When the Vegas Golden Knights entered their inaugural training camp, they were without a pretty big piece. General Manager George McPhee announced that James Neal would miss time with a hand injury. After that, everyone kind of just forgot about him for the moment being.
Vegas struggled offensively towards the end of the preseason. The power play was a big issue for this team. And without the Knights best offensive weapon, opening the regular season without him didn’t look promising at all.
We didn’t know how long the Golden Knights would be without Neal, but hand injuries can be a 3-4 week injury or up to two months depending on how severe it is.