Sports: What are the Golden Knights’ next moves?

from 2020-09-24 - Las Vegas Weekly

by Greenspun Media Group

Art: London Biennale marks its 10th Vegas anniversary—online

OFFSEASON AGENDA

Three questions facing the Golden Knights before hockey resumes again

BY JUSTIN EMERSON

The Vegas Golden Knights’ front office won’t have much of a chance to dwell on the team’s disappointing loss to Dallas in the Western Conferdwell on the team’s disappointing loss to Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. They have too many roster decisions to make ahead of the ence Finals. They have too many roster decisions to make ahead of the 2020-21 season, which will likely start sometime in November or Decem2020-21 season, which will likely start sometime in November or December. The big one is in goal, but even once Vegas figures out who’ll be playing in ber. The big one is in goal, but even once Vegas figures out who’ll be playing in the crease, there are other areas that need to be addressed.

Here’s a rundown of the three biggest questions the Golden Knights must answer. Here’s a rundown of the three biggest questions the Golden Knights must answer.

1WHO’S THE GOALIE? This will de ne the o season and quite possibly the franchise moving forward. Outward indications point to the Golden Knights keeping Robin Lehner and moving on from Marc-André Fleury. Some reports even suggest the Golden Knights and Lehner have already agreed to a ve-year, $5 millionper-year contract, though both sides have denied that any deal exists.

If it ends up happening, however, the Golden Knights have their starting goalie and little room for Fleury. It’s hard to justify committing $12 million of salary cap space on two goalies, when only one can start per night.

That could mean trading Fleury, which appears complicated. The veteran has a 10-team no-trade clause in his contract, so he can block deals to a third of potential suitors. If Vegas finds a taker among the remaining pool of 20 teams, it’s all about the return.

Does Fleury have positive value Does Fleury have positive value that could net Vegas a prospect or that could net Vegas a prospect or draft pick in return? Or would the draft pick in return? Or would the Golden Knights need to toss in a Golden Knights need to toss in a sweetener in the form of a draft pick sweetener in the form of a draft pick or prospect of their own to get anor prospect of their own to get another team to take on the $14 million other team to take on the $14 million owed to the 35-year-old Fleury the owed to the 35-year-old Fleury the next two years?

The latter might be more likely, The latter might be more likely, considering Fleury is coming off one considering Fleury is coming off one of his worst seasons and was benched of his worst seasons and was benched in the playoffs.

There’s also the buyout option. The There’s also the buyout option. The Golden Knights could cut Fleury and Golden Knights could cut Fleury and save about a third of the money owed save about a third of the money owed to him over the next two seasons in exchange for a cap penalty. That in exchange for a cap penalty. That would make Fleury an unrestricted would make Fleury an unrestricted free agent.

For now, Fleury remains a Golden For now, Fleury remains a Golden Knight, and Lehner is set to be a free Knight, and Lehner is set to be a free agent on October 9, but odds are on the agent on October 9, but odds are on the latter starting on opening night and latter starting on opening night and the former playing somewhere else. the former playing somewhere else.

MARC-ANDRÉ FLEURY

ROBIN LEHNER

2WHO’S NOT COMING BACK? The Golden Knights have 18 players signed to contracts for next season: the main crew minus four unrestricted free agents—Lehner, Tomas Nosek, Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland—and a pair of restricted free agents in Chandler Stephenson and Nick Cousins.

Nosek, Merrill and Engelland appear less likely to return than Lehner. Nosek played eight playo games before getting injured and saw his role reduced once Nicolas Roy became a regular and Cousins was acquired via trade. There does not appear to be a roster spot for him next season.

Merrill played just once in the postseason, and with six defensemen already under contract, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere.

Engelland is as good as gone. He didn’t play in the postseason and made only one appearance over the Golden Knights’ nal 18 games after Zach Whitecloud’s emergence pushed him out of the lineup. Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said he talked with Engelland and o ered to trade him before the deadline so he could nd playing time somewhere else, but the veteran declined. He wanted to stay.

The 38-year-old Engelland’s career is nearing its end, though he’ll always be beloved in Las Vegas for his emotional speech before the team’s inaugural home game and for the primary role he played that season.

Stephenson and Cousins should return, since Vegas has team control over both. They each made about $1 million last season, and while Stephenson might be due for a modest raise, neither is expected to command much of a cap hit.

Vegas also has a rich prospect pipeline. Center Cody Glass is expected to be ready for training camp after making the opening-night roster last year, and defenseman Nicolas Hague is hoping to cement himself in the lineup, too. Winger Jack Dugan, center Jake Leschyshyn and defenseman Dylan Coghlan are among others closing in on their NHL debuts. 3 WILL THE KNIGHTS GO BIG-GAME HUNTING? Don’t discount the possibility. Vegas has never shied away from the biggest names on the market. The Golden Knights snagged Paul Stastny out of free agency two years ago and have traded for Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Lehner.

Will this year bring another big name to Las Vegas? It’s a long shot, simply because the Golden Knights lack cap space, but they might be able to maneuver if they’re determined to do so.

They’ve long been rumored to covet defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. The St. Louis Blues captain is an unrestricted free agent who could team with Shea Theodore to form one of the best blueline tandems in the league.

Though the Golden Knights gure to be less interested in adding another winger, calling the Winnipeg Jets about Patrik Laine might be wise. The 22-yearold has enough upside that some expect him to lead the league in scoring someday.

There are also cheaper options available, such as the Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere or the Canadiens’ Max Domi. Vegas is always out to make a splash, and that’s unlikely to change as it looks to capitalize on a championship window while its current core remains in its prime.

Still, it’s more likely Vegas will make depth moves to ll out its roster. A net-front presence in the bottom-six could help out the third line and the power play, especially after coach Peter DeBoer said the team needed to learn how to score in the playo s. The Coyotes’ Carl Söderberg, the Sabres’ Wayne Simmonds and the Lightning’s Patrick Maroon are all unrestricted free agents who might not break the bank.

Even if Vegas isn’t active, that doesn’t mean it isn’t waiting for the right time to strike. Don’t forget, the Golden Knights were quiet last o season, choosing to preserve cap space that they ultimately used to acquire Lehner and Alec Martinez at the trade deadline.

the wager to a third party and receive a guaranteed, smaller profit.

If it were only that easy in March.

When the pandemic shuttered all sports in the spring, it also put a pause on the PropSwap business, including wagers on the heavily bet on NCAA Tournament.

“I felt like we had a ton of momentum going into March Madness, and March is our biggest time of the year,” Epstein said. “The first four days of March Madness, that’s like four Super Bowls. It was a gut punch. We had the rug pulled out from under us.”

It created a problem they could have never expected. All tickets were considered no-action, meaning the payout from the Nevada sports book was only the original amounted wagered. The third-party buyer was left with a mostly worthless ticket — PropSwap had its commission, and the original ticket holder enjoyed a small profit.

Enter the “good karma plan.”

PropSwap’s terms of service dictated that the buyers were out of luck, Epstein said. But he and business partner Luke Pergande had a different idea.

“We said right away that we’d give back our commissions, that was a no-brainer,” Epstein said. “We

decided that PropSwap’s model shouldn’t be considered sports betting, which gave Epstein and Pergande the green light to proceed without a gaming license. One of the most publicized PropSwap transactions was the purchase of a New Orleans Saints ticket at 20- to-1 to win the Super Bowl in 2019. An $8,000 ticket originally purchased at South Point, the slip was sold to media personalities Clay Travis and Cousin Sal for $57,500 before the Saints played the Los Angeles Rams Amid pandemic, PropSwap in the NFC championship game. Most sales on PropSwap aren’t nearly that large, and some sell tickets for face value or slightly above sellers choose good karma that. Of course, the Saints lost that game in January 2019, so the ticket didn’t cash, but the transaction netted over making a quick buck PropSwap significant media attention, Epstein said. PropSwap had its biggest month of sales in August with three of the four major U.S. pro sports leagues in action, and the start of the NFL season around the BY BRYAN HORWATH I an Epstein calls it the “good karma plan.” PropSwap, Epstein’s Las Vegas-based sports bet resale company, had grown over the past five years from a startup to being valued “in the eight-figure range,” he said. PropSwap allows owners of sports bet tickets their profits, because it was a terrible situation that everyone was in; it wasn’t anybody’s fault. ” Eventually, Epstein said, most sellers—around 90%—agreed to give back at least some of their proceeds. Whatever difference needed to be made up, PropSwap took care of it in expense that cost the com pany hundreds of thousands of dollars, Epstein said. With sports betting becoming more popular by the year in the U.S.—and legal in more states—Epstein said he thinks the sky’s the limit for his company, which has a small staff scattered across the country. It has come a long way from back when a couple of college buddies from the University of Arizona tried to get the concept off the ground. to resell the wagers to third-party buyers, serving as “It was incredible,” he said. “It really showed that “As sports betting grows, so do we,” Epstein said. the middle for a 10% commission. we’re actually a real online community. A lot of those “Tickets can sell on our site multiple times, and we

They deal in future bets, such as the Dallas Stars— people had been with us and grown with us these past make a profit each time. We have a great business who opened at 20-to-1 odds—to win the Stanley Cup. few years.” model. I think that once a person becomes a sports The Stars are one of two teams standing, meaning When the idea for the company was brought to Nebettor, they don’t stop betting. I’ll probably be in this someone with a ticket could use PropSwap to flip vada’s Gaming Control Board several years ago, it was industry my entire life.”

corner. wanted to also see if we could get sellers to give back Ian Epstein, co-founder of PropSwap (Christopher DeVargas/Staff)

Join Us for One of Our Grand Openings

South Nellis: Oct. 15 th , 11am - 12pm South Rainbow: Oct. 27 th , 11am - 12pm North Rainbow: Oct 29 th , 11am - 12pm South Eastern: Dec. 1 st , 11am - 12pm

Las Vegas’ New Partner in Good Health

Partners in Primary Care is expanding in Las Vegas with 8 new medical centers dedicated to Senior-focused Primary Care! Discover a holistic approach to wellness delivered by a dedicated Care Team that knows your history and keeps up with your healthcare needs.

Call 702-357-9784 to become a new patient. Learn more and register for a Virtual Grand Opening at SeniorFocusedLasVegas.com Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm

Visit us on Facebook for activities and events

Providing access to the entire community is important to us. We accept Aetna and Humana Medicare Advantage, and are also finalizing participation with many other plans.

Partners in Primary Care does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-877-320-2188 (TTY: 711). 注意：如果䓟使用繁體中文，䓟可以免費獲得語言援助服務。請致電 1-877-320-2188 (TTY: 711). GCHKU3REN

VegasInc Notes

UNR Extension welcomed Laura Perkins and Maureen Schafer to its advisory council. Perkins sits on the Board of Regents of the Nevada Perkins System of Higher Education representing District 1 (Clark County), and has held positions as a teaching assistant at the College Schafer of Southern Nevada and as a student liaison at the UNR School of Medicine. Schafer is president and CEO of the Schafer Company, providing specialized growth, strategic and operations advisory services to private, public and nonprofit institutions, and is president and CEO of the Nevada Health & Bioscience Asset Corporation. KO Knudson Academy of the Arts was designated an Exemplary School in recognition of its commitment to excellence by the Arts Schools Network board of directors. ASN awards the designation to members that follow A Guide to Assessing Your Arts School in strategically evaluating their school’s purpose, operations and educational programs. The five-year designation is awarded for 2020-25. The Las Vegas Convention Center was awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council STAR facility accreditation by ISSA: The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association, the world’s leading trade association for the cleaning industry. Considered the gold standard for safe facilities, the GBAC program was designed to control the risks associated with infectious agents, including the virus responsible for COVID-19. The LVCC was the first facility in Nevada to receive the accreditation.

Gaming Laboratories International promoted Karen Sierra-Hughes to vice president of Latin America and Caribbean. Sierra-Hughes has been with GLI since 2004, driving its strategy for both regulatory and business development throughout the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Prior to joining GLI, she practiced law in the Republic of Panama and was later appointed legal director of Sierra-Hughes

Preston

Clay the Panama Gaming Control Board. GLI also named two new directors of client services. Justine Clay has been promoted to director of client services for North American suppliers and Blaine Preston has been promoted to director of client services for state government, lottery and tribal operations. Sierra-Hughes, Clay and Preston are all based in Las Vegas. Eight Bailey Kennedy lawyers were listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2021 edition. Managing Partner John R. Bailey was recognized in the areas of commercial litigation, health care law and litigation – health care. Partner Dennis L. Kennedy was recognized in the areas of appellate practice, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, ethics and professional responsibility law, health care law, legal malpractice law – defendants and real estate law. Partner Joshua M. Dickey was recognized in the area of appellate practice. Partners Joseph A. Liebman and Sarah E. Harmon were both recognized in the area of commercial litigation. Associate Kelly B. Stout was recognized in the area of health care law and associate Paul C. Williams was recognized in the area of commercial litigation. Attorney Mark H. Goldstein was recognized in the area of real estate law. In addition, associate Andrea M. Champion was recognized in the area of corporate law in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. JC Hospitality, owner of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, added Chad Brown as vice president of Brown marketing to further expand its corporate leadership team. Brown began his hospitality career at Treasure Island in 2005, serving as the hotel’s marketing manager. Since then, Brown has held a variety of marketing executive positions within MGM Resorts International at Luxor, Mandalay Bay and Bellagio. Most recently, he oversaw new marketing and technology initiatives as the vice president of marketing operations for MGM Resorts International.

TAKE TIME OUT FOR A DINNER AND A MOVIE WITH

For the chance to win two-screening passes and a $100 Visa gift card to dine at a restaurant of your choice, email AlliedGlobalPHX@gmail.com with the subject line MOVIES ARE BACK!

RATED PG-13 FOR INTENSE SEQUENCES OF VIOLENCE AND ACTION, SOME SUGGESTIVE REFERENCES AND BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE.

Please note:

Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability.

NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS TenetFilm.com | @TenetFilm | #TenetFilm