It’s destined to be an eventful offseason, one way or another, for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Especially coming off a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, the Knights are in the struggle of trying to maintain flexibility while also building off last season’s improbable run.
Everything starts with the NHL Draft, which for the Knights begins on Saturday with their four selections.
Draft pick breakdown
It should be a quick second day for the Knights:
- No. 95 (3rd round)
- No. 159 (5th round)
- No. 191 (6th round)
- No. 223 (7th round)
The Knights’ first-round pick belongs to the Calgary Flames as part of the trade for Noah Hanifin in March 2024.
Their second-round pick was forfeited following the flagrant media violations during the playoffs after coach John Tortorella did not speak to the media following Game 6 of the second round in Anaheim.
They don’t have a fourth-round pick after using that to acquire forward Anthony Mantha back in 2024.
Salary cap situation
The Knights have $4.625 million in current cap space, according to PuckPedia.
That’s before they place defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve. That will give them $13.425 million to work with.
Even with the salary cap raised to $104 million next season, that puts the Knights in a bind. They’re on the books for nine forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders.
The majority of that cap space is likely going to new deals for Pavel Dorofeyev (restricted free agent) and Rasmus Andersson (unrestricted free agent).
Dorofeyev is one of five forwards who will hit the open market come July 1 — joining Reilly Smith, Cole Smith, Brandon Saad and Colton Sissons.
Andersson is among four Knights defensemen projected to hit the market along with Jeremy Lauzon, Ben Hutton and Dylan Coghlan.
A bird’s eye view on the lineup that played in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final shows there’s not a lot of room to work with.
The Knights have their top six in place and two-thirds of their fourth line. Assuming Dorofeyev re-signs, they’ll need third- and fourth-line left wingers.
Braeden Bowman will challenge for one of those spots after his impressive rookie season. Trevor Connelly, 2024 first-round pick, may also create some competition.
Defensively, there are two spots to fill. Andersson is presumably one of them, but there needs to be a third-pairing blue liner to replace Lauzon if he hits the market.
Adin Hill and Carter Hart are the goalies under contract, but Akira Schmid is also a restricted free agent. Schmid could be brought back if there’s a team willing to take on Hill’s $6.25 million cap hit for the next five years.
What comes next?
The first order of business will be to take care of Andersson.
Yes, the output Andersson gave in his time with the Knights didn’t reflect what the team gave up to get him. Moving on from a first-, a second-round pick and Zach Whitecloud did not meet those standards.
Andersson, 29, had 17 points in 33 games in the regular season and only six assists in the playoffs. He said in the first three rounds, he defended better than he had at any point in his career.
The Stanley Cup Final was anything but. Whether it be he ran out of gas, or was playing with a heavy heart with the passing of agent Claude Lemieux, Andersson did not play well against Carolina.
It’s almost certain that Andersson gets re-signed. Teams don’t make that kind of investment for a player to just let him walk in the summer.
General manager Kelly McCrimmon made the decision to fire Bruce Cassidy because he believes in the roster he constructed, one that was under-performing under Cassidy. The switch to John Tortorella turned the roster into the team he believed could go as far as it did.
Part of that coincides with Andersson and believing in him. There will be a contract coming at some point. It’s expected to come within the $8 million – $9 million range.
Trade targets
If the Knights want to get everything tidied up to their liking, moves will need to be made.
Hill seems to be the most obvious choice. Injury issues and a massive cap hit will make it hard for the Knights to move him.
It also takes two to tango. Not many teams are in need of a goalie, especially one at Hill’s cap hit. Hill has a 10-team, no-trade list on his contract.
Teams like the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins could explore the goalie market this summer. Ottawa tried to sign Hill following the Stanley Cup run before he re-signed with the Knights.
Pittsburgh doesn’t have a goalie under contract, especially if Stuart Skinner signs elsewhere on July 1.
Almost any deal would require the Knights to retain salary. The Knights retaining 50 percent of Hill’s deal would get them to $16.55 million in cap space. Whether that’s enough to get Dorofeyev and Andersson wrapped up is anybody’s guess.
McCrimmon was furious last summer when centers Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson’s names came up in trade rumors. They’re almost destined to come up again, but moves don’t seem likely.
Hertl has a three-team approved trade list for the next two seasons. Between that, and how much the Knights value Hertl in the locker room, you can stop any thought of a team taking Hertl’s $6.75 million cap hit.
The same goes for Karlsson, despite him being in the final year of his eight-year extension he signed in 2019. Karlsson, who played 14 regular season games due to injury, carries a $5.9 million cap hit.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
NHL Draft
When: Friday and Saturday
Where: Keybank Center, Buffalo
Round 1: 4 p.m., Friday (ESPN, ESPN+)
Rounds 2–7: 8 a.m., Saturday (NHL Network, ESPN+)
