Golden Knights to terminate contract of forward prospect
Golden Knights forward prospect Lucas Elvenes is leaving the organization to likely return to his native Sweden.
The Knights placed Elvenes on waivers Monday for the purpose of terminating his contract, his agent Claude Lemieux said. Elvenes was a fifth-round pick in 2017 and turned heads quickly with his production. The 22-year-old winger had yet to earn an NHL opportunity by his third season in North America, however.
Elvenes, who was set to be a restricted free agent this summer, decided to look elsewhere. Lemieux said Elvenes would “most likely” play in Sweden. He said he expected Elvenes to have a lot of opportunities but nothing was finalized.
“(He) had an opportunity to play in Europe,” Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “We mutually agreed it was best for both parties.”
Elvenes had 12 goals and 36 assists in 59 games his first season in the American Hockey League in 2019-20 and was named an All-Star. He ranked second in assists and fourth in points among AHL rookies.
Elvenes’ production didn’t improve after that. He had 34 points in 57 games his last two seasons with the Silver Knights and just eight goals.
The Golden Knights, when injuries and COVID-19 protocol absences hit earlier this season, called up forwards Jake Leschyshyn, Jonas Rondbjerg, Paul Cotter, Ben Jones and Sven Baertschi and picked up forwards Michael Amadio and Adam Brooks off waivers. Elvenes stayed in the AHL. Now, he’s moving on.
“You lose a little confidence, you lose hope in getting that opportunity, which in his third year, contract finishing this year, players need to see the light,” Lemieux said. “The team was good to deal with. They understood the situation. It’s better for both sides that way.”
Status updates
Knights coach Pete DeBoer said Monday defenseman Alec Martinez tested positive for COVID-19 and is in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Martinez, who hasn’t played since Nov. 11 because of a head injury, skated with the team Jan. 4 in a non-contact jersey. He hasn’t since.
The Knights also didn’t have forwards William Carrier, Nolan Patrick and Nicolas Roy, defensemen Shea Theodore and Nic Hague and goaltender Laurent Brossoit at Monday’s practice.
DeBoer said the players who missed were either given maintenance days or going through testing confirmation. Hague (wrist), Brossoit (upper-body) and Carrier (upper-body) are injured. Roy has not participated in the team’s last three skates but still played Thursday and Saturday.
Silver Knights schedule updates
The Silver Knights announced dates for three postponed games Monday.
The team will now play in San Diego at 7 p.m., March 22, host the Gulls at 7 p.m., April 19 and host Ontario at 7 p.m., April 30. All three games were previously postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
The two new home dates mean the Silver Knights will now play 10 games this season in their new arena, the Dollar Loan Center.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
