Vegas Golden Knights Sign Three Players

The Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are signing big Mason Geertsen to a one-year, two-way contract with a $775k cap hit, $400k AHL salary, and a two-year term according to PuckPedia.  Later in the day, the team announced the signings of Gage Quinney and Mason Morelli on two-year, two-way contracts.

With experience playing both along the wings and as a defenseman, the most consistent thing Geertsen brings to the table is his physicality. He’s six-foot-four and weighs nearly 230 pounds, and is more than happy to make opposing players more than familiar with how hard he can hit.

He had nearly 100 more penalty minutes than the next-highest Utica Comet last season with 136, and helped Utica reach the AHL playoffs.

He won’t provide Vegas’ AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, with more than his physicality, but clearly the Golden Knights have made beefing up their AHL affiliate a priority, and signing Geertsen will accomplish exactly that.

As for Quinney, he’s a 27-year-old center who re-signs in Nevada, where he’s spent the last three seasons. Quinney was Henderson’s leading scorer this past season with 25 goals and 64 points in 66 games.

The former WHL champion worked his way up to this point from the ECHL and is now being rewarded with an extension to remain among Henderson’s most important players. Continuity is a rare thing in the AHL, so securing more seasons in Henderson is a nice reward for Quinney’s recent success.

As for Morelli, he recently won the Calder Cup and now departs the Hershey Bears after two full seasons there. It was in Hershey where the 27-year-old advanced from being an AHL/ECHL tweener to a true AHL contributor. He scored 41 points in 72 regular-season games and 13 in 20 playoff games, and will now look to help Henderson go on their own long playoff run while also making a push for an NHL call-up.