well done by both sides

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 23, 2019

Meanwhile, Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun feels the Golden Knights got a bargain by signing Karlsson to a deal that will pay him $5.9 million annually:

The Golden Knights getting William Karlsson at eight years for under $6 million per year is...kind of unbelievable really. What a deal

— Justin Emerson (@J15Emerson) June 23, 2019

It is difficult to argue with that logic given some of the contracts that have been handed out recently.

The Buffalo Sabres signed 27-year-old winger Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72 million deal earlier this month on the heels of him netting 40 goals in a season for the first time in his career. He also matched his career high in points with 63, which is 15 fewer than Karlsson recorded two seasons ago.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed forward Kevin Hayes to a seven-year, $50 million contract last week. Hayes has never scored more than 25 goals in a season, and the 27-year-old set a career high with 55 points last season.

Given Karlsson's mix of youth, goal-scoring ability and defensive acumen, the Golden Knights did well to sign a complete player to such a team-friendly contract.

He was an absolute steal in the expansion draft, and he will have an opportunity to continue developing. Along with Karlsson, many of the Golden Knights' other key players are under contract for the next three or more seasons, including forwards Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith and Alex Tuch; defensemen Nate Schmidt, Shea Theodore and Colin Miller; and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

With that type of continuity, the Golden Knights should be a perennial contender in the Western Conference.

The Vegas Golden Knights presented Pope Francis with a custom hockey jersey Friday.

The NHL team showcased the Pope's excitement:

OMG! pic.twitter.com/DZKCECwUgx

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 10, 2019

Pope Francis has expressed support for the unifying nature of sports since taking over as the head of the Catholic Church in 2013.

Last June, the Argentina native wrote a letter about sports to the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life in which he noted athletics is a "meeting place where people of all levels and social conditions come together to reach a common aim":

"In a culture dominated by individualism and the gap between the younger generations and the elderly, sports is a privileged area around which people meet without any distinction of race, sex, religion, or ideology, and where we can experience the joy of competing to reach a goal together, participating in a team, where success or defeat is shared and overcome; this helps us to reject the idea of conquering an objective by focusing only on ourselves. The need for others includes not only teammates but also managers, coaches, supporters, the family; in short, all those people who, with commitment and dedication, make it possible to 'give the best of oneself.'"

The Golden Knights are a bit late if they were hoping for divine intervention. In their inaugural season last year, they made a remarkable run to reach the Stanley Cup Final, but they fell to the Washington Capitals in five games.

Vegas does boast one of the NHL's best jerseys, however, and now the Pope is a proud owner of one.

The Vegas Golden Knights have reached the playoffs in both years of the franchise's existence, and now they are promoting from within for the general manager position.

On Thursday, the team announced Kelly McCrimmon will be the new general manager starting on Sept. 1 after he was named assistant GM in 2016. The announcement noted McCrimmon will report to president of hockey operations and current general manager George McPhee, who will remain in his hockey operations role.

"Kelly has been a tremendous addition to our hockey operations group and the entire Vegas Golden Knights organization as a whole," McPhee said. "His character, leadership, hockey acumen, and player evaluation at both the pro and amateur levels is exceptional. We are confident Kelly will thrive in this new role. We will continue to build a team and a franchise that our fans are proud to support."

Bob McKenzie of TSN noted this move means McCrimmon is no longer "in the mix" for the Edmonton Oilers' GM position.

The team's announcement is validation of McCrimmon's importance during the Golden Knights' preparation for the 2017 expansion draft and inaugural entry draft. Vegas built an impressive roster and reached the Stanley Cup Final in its first year of existence and remained a force in the Western Conference during the 2018-19 season.

"Working with the Golden Knights has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I am very grateful for this new opportunity," McCrimmon said. "We are proud of the foundation we have built and are excited for the future."

McCrimmon was the owner, general manager and head coach of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings before he joined the Golden Knights.

As for the Oilers, TSN's Darren Dreger suggested Mark Hunter, Sean Burke or Keith Gretzky could be candidates for the GM position. He also said the trio could all be hired in some capacity as a general manager with two assistants.

While the Oilers have one of the best players in the league in Connor McDavid, they have made the playoffs just once since they lost the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas Golden Knights' defense of their 2018 Western Conference title ended in disappointment Tuesday, and Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault believes the officials are to blame.

With Vegas leading the San Jose Sharks 3-0 during the third period of Game 7 of their first-round playoff series, Cody Eakin was called for a five-minute cross-checking major after contacting Sharks star Joe Pavelski, who then hit the ice and began bleeding:

That spurred a massive comeback for San Jose, who scored four consecutive power-play goals over the next four minutes and one second to take a 4-3 lead.

According to ESPN.com's Greg Wyshynski, Marchessault said the decision "stole" the win from the Golden Knights, and the 28-year-old added:

"It's a f--king joke. To call five minutes for that? It changed the whole outcome of the game. Like, seriously, what is that? It's so disappointing. The game's not even close. It's 3-0. Call a [two-minute minor]? OK. But a five? For something you don't even see? You just call the outcome. It's a f--king joke. It's embarrassing. That's what it is."

Marchessault did manage to tie it with 47 seconds remaining in regulation, but an overtime goal by Barclay Goodrow sent the Sharks to the second round and eliminated the Golden Knights from Stanley Cup contention.

No penalty appeared to be called on the play initially, and it wasn't until after officials observed Pavelski bleeding on the ice that the decision was made to levy a five-minute major against Eakin.

Marchessault believed the call was excessive given how often players cross-check each other following a faceoff:

"[Referee Eric] Furlatt said, 'It looks pretty bad.' If it looks pretty bad, then clearly you did not see it. It's a faceoff. It's a push. Probably 50 percent of the faceoffs, players—if they lose—they probably give a small cross-check, right? If you want to call the cross-check, fine, call it. It's a cross-check. But seriously, he falls bad. It's unfortunate. Don't get me wrong: I'm a huge fan of Joe Pavelski. And he went down, and I really hope he's OK and he comes back. But that call changes the whole outcome. It changes the whole future of us and the outcome this year. It's a joke. I would be embarrassed if I was them."

There didn't appear to be malice behind Eakin's check, which sent Pavelski tumbling into Golden Knights forward Paul Stastny before he hit the ice.

Calling a major penalty is at the discretion of the officials, but Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant suggested after the game that they didn't actually see what happened on the play:

"They said he cross-checked him across the face, and as we all saw, that didn't happen. There was no high-stick that hit him in the face. When Stastny came out, he fell and banged his head on the ice. That's the unfortunate part of it. It was an awful call. We've all seen it. It's too bad we end up losing because of that because we're in control of the hockey game."

While the five-minute power play gave San Jose life, the fact that it was able to score four times with the man advantage was remarkable given how poorly they performed on the power play during the previous six games of the series, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Don’t call the Sharks baby Sharks.

San Jose scored 4 goals in 4 minutes and 1 second, thanks to a 5-minute major from Cody Eakin. Entering Game 7, the San Jose was 4-25 on the power play. pic.twitter.com/cSMdw1vkns

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 24, 2019

Vegas shocked the hockey world last season when it advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final as an expansion team before falling to the Washington Capitals.

It can be argued that the manner in which the Golden Knights were eliminated from the 2019 playoffs was equally shocking, considering they were about 11 minutes away from booking a second-round date with the Colorado Avalanche when the penalty was called against Eakin.

Although the Golden Knights' 2018-19 season ended in disappointment, they remain well-equipped to contend next season with a core that includes forwards Marchessault, Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Max Pacioretty, as well as goalie Marc-Andre Fleury set to return.

The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators on Monday, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. 

Garrioch reported the Senators received Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round draft pick.

Stone was in the final year of his contract and due to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Stone agreed to an eight-year extension with the Golden Knights worth $9.5 million annually.

Stone appeared in 59 games for Ottawa this season. He scored 28 goals and registered 34 assists, putting him on pace to smash his previous career high for points (64 in 2014-15).

Heading into Monday's trade deadline, Sportsnet's Rory Boylen listed Stone as the best player on the market: "Stuck on a bottom-feeding team, Stone has the league's best relative [Corsi for percentage] at 5-on-5 and makes everyone around him better. The only issue is he's on an expiring contract so the return would be far higher for Ottawa if an acquiring team can get an extension worked out."

The Golden Knights obviously achieved that last part, and the Las Vegas Sun's Justin Emerson argued the team didn't give up its best assets to get the deal done:

The Golden Knights got the biggest name on the market and held onto their first-round pick and, most importantly, Cody Glass. That’s a huge part of this

— Justin Emerson (@J15Emerson) February 25, 2019

Brannstrom, the Knights' first-round pick in 2017, has appeared in 41 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. Lindberg is an experienced forward but is likely to be only a half-season rental for Ottawa. The 27-year-old is set to hit free agency and doesn't warrant a significant long-term investment right now.

While Brannstrom has shown a lot of potential, that doesn't always materialize when a player reaches the highest level of the game. Sportsnet's Faizal Khamisa thought Ottawa could've gotten more for Stone:

guy, they had other offers, for sure. Getting Brannstrom is great, he’s got potential to be that good, but Brannstrom + a 2nd for Stone? Not enough.

— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) February 25, 2019

The Golden Knights shocked fans when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first year as a franchise. By trading for Stone and immediately giving him a big extension, Vegas is clearly looking to make another deep run in the postseason and remain a title contender going forward.