It’s no secret that the biggest issue the Vegas Golden Knights have faced over the past few seasons has been their injury troubles. They’ve proven that they can overcome these issues before, but as the 2023-24 season progresses, they’ve found themselves at a point where their playoff hopes have actually come into question.
The Golden Knights have been reaping the benefits of their incredible start to the season and haven’t really been challenged for their second-place spot in the Pacific Division standings until now, with the Edmonton Oilers riding a 12-game winning streak surpassing the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the division. Things have looked a little better recently, but the Golden Knights’ play has looked a lot worse compared to the standard they set earlier in the season.
After it was announced on Friday that Michael Amadio was placed on the injury reserve (IR), the Golden Knights now have 10 players adding up to over $35 million in salary split between the IR and the long-term injury reserve (LTIR). This list includes:
IR
- Jack Eichel – $10,000,000
- Adin Hill – $4,900,000
- William Carrier – $1,400,000
- Ben Hutton – $850,000
- Michael Amadio – $762,500
- Tobias Bjornfot – $775,000
LTIR
- William Karlsson – $5,900,000
- Shea Theodore – $5,200,000
- Robin Lehner – $5,000,000
- Daniil Miromanov – $762,000
There have been updates over the past few days on some of the injured players and their timelines for return, so let’s break down some of the complications that the Golden Knights are currently facing.
Starting with the biggest loss to the team, it was announced on Jan. 16 that Jack Eichel completed a successful surgery on an undisclosed lower-body injury that he suffered against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 11. He is currently listed as week-to-week, and much like the rest of the players on the IR and LTIR, there haven’t been many other details released in regards to what injury was specifically sustained.
Related: 5 Golden Knights Who Must Step Up in Eichel’s Absence
William Karlsson suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 1 and was listed as week-to-week, but was moved to the LTIR along with Amadio on Friday. This allowed for Jonas Rondbjerg to be called up from the Henderson Silver Knights on an emergency basis. Being placed on the LTIR rules a player out for 10 games and 24 days, and considering that Karlsson wasn’t expected to return until after the All-Star Break, this was the best decision to free up a roster spot for Rondbjerg.
With Rondbjerg’s call-up being due to an emergency, this allows for him to rejoin the Golden Knights without having to clear waivers when he eventually gets sent back down. The 24-year-old has made nine appearances with the Golden Knights this season, including the last three games, and is one of five Silver Knights players to be called up over the past few weeks (Sheldon Rempel, Brendan Brisson, Isaiah Saville and Byron Froese).
Logan Thompson
Despite playing behind a depleted lineup, nobody has been more impressive for the Golden Knights lately than Logan Thompson. With a packed schedule and a ton of injuries, he had a pretty brutal end to the calendar year, finishing the month of December with a .887 save percentage (SV%) and 3.14 goals-against average (GAA) in nine games played.
While Thompson continues to play a high volume of games, starting nine of their last 10, he seems to have turned things around very quickly. He’s won four of his last five appearances with a .944 SV% and a 1.61 GAA. Even with his struggles just a few weeks ago, Thompson also ranks eighth in goals saved above expected (GSAx) among goaltenders with at least 25 starts.
For those who are unfamiliar, on a basic level, GSAx subtracts goals allowed from an opposing team’s expected goals (xGF). It does a much better job of isolating a goaltender’s individual impact than traditional stats do, which don’t take into account a team’s quality of competition and quality of teammates. If you’re interested in learning more about GSAx and its impact on goaltender evaluation, there is a great piece written by Jake Zrihen available on The Hockey Writers.
With the Golden Knights not having the goal support that they usually do, Thompson’s remarkable play cannot be understated. They pretty much need to limit teams to less than two goals in order to remain competitive right now, as they’re only averaging 2.25 goals-for per-game (GF/GP) in January, which is 27th in the league.
Both special teams units are also operating at the lowest they’ve been all season, ranking 27th on the power play (12.5 PP%) and 25th on the penalty kill (73.1 PK%) this month. However, this isn’t that surprising considering the numerous personnel changes the Golden Knights have had to make as of late.
However, the fact that they are somehow fourth in goals against (2.25 GA/GP) while allowing an average of 31.4 shots against in the same timeframe is a testament to how important this run by Thompson has been. After taking in all of these factors, it’s not outrageous to say that he’s single-handedly been keeping this team afloat.
Final Thoughts
A storyline that has also been flying heavily under the radar among all of these injury troubles is the season that Mark Stone is having. After missing a combined 84 games over the last two seasons, he hasn’t missed a single contest in 2023-24. He leads the Golden Knights in points (46) and assists (31), is tied with Eichel for the most power play points (14), and is on pace to have the best offensive season of his career.
As we inch closer to the All-Star Break, every game becomes more important, but arguably none are more important than Feb. 6 against the Oilers. The loose timelines that have been given to us suggest at least a few of the stars that are out of the lineup will return by then, but it’s very unlikely the Golden Knights will be at full strength.
There are still five games to worry about before that showdown happens, starting with tonight’s contest against Reilly Smith and the Pittsburgh Penguins. This will be the second time Smith faces off against his former team this season with the Golden Knights winning the first game 3-0. However, this will be the first time he returns to T-Mobile Arena since hoisting the Stanley Cup as a member of the Golden Knights, and will surely receive a warm welcome back.