The Vegas Golden Knights made a very interesting move when they sent newly signed sniper Vadim Shipachyov to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. The KHL goal scorer signed a $9 million dollar two-year contract back in May. The Golden Knights first big signing.
The thought process is that Vegas want to showcase other expansion draft players and maximize their asset and trade value. It is a necessity if the club wants to maximize its expansion draft assets. “We’re an expansion club that has to think long term,” McPhee told NHL.com Nicholas Cotsonika. “The three guys (Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch, and Vadim Shipachyov) we sent down have all earned the right to be here and we’ll get them here at the right time, or as soon as we can . The point is to try to get some sort of return if we’re going to move a player, because we’re going to have to draft our way to a championship.”
So the question is, how does Shipachyov feel about this demotion? Well according to multiple reports Shipachyov is not happy about this. It was not part of the plan. There was talk that Shipachyov was looking at returning to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. Golden Knights general manager George McPhee and Shipachyov agent Petr Svoboda both deny that the KHL is an option. Svoboda commented that Shipachyov was not happy about this, and had difficulty understanding the situation. After further explanation he understands the situation.
Talk was brewing that Shipachyov is on the move, and teams such as Ottawa, Montreal and the New York Islanders are interested in a NHL ready forward such as Shipachyov. That looks like all talk. Shipachyov is not on the move, and he will definitely get his chance in Vegas.
