Golden Knights got it right with Thompson & Stephenson

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Vegas Golden Knights’ recent slide and Mark Stone’s new round of health problems, it was easy to lose sight of the good news that broke out for the franchise over the weekend. Vegas sent rookie goaltender Logan Thompson and top scorer Chandler Stephenson to their first-ever All-Star game.

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For a franchise that’s made a name for itself in recent years for chasing big names and not always showing loyalty when dealing with members of the roster, Thompson and Stephenson offer evidence of the front office’s eye for talent. Their presence in South Florida last weekend — Thompson was elected to represent the Golden Knights while Stephenson was named to replace injured Seattle Kraken rookie Matty Beniers — serves as confirmation of two unlikely paths to stardom.

As far as player performance goes in a three-on-three All-Star show, the Golden Knights representatives didn’t exactly shine on Saturday. Thompson allowed three goals on seven shots in the Pacific Division’s 6-4 loss to the Central, and Stephenson was a minus-1 in just under six minutes of ice time. Still, that did little to diminish her inclusion among hockey’s biggest stars.

Logan Thompson

One could argue that the 2022-23 NHL season is the first normal hockey season since 2018-19. That year, Vegas continued its expansion journey to the Stanley Cup Finals with a seven-game first-round loss to the San Jose Sharks. Thompson, meanwhile, stopped pucks for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Brock Badgers as a student at Brock University.

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Few players have successfully navigated their way from the OUA to a spot in the NHL, but Thompson turned his tenure at Brock into an ECHL Test match with the Adirondack Thunder that ultimately led to him being named in the ECHL and the American Hockey League (AHL) jumped around. A two-year entry-level contract with the Golden Knights brought him to Henderson in 2020, where he received the AHL’s Best Goalie Award in 2021.

Logan Thompson, Vegas Golden Knights (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Even then, Thompson was miles from regular NHL duty until injuries to Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit forced him into action last season, with the Calgary native handling the role so well (10-5-3, .914 save percentage ( SV%), 2.68 goals against average (GAA)). What was a strong performance last season in a small sample size is now undeniable, as the Calder Trophy contender was hitting nearly identical numbers (0.913 SV%, 2.69 GAA) in almost twice as many games while maintaining clear control about the #1 workplace.

Suddenly, after years of investing significant money between the boos of the likes of Lehner and Marc-André Fleury, the Golden Knights can now join the franchise’s second all-star netminder (after Fleury) with under $800,000 each the next boast two seasons.

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Chandler Stephenson

For all the buzzing blockbusters that Vegas has been delivering in their relative infancy, the Stephenson trade didn’t really make many waves when it got the green light. Stephenson, then a low-scoring forward, was acquired by the Washington Capitals in late 2019 for the price of just one 2021 fifth-round pick.

Looking back, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that the Capitals made this move. Stephenson had 18 points in 67 games and seven points in 24 playoff games during his 2017-18 rookie season, which ended with his Caps defeating the Golden Knights and winning the trophy. However, the next year didn’t bring the progression Washington had hoped for, as the former Regina Pats star picked up just 11 points in 64 games.

Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

At the time he was acquired by Vegas, Stephenson managed less than 12 minutes of ice time in a role that reached the depth of the line-ups. After moving west, he scored in his Golden Knights debut and had up to 20 minutes of work by the end of the month. By the end of the season, Stephenson had 22 points in 41 games, just 11 fewer than the 33 points he had in 168 career games with the Capitals. A deal that has been described as “the most one-sided in the NHL” is already bearing fruit.

Fast forward two years and Stephenson was everything Vegas could have hoped for and more. Apart from improving his score every season, he has reached the level where he is currently the club’s top scorer. The 28-year-old has also shown valuable versatility, leading alongside Jack Eichel and igniting the bottom six with his breakthrough speed (he finished third in Friday’s Fastest Skater competition).

The loss of high-paying stars like Fleury and Max Pacioretty for almost nothing as cap sacrifices has reinvigorated the notion that the Golden Knights front office has wealth management problems. All-Star Weekend suggested otherwise. Vegas’ first all-star pair included a standout rookie goalie who signed an exceptionally team-friendly contract for two more seasons and a multi-faceted, fast-improving forward who came at the expense of a fifth round.

I may be a Leafs fan at heart (I’ve witnessed their ups and downs firsthand as a staffer at Scotiabank Arena), but I’m also a seasoned freelance sportswriter who loves a good story. And in hockey, there hasn’t been a better story in recent years than the Vegas Golden Knights. I look forward to returning to the beat of the Golden Knights to cover the NHL.

Source: thehockeywriters.com