Get ready to read a bunch of words that could be outdated by the time the calendar flips to July.
Free agency is upon us and the Vegas Golden Knights are staying busy. Three trades in the last five days have drawn speculation of what the Knights have cooking. As always, to be determined.
But the Knights are expected to be active with plenty of irons in the fire when the market opens at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
The card is subject to change at the 11th hour, but here’s what we’re hearing:
Smith gone?
Reilly Smith re-signed with the Knights on a one-year deal last June with the hope to reach 1,000 NHL games with the Knights.
He’s 12 shy of that entering his 16th NHL season.
Smith would love to come back if a role is available, but as of early Tuesday, there hasn’t been any indication that the Original Misfit will return.
Smith played 69 games last season, but fell victim to the numbers game. The emergence of undrafted rookie forward Braeden Bowman pushed Smith and Brandon Saad to the bench.
The 35-year-old had 16 goals and 26 points. At times he played on the fourth line, and even lined up at center to get in the lineup.
The Knights have roster spots to fill with nine forwards under contract. Bowman will likely challenge for one of those spots. The other one will go toward the fourth-line left wing.
There’s also 2024 first-round pick Trevor Connelly challenging for a roster spot.
A minimum deal to bring Smith back and give him an opportunity to reach the century mark shouldn’t be ruled out. But following the trade of Pavel Dorofeyev to the New York Rangers, the Knights are searching for a goal scorer to plug in the middle six.
Hill confident, if he stays
The trade of Akira Schmid to the Florida Panthers has, for now, brought some clarity to the goaltending picture.
Things can change during the summer, but it appears the Knights will be rolling with a tandem of Carter Hart and Adin Hill next season, with Hart holding the No. 1 job after his playoff run.
Hill’s name has been brought up in trade rumors as the Knights continue to clear cap space. The 2023 Stanley Cup champion has five years remaining on his contract at a $6.25 million cap hit.
The 30-year-old has been plagued by lower-body injuries throughout his Knights tenure. He looked to turn the corner with a career-high 50 starts in 2025, but was limited to 27 last season.
Hill stayed on the bench throughout the playoff run, as former coach John Tortorella stayed with Hart despite him allowing four goals through each of the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final.
Hill wants to prove he’s the starter for this team and is turning over every stone, again, to ensure that happens.
Korczak’s replacement
The Tuesday trade that sent defenseman Kaedan Korczak to Pittsburgh has created an opening on the right side of the Knights’ blue line.
Parker Wortherspoon, who was acquired in the swap from the Penguins, is a left-handed shot who will replace Jeremy Lauzon.
As for Korczak’s replacement, there’s intrigue on Dylan Coghlan returning and seeing if he can build on his playoff success.
Coghlan, 28, is an unrestricted free agent and is expected garner interest from other teams.
But Coghlan joined the Knights as an undrafted free agent in 2017, and most of his NHL success has come in Las Vegas.
One option to keep an eye on is if Lukas Cormier is finally ready to challenge for an NHL spot.
The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent coming off a career-high 47 points in 49 games with the Henderson Silver Knights last season. Time may be near to see if he can contribute at the next level.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
