Well, you can probably tell where my mind is today. Stock and crypto markets are crashing, and like everyone with invested money, I am forced to decide whether to buy more, sell what I have, or just hold. I run a hockey website for a living and a lot of people don’t even respect my views on the sport so I’m not even going to start giving advice on what to do in this bear market. Instead, I’m going to try to bring that concept to the world of the Golden Knights.

So here’s how it works. I take four Golden Knights whose stock has risen or fallen in the past 12 months and make a call on what a savvy investor would do with the asset. Buy, sell or keep!

Note: This is meant to be considered completely independent of the Golden Knights salary cap situation.

mark the stone

A Selke runner-up and a successful captain of a good team, Stone made his $9.5 million contract look like a steal. After dominating in Colorado’s series, including winning an overtime game in Game 5, Stone’s value was at an all-time high heading into the conference final against Montreal. Then it started to descend.

Stone was shut out (or skunk as he called it) in the series with the Canadiens. He continued by missing part of the pre-season due to an abnormal injury. Then he suffered a non-contact back injury in Game 2 of the season that plagued him all year. Thanks to this, he managed to score 30 points in 37 games, but when the moment was greatest, he just didn’t look at himself. This offseason, he underwent successful back surgery that has skeptics wondering if he will ever return to his former dominant self.

For me, based on Mark Stone’s story and the knowledge I gained from Dr. Pinegar about the injury, it’s an easy decision for me. Buy, buy, buy!!!

There is obviously a risk that the injury will reoccur and he will have to undergo a series of back surgeries, but most athletes who deal with these issues get back into shape between surgeries. As long as he’s on the ice and we expect him on opening night 2022-23, he’s going to be great. Stone will regain his form at some point, probably soon, and public perception will skyrocket on him when he does. There will be a time to sell, and it may not be that far away, but that time is definitely not now. Decision: BUY

Logan Thompson

The story of the 25-year-old underdog has captured the hearts of almost every Golden Knights fan. From an undrafted goaltender playing college games in Canada to AHL Goaltender of the Year to starting Vegas in the playoff race, Thompson’s rise has was dazzling.

As a bonus though, the sample size is still incredibly small, both in the NHL and even in the AHL. His award-winning AHL season was played in a shortened year against a handful of opponents and his NHL stint consisted of just 19 games and ended with the Golden Knights out of the playoffs. Sure, he was great at almost all of it, but there are plenty of examples of players in situations like his who looked good at first but quickly died out.

The good play is to hold onto Thompson. There’s no way I’m even considering selling as the upside is way too big, but the volatility of goalkeepers, especially those who shine in a substitute role, makes it too risky to go all-in… for the moment. Decision: HOLD

William Karlson

When asked how he felt about his season in 2021-22, Karlsson said it was “not great”, and he’s right, it wasn’t. He scored the fewest points in a year as a Golden Knight, he missed a significant chunk of time through injury and his goals continued to confirm the 43-goal season in 2017-18 was a hit. luck.

However, it was clear to see how much Karlsson missed the Golden Knights when he wasn’t in the lineup. That says a lot about what he’s doing in all areas outside of offensive production. He’s still the team’s best defensive center, his seemingly endless gas tank comes in handy late in games and even more so in the playoffs, and his ability to clean up mistakes made by others often goes unnoticed.

I agree with everyone that he’ll never score like he did in the expansion season, but neither do I think he’ll ever have as much trouble scoring as he did. did it this year. So give me more of the valuable asset at its lowest point in the past five years. Decision: BUY

Ben Hutton

The season that Hutton just finished, given the circumstances, was nothing short of extraordinary. He’s gone from unemployment during training camp to a clear top-pair option on a team battling for a playoff spot. No, it wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination while he was there, but it was far from a liability when playing with Alex Pietrangelo.

What the Golden Knights took away from Hutton is something they never want to have again. On a good team, Hutton should be a sixth or even a seventh defender. On last year’s VGK there were many games where it was installed as #2 or #3.

It’s probably Hutton’s highest stock for the rest of his career. It’s unlikely to drop massively over the next few years, but it’s the peak, get out now. Decision: SELL

**Do me a favor and let me know if you like this concept. If so, I’ll do another set of four later in the week. Otherwise, no worries, we all have bigger worries as our retirement accounts continue to deplete before our eyes.**