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Golden Knights Notebook

Krebs makes Golden Knights’ roster; New home for Brown

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Peyton Krebs Vegas Golden Knights forward

Peyton Krebs can relax. He’s in the NHL.

Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon confirmed that Krebs is part of the 23-man roster the team submitted to the league Monday afternoon. The rookie forward was on the ice in the morning at City National Arena, skating with his Golden Knights teammates.

Krebs had played well in training camp and got better during the preseason.

“I just wanted to do the best I could and make a good impression,” Krebs said Saturday after the team’s final preseason game against the San Jose Sharks. “I hope it’s good enough.”

It was. At least for now. So how does coach Peter DeBoer use Krebs if he’s in the lineup for Opening Night against the expansion Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena.

“We have a plan for him,” DeBoer said after Monday’s practice. “You can play him up and down the lineup. He can kill penalties. He can take a turn on the power play. That’s what’s attractive about him, his versatility.”

Monday, Krebs was skating with Nolan Patrick and Evgenii Dadonov in what would be the Golden Knights’ third line. If DeBoer keeps that trio intact, it gives him a line with high hockey IQ and creativity.

“I think he’s higher than a fourth line player given the injuries we have,” DeBoer said of Krebs.

Injury update: Nicolas Roy, William Carrier and Brett Howden all missed practice Monday, an indication that none will be available Tuesday vs. Seattle. Pavel Dorofeyev was called up from the Henderson Silver Knights to skate with the Golden Knights and he might find himself in the lineup along with Krebs.

Mattias Janmark also missed practice Monday as did Jonathan Marchessault and Zach Whitecloud. DeBoer said Marchessault was taking a maintenance day and should be in the lineup Tuesday. Ditto for Whitecloud, who was injured Saturday against the Sharks but got an extra day to heal up.

Janmark was placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and DeBoer couldn’t provide any additional information. But Janmark, who reportedly is fully vaccinated, as are all the Golden Knights, likely won’t be available for Tuesday.

The Kraken have their own COVID issues. According to coach Dave Hakstol, five players: Calle Janrkok, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Joonas Donskoi are all on the COVID protocol list. Obviously this is going to warrant keeping an eye on as game night approaches.

Shea’s back: There was good news for the Golden Knights as Shea Theodore was back at practice after the defenseman missed the final six games preseason games with a lower-body injury.

“It’s huge,” teammate Brayden McNabb said of getting Theodore back in the lineup in time for the start of the regular season. “He’s a big part of this team. He does so many things.”

Off to Philly: Patrick Brown was claimed off waivers Monday by the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s a chance for the a fresh start for the former Boston College star.

The 29-year-old Brown, who has 33 games in the NHL over five years with Carolina and Vegas,  was one of three Golden Knights placed on waivers Sunday. While he was claimed by the Flyers, Gage Quinney and Sven Baertschi cleared waivers and are expected to report to the Silver Knights.

Daly Dishes on Lehner: In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly touched on a variety of subjects, including Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner.

Daly said he spoke directly to Lehner and his response to the question about Lehner’s using twitter to speak out about mental health issues and the Hague, said: “That’s a fair question. What I will tell you is, I did have the opportunity to talk personally to Robin after the tweets, and I can tell you, he feels extremely passionate about mental health issues, and mental health issues as they may affect players in our game. And I totally 100 percent respect that.

“And most of our conversation really went toward us being aligned — the league, and he and the Players’ Association, quite frankly — in dealing with and providing resources for mental health challenges throughout the league, on a basis different than and better than we’ve done in the past, or historically. I think all sports leagues are taking a look, taking stock at that issue, and trying to address it in a positive way. And I put us in that category.

“I think he was reassured that we are aligned with that objective,” Daly continued. “I think he feels we were being genuine and not just paying it lip service. And he wants to be helpful. He wants to be helpful to us and the Players’ Association in figuring out how best to tackle those challenges. So all of that is positive.

“Do I necessarily agree with the manner in which he chose to initiate that conversation with us? I probably would have been more comfortable with other approaches he could have made and chose not to (make). But, again, I think it’s a testament to how strongly he feels about the subject matter.”