Knights’ Valentin Zykov again sits; Oilers could eye McCrimmon

Golden Knights forward Valentin Zykov again watched and waited Wednesday night.

The 23-year-old was a healthy scratch against the Nashville Predators and sat for the 11th time in 12 games since he was claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 29.

Zykov has played 9:26 after arriving in Las Vegas on Jan. 2 after dealing with a customs issue.

“We like the way our lineup has been playing recently,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’s a guy that’s going to get an opportunity sooner or later. We’ll see what happens. He’s working hard. He’s a talented guy, so when he gets the opportunity, hopefully, he’ll take advantage of it.”

General manager George McPhee compared Zykov’s situation to forward Ryan Carpenter’s last season. The Knights claimed Carpenter on Dec. 13, 2017, but he didn’t play his first game until Jan. 5, 2018. Carpenter then appeared in 36 of the Knights’ last 42 regular-season games.

“We got (Carpenter) in the right place, and when we put him in he was a pretty effective player for us,” McPhee said. “We just saw (in Zykov) a player that we thought, ‘There’s some real upside there.’ And he’s at the right age. We don’t have a lot of players at that age. We’re working with him, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Oilers looking at McCrimmon?

At least one person close to the Oilers believes Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon could be a candidate for Edmonton’s vacant general manager position.

Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer tweeted that McCrimmon was one of four GM candidates he’d tell fans to watch. The Oilers fired GM Peter Chiarelli during the second period of their 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday that dropped their record to 23-24-3.

The Knights declined to make McCrimmon available for comment.

McPhee told the Review-Journal in December that if Seattle’s expansion franchise asked permission to interview McCrimmon for its GM position the Knights would grant it.

“This organization doesn’t stand in anyone’s way,” McPhee said. “If there’s a promotion for somebody with another organization, we would always allow it.”

Odds and ends

— Forward Reilly Smith (injured reserve, undisclosed) participated in the Knights’ morning skate in a blue non-contact jersey.

— Coach Gerard Gallant said backup goaltender Malcolm Subban (IR, undisclosed) would “be back shortly after the break if not right after the break.”

— Defenseman Nick Holden missed Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury, per a team spokesperson. He is considered day to day. Jon Merrill replaced him in the lineup.

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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.