Knights on Ice — The Wild Leave Vegas with 2 Points, Brad Hunt, and a Lot of Blue Paint on Their Sticks

Last night was a tough night to be a VGK player and fan, but it was even tougher to be Brad Hunt, who left Las Vegas with the Minnesota Wild on their plane following the Wild’s 4-2 win at T-Mobile.

Brad Hunt had been with Vegas from day one. He played in 58 games as a VGK. His career spanned six years with Edmonton, Nashville, and St. Louis before coming to Vegas. He has played in 91 NHL games, recording 34 points (7 goals, 27 assists).

Hockey is a great sport, but when you mix in the business portion, it can also be cruel—especially to players deemed expendable by their teams. In Hunt’s case, it was a numbers game. The roster can contain only 23 active players, not including those who are on Injured Reserve (IR).

The VGK have 23 active players and once William Carrier, Erik Haula, Malcolm Subban, and Reilly Smith return from IR, someone will need to be sent down to the Chicago Wolves and be subject to waivers. If claimed, Vegas loses the player or players without receiving any compensation for the valuable asset.

Hunt became the VGK’s first victim of the ugly side of the business of hockey. His good friend Jon Merrill kind of sealed Brad’s fate, in my opinion. Carrying eight defensemen from the start of the season, the VGK could afford to move one and get something in return. Merrill’s recent play has been strong and that rendered Brad the odd man out.

GM George McPhee’s hands aren’t exactly tied, but they are somewhat restrained, due to the roster limitations. In moving Hunt now rather than later, he could get somewhat of a return. In exchange for Hunt, Minnesota will give Vegas their own 2019 fifth-round pick or Washington’s 2019 fifth-round pick that Minnesota owns. Whichever of these picks is higher in the selection process will go to Vegas as the compensation for Brad.

In covering the VGK since the start, I can tell you that Brad Hunt is a tremendous human being and one of the most approachable players on the team. Don’t misinterpret that to mean that some are not, it’s just that Brad goes out of his way to make you feel like you’re not bothering or imposing on him with your questions. Many times he’s said to me as I glanced over to his locker, “Do you have a question?”—a great example of his tremendous character. He’s loved by his teammates and will be missed on and off the ice by them and by the fans who’ve interacted with him at City National Arena following practice.

It’s ironic how this played out, but right before Christmas, I made a video with a few of the VGK players about their potential Christmas gifts to teammates. (It’s on YouTube.com and it can be found under “VGK 12 Days.”) In the video, you get a good look at Brad Hunt and Jon Merrill and the connection between the two. It’s a shame that one friend’s play might have had a lot to do with the other’s departure.

There will be more player movement with the VGK; it’s almost a guarantee if any of the players on the IR are healthy enough to return. And with last night’s departure of Hunt, it’s likely someone is ready to return to the team.

Once again, an abundance of NHL scouts attended last night’s game, so buckle up and hold off on putting a name on the back of your VGK sweater, at least until after the trade deadline on February 25.

In last night’s game, the Wild owned the blue paint as they scored three of their four goals with Fleury in net from close range; the fourth goal was also scored from right in front of an empty net as Vegas in its attempt to tie the score gave up an odd-man rush back into their zone.

For those who don’t know, in front of each net is a “goal crease” surrounded by thin red lines and filled in with light blue. The crease is a special area of the ice designed to allow the goaltender to perform his or her duties without interference.

Opposing players aren’t allowed inside the blue paint without the puck, but as soon as the puck is in this area, it’s open territory. It’s a tough area to go to, because you’re guaranteed to receive some physical resistance from the defensive team. It’s why goals scored in this area are called “dirty”; you’re going to come out of there with some welts and maybe a few new stitches or a few less teeth.

Last night, the Wild swarmed the blue paint, making Fleury’s job much more difficult than it already is. They took wraparound shots, causing mayhem in front of Fleury. In close quarters like this, a goaltender’s vision is hampered when the puck is at his feet. The Wild moved the puck from one side of the net to the other from close in. It pretty much left Fleury helpless as a mass of legs, skates, and sticks were upon him from close range.

Coach Gallant wasn’t happy about his team’s performance, especially their play in keeping the Wild away from Fleury.

“What they did on those three goals was outwork us around our net,” Gallant said. “They scored three goals in the blue paint. [Fleury] played an outstanding game when he had to make saves, but there’s nothing to stop them when guys are leaving them wide open on the back door. We’ve got to be tougher in the blue paint.

“I don’t think we played good today. I don’t think we showed up ready to play against a team that was aggressive for points.”

The Wild are in a fight for a playoff spot and the two points they took from the game were not only important, but well-earned. On the flip side, Vegas had a chance to move ahead of San Jose into second place in the Pacific as San Jose also lost last night, to the Florida Panthers.

When Charlie Coyle scored the third goal for the Wild with just 5:31 left in the game, the blown two-man advantage that Vegas had for 1:12 early in the third period became even more depressing; a goal there and possibly two goals with the two-man advantage would change the game dramatically. The VGK managed all of two shots on this 5-on-3 power play.

Then there was Brandon Pirri, who seems to score whenever he shoots the puck. Alone in front of the net with Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk completely out of position, Pirri somehow failed to score, It was a tough night all around for Pirri: In the third period on the power play, his stick snapped in half as he attempted a shot at Dubnyk, who stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

Alex Tuch’s early power-play goal was his 16th, a career high that was wasted in this loss, along with Max Pacioretty’s 14th goal that tied the game at 2-2 after the Wild scored on back-to-back shots from close range midway through the second. Both goals came within 1:13 of each other.

With last night’s victory, the Minnesota Wild have still never lost to the VGK in regulation time. They own a 2-0-0 record at T-Mobile and overall have a 4-0-1 record vs. Vegas.

Colin Miller’s return to the lineup continues to be impressive. He picked up two assists last night, in addition to the two he was credited for Saturday night vs. Pittsburgh. His point shot has helped the power play, even though it missed a golden chance to change the results of this game when they had the two-man advantage.

Jonathan Marchessault had an assist on Tuch’s PPG. He also has four points in his last two games and as usual last night, he led the team with seven shots on goal.

Noticeably absent from the power play was Ryan Reaves, who didn’t play at all on any of the five power plays in the last two games. His presence in front of the net has been important previously.

My 3 Stars of the Game: Charlie Coyle (game-winning goal), Eric Staal (1 goal,  1 assist), Colin Miller (2 assists and 4 points in 2 games).

The next game is the last before the All Star Break and the VGK’s bye week. It’s tomorrow at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile against the Nashville Predators. Vegas doesn’t play again after that until Friday February 1 in Carolina.

Your comments and opinions are welcome and appreciated here at Las Vegas Advisor (to comment, you just have to register on the site, which takes all of 30 seconds and is free, of course). You can also contact me directly at [email protected] or visit my Facebook page, Vegas Hockey Guy.

And for the most comprehensive coverage of the Vegas Golden Knights’ historic inaugural season, take a look at our book Vegas Golden Knights—How a First-Year Expansion Team Healed Las Vegas and Shocked the Hockey World.

And here are the links to the videos:

Alex Tuch

Colin Miller

Max Pacioretty

Coach Gallant