Vadim Shipachyov’s departure from the Vegas Golden Knights will likely be costly in the short and long-term for them.
After weeks of confusion and rumors, it appears that Vadim Shipachyov is on his way back to Russia. Shipyachyov, 30, signed with the expansion Golden Knights in the summer with a two-year contract worth $9 million. He was expected to be a significant contributor for the Golden Knights but in a short season that never came to be. Shipachyov suited up for only three games for the Golden Knights recording a goal in his first game and leaves the NHL as with a +/- of three.
Vadim Shipachyov has decided he’s going back to Russia. Contract termination will follow after unconditional waiver process #Sportsnet
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) October 30, 2017
While there will be those who will defend the Golden Knights and talk about how Shipachov didn’t fit the system, the truth is that Shipachyov was not on the roster because of his ability to move through waivers. It’s no coincidence that his three games in the NHL where due to roster spots being opened up by the Injury Reserve. This is a fate that until recently had been shared by defenseman Shea Theodore.
Why the Golden Knights are juggling contracts
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The question asked by many is, why would the Golden Knights leave good players like Shipachyov and Theodore with the AHL squad instead of in the NHL? A huge cause of this issue goes back to the expansion draft.
During the expansion draft, Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee misread the value of some of the defenceman he had drafted. It’s hard to totally blame him as he was able to extract quite a haul from teams looking to protect their defenceman. For Example, the Wild gave up prospect Alex Tuch in order to protect Marco Scandella and Matt Dumba.
Unfortunately, for the Golden Knights, by the time the puck dropped on the season the only player they were able to move were Trevor van Riemsdyk, Marc Methot, Alexei Emelin and David Schlemko. Schlemko would only fetch a 5th round pick in 2019 from the Montreal Canadiens. The rest fetched them similar returns. This has left the Golden Knights currently carrying nine defensemen on their active roster after waiving Jason Garrison. Garrison has been assigned to the AHL were $3.575 million of his contract is counting against the Golden Knights salary cap.
Long-term implications could be damaging
There could be some long-term implications for the Golden Knights going forward. In the short term, they will hurt as well though. The one thing that makes everything better in hockey is winning. With the Golden Knights off to their historic 8-1-0 start, this loss likely will not seem like a big deal to the Vegas faithful. This likely could not have happened at a better time for the organization. It will likely draw less attention from the casual fan than it may during a losing streak.
Long term though this could have some serious repercussions for the Golden Knights going forward. The Tampa Bay Lightning in order to coerce the Golden Knights into taking on the contract of Jason Garrison (again currently in the AHL), the Lightning parted ways with the rights to Nikita Gusev.
Gusev, 25, is a dangerous scoring winger who played on the same line as Shipyachov for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. While it was never a given that Gusev would ever make the jump to the NHL, the chances of that happening now are likely slim to none. If he does make the Jump to the NHL it is likely not with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Damage could also be done here at home
This will likely leave a black mark on the Golden Knights when they try to lure players from other European Leagues as well. The one aspect of this that may go under the radar is it could affect their ability to attract domestic players as well. As long as these roster issues exist, players from the NCAA may be less likely to turn pro and risk being placed in the minor leagues based on waiver ineligibility rather than skill.
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Fortunately for the Golden Knights, many of their contracts will expire at seasons end and that should prevent this from being an issue going forward into next season. The downfall of that is without knowing what players would be back having a player like Shipachyov in the fold would be better. This will be especially true if the team is unable to lure back James Neal.