McPhee: Don’t expect young call-ups to fill defensive void

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brad Hunt (77) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights won 5-2.

Wed, Jan 23, 2019 (2 a.m.)

Just because the Golden Knights are down a defenseman after the Brad Hunt trade to Minnesota does not mean that one of the highly touted blue-liners in the AHL is any closer to joining the big club.

Golden Knights general manager George McPhee said on Tuesday not to expect AHL All-Star Erik Brannstrom or any other call-ups to Vegas, but stressed he’s confident in the players in the minors if the need arises.

“We’re at a place now, finally, with our young defensemen that if we have to reach down to the AHL for any reason to get a player to help us out, we have several on the blue line down there, all kinds of different flavors, that could come up and help contribute,” McPhee said. “They’ve really come along extremely well this year.”

McPhee said Hunt’s agent approached him with concerns about his client’s next contract and how his lack of playing time may affect the prospects of the free-agent-to-be this summer.

"He’s a terrific human being, really good hockey player and hasn’t been playing much here, so it was time to give him an opportunity elsewhere,” McPhee said.

McPhee said Hunt told him that if he was going somewhere where the playing time would be similar, he would rather stay in Vegas, but McPhee thinks he will play with the Wild.

The trade leaves the Golden Knights with seven defensemen, a number McPhee said he is comfortable with. The team has 22 players on its roster, with Reilly Smith, William Carrier and Malcolm Subban on injured receive.

McPhee did not give a timetable for the return of the injured players, and said he does not know if Erik Haula, who has not played since Nov. 6, will return this season.

He also said he did not know how active the team will be in the month leading up to the Feb. 25 trade deadline. The team projects to have about $3.6 million in cap space, which could be used to acquire a veteran player.

“We’ll be active in terms of knowing what’s going on in the market and talking to everyone, but I couldn’t tell you right now what we’d be planning on doing,” McPhee said. “What we’d like to do is if we could get this club healthy and see what it is, and then see if it needs anything.

“You have some thoughts on what your team is going to look like at the start of the year when you put it together and cross your fingers and hope it’s going to be a good one. At some point you’d like to see them all together. We haven’t been there yet.”

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