Golden Knights Recall Dylan Coghlan

The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Dylan Coghlan from their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.

According to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Jeremy Lauzon was not at Golden Knights practice today. There is no word as to Lauzon’s status but Coghlan’s recall reinforces the team’s defensive depth in case Lauzon, or any other defenseman, is unavailable. The Golden Knights begin their second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow.

Coghlan, 28, is a 6’2″ right-shot defenseman who brings over 100 games of NHL experience. The bulk of that experience came in his first stint with the Golden Knights organization, which began in 2018 and ended in 2022.

For the last few years, Coghlan has been a high-end, productive AHL defenseman offering some utility as a short-term call-up. His recall, in the moment, hurts Henderson’s defense. They could be without one of their top contributors for the second game of their series against the Colorado Eagles, which is tomorrow as well.

In exchange for that, he provides additional depth to the Golden Knights as they are set to chase another trip to the Conference Finals. That kind of tradeoff – where an AHL team loses a key player to support the depth of their NHL affiliate – is one most AHL clubs are prepared to make. It’s just part of the cost of doing business as a minor-league team. But it could nonetheless have an impact on Henderson’s playoff run, as the team could be pushed to the brink of elimination with a loss tomorrow.

In any case, the Golden Knights’ recall of Coghlan adds to Vegas’ roster depth, but he may not be the team’s first option in case Lauzon isn’t able to play. In that case, it’s likely veteran left-shot blueliner Ben Hutton would take Lauzon’s spot on the left side of the team’s third pairing.