The Golden Knights recalled goaltender Jiří Patera from AHL Henderson on Sunday, per a team release. He’ll serve as the backup to Logan Thompson to kick off their four-game road trip after Adin Hill sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period of yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets. To open up space for Patera’s $775K cap hit, the team moved center Tomas Hertl to LTIR, per CapFriendly, retroactive to when he underwent knee surgery in February as a member of the Sharks.
Patera, 25, sits firmly in the third spot on Vegas’ goaltending depth chart. He’s been recalled multiple times this season in the wake of injuries to Hill and Thompson, yielding mixed results with a .901 SV%, 1-3-0 record, 3.75 GAA, and -2.5 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. The Prague-born netminder was selected in the sixth round of the Knights’ inaugural 2017 Entry Draft class and inked a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$100K/$145K) to remain in the desert after reaching restricted free agency last offseason.
His play has dropped off slightly in the minors this year, however. After taking over as Henderson’s starter last season with a .911 SV% in 31 games, he’s posted a .902 SV%, 3.04 GAA, and 10-10-4 record in 24 AHL games in 2023-24. He’s still posted the best numbers out of any Silver Knights netminder, however, and is at little risk of losing his starting spot for the time being.
Moving Hertl to LTIR does not affect his timeline or eligibility to return to the lineup. He remains listed as week-to-week but is expected to make his Golden Knights debut before the postseason begins. Placing him on LTIR frees up an additional $6.75MM in relief, increasing their salary pool to $21.25MM.
I’d love to see people defend this bs. This isn’t Stone with an injured organ. Hertl should not be allowed to return day one of the playoffs he should have to miss a series.
or the playoffs entirely, Cap should be active in playoffs
We always knew Hertl was LTIR-bound. Frankly, it’s more surprising he wasn’t already on there. Not sure what exactly your concern is.
“expected to make his Golden Knights debut before the postseason begins.”
Did you miss that part? Hertl was likely always going to LTIR, this news doesn’t change that or his expected timeline.
Paging Doctor Whiner. Doctor Whiner you’re needed in the hockey forum.
Vegas “fans” all are fairweather, after these contracts age horribly, they wont sell out any games. fragile fanbase that won’t stick around XD
Nothing to defend. No rules are being broken. It has gotten to be very amusing watching a bunch of you toss fits every time Vegas signs or trades for a guy. Seeing ghosts around every corner can’t be a fun way to live.
Since you likely don’t know every Vegas fan, babbling that they are all of the fairweather variety is nonsense. Regardless, when Vegas was granted a franchise, you and your clan yapped that they would not have a solid fan base, that their fans would constantly be outnumbered by fans of the opponent, and that any fans they did have would disappear after the novelty of having the NHL in town wore off. You have been wrong on all counts.
cry, y’all are so soft XD
Cry, stay soft snowflake XD
It’s true, Vegas traded for him knowing he was injured…the only part of this that doesn’t make sense is why now? Is Stone not as injured as suggested and the are hoping to squeeze him back in to solidify their playoff spot?
Rules are rules, the smart teams use them to their advantage!