By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal
October 5, 2017 - 4:57 pm
The Golden Knights’ three-goalie rotation is down to two.
Calvin Pickard was placed on waivers Thursday, a day before the team’s season opener at Dallas, handing the backup job to recently acquired Malcolm Subban.
“It’s a business, but I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that I have right now,” Subban said following practice at City National Arena. “I’ve just got to keep working hard and work as hard as I can to improve my game and be ready. That’s all I can really do. That’s my focus right now. That’s my No. 1 goal right now, so I’m pretty determined.”
Pickard, the first player selected by the Knights in the expansion draft, was 0-1-1 with a 4.00 goals-against average and .869 save percentage in two preseason games.
Pickard, 25, can be claimed by any team until Friday morning, with no compensation to the Knights.
Should he clear waivers, Pickard would be reassigned to the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate in Chicago. He likely then would be traded, since he wouldn’t have to clear waivers with his new team.
The move opens a spot on the Knights’ 23-man roster for center Vadim Shipachyov or injured forward James Neal to play Friday against the Stars. Shipachyov was assigned to the AHL on Tuesday as part of the team’s final cuts, while Neal is on injured reserve (hand).
General manager George McPhee declined to comment Thursday.
“It’s part of our game,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “We’ll see what happens with that (Friday). We’ll deal with the situation whatever it is.”
McPhee said Wednesday he’s “not quite sure that (Subban is) ready for this level” but showed faith in the 23-year-old with two career NHL appearances who was claimed on waivers from Boston on Tuesday.
“I’ve lost my focus a lot of times in the past,” Subban said, “but I think I’m getting to be a more mature goaltender, and I know now you’ve got to stay focused no matter what happens around you.”
Stars preview
Dallas finished sixth in the Central Division last season and missed the playoffs after posting a league-high 109 points in 2015-16.
The Stars hired Ken Hitchcock as coach in April and made several offseason moves, including the acquisition of forward Alexander Radulov to go with leading scorers Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
“I think Hitch is going to try and make them a hard-working, defensive-type of team,” Gallant said. “But you look at their team, they’ve got a lot of firepower. They’re a very talented team.”
Viewing party
The Knights will host a viewing party for the regular-season opener against Dallas at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Topgolf Las Vegas (4627 Koval Lane).
More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
