Brad Hunt’s run as an Original Misfit has come to an end.
After a 10-year career, the former Golden Knights defenseman is retiring, closing the book on a path that took him through a long list of Western Conference stops and one memorable stretch in Vegas. Hunt wasn’t one of the players selected in the 2017 Expansion Draft, but he did join the Golden Knights by signing a two-year, two-way deal after leaving the Nashville Predators.
His time in Vegas lasted two seasons, from 2017 to 2019, and he produced five goals and 20 assists during that span. That included a key role in the Golden Knights’ 2018 Stanley Cup Final run, when he chipped in three goals and 15 assists in 45 games and helped give the team valuable scoring from the blue line.
After that, Hunt was dealt to the Minnesota Wild on January 21, 2019, along with a 2019 sixth-round NHL Draft pick. Vegas got a 2019 fifth-round NHL Draft pick back in the trade.
Beyond the Golden Knights, Hunt’s career also included stops with the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche, the Nashville Predators, the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers, and the St. Louis Blues. In other words, he spent his career in the West and stayed far from the Eastern Time Zone.
He may not be the first name that comes to mind when people think of the early Vegas teams, but Hunt was part of that original group and played a real role when the Golden Knights made their first deep playoff run. Now, after a decade in the league, he’s skating off into retirement.
In Other News...
Mitch Marner Just Gave Golden Knights Fans More To Say
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The recognition fits with the kind of year Marner put together, from his regular-season production to the way he carried that form into the playoffs. He finished the season with 24 goals and 56 assists before adding 10 goals and 19 assists in the postseason, and the networks placement also made him the top winger in the Pacific Division. For a player who arrived with expectations already attached, it gives Golden Knights fans another reason to keep debating just how important he has become to the clubs immediate future. [Read more 🡒]
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Eichels place at No. 2 comes from the kind of peak production that can alter a ranking fast, thanks to his single-season assist and point records, while Stephensons run in Vegas earned him a strong third-place spot. The bigger point is that this order is not frozen, and with careers still unfolding, the debate over which center belongs where figures to keep shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights First-Rounder Sparks Big Question About Vegas Blue-Line Plans
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For Vegas, the loan says plenty about patience and planning with a young defenseman who is still early in his climb. Piiparinens path now runs through a familiar environment at Tappara, where he can keep refining his game against pro competition while the Golden Knights watch how his development fits into their long-term blue-line picture. [Read more 🡒]