Vegas Golden Knights Sign Brandon Pirri

8:06 PM: The team has officially announced the signing.  It’s a two-way deal worth the league minimum $650K at the NHL level.

11:22 AM: The Vegas Golden Knights appear to have signed Brandon Pirri, as the forward has been placed on waivers by the club today. Pirri was on a professional tryout with the Florida Panthers, but apparently has now signed a deal with the NHL’s newest team.

Vegas, who yesterday sent down three players—Vadim Shipachyov, Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch—still expected to make the team had just eleven forwards on the roster today. That roster work was done in order to protect their extra defensemen (of which they have many), but is now made even more clear by the Pirri signing. While there is no guarantee he makes the club to start the year, the team has added an experienced NHL forward with plenty of goal scoring ability to supplement their team.

The Golden Knights still seem required to make a trade before Friday’s opener to send one or two of their defensemen elsewhere, but it’s clear that the team has a plan in place to maximize their roster spots. Perhaps they’re hoping to sneak someone through waivers after teams begin the season, though who that would be is still unclear. The team has nine defensemen on the roster, not including Clayton Stoner who was placed on injured reserve, or Theodore who is expected to be recalled this week. All of them require waivers to be sent to the minor leagues.

Pirri though is an interesting add for the Golden Knights. After scoring 22 goals in just 49 games with the Panthers in 2014-15, it has still been a struggle to find a full-time job for the 26-year old. Vegas will be the fifth stop already in his career already, and most of it has to do with his defensive responsibility. Pirri has never been a very good two-way player, but did find his most success under Gerard Gallant and could find it again. On a team that will be desperate for scoring, Pirri could represent an interesting option.