Vegas Golden Knights: Top 3 defensemen they should trade for
According to The Athletic, the Vegas Golden Knights are hoping to trade for a defenseman. Here are three defensemen they should take a look at.’
The Vegas Golden Knights are in a dogfight in the Pacific Division. Every other division has at least one team with at least 60 points. The Pacific Division has none. Entering Jan. 11, the Vegas Golden Knights are in first place with 54 points. However, the Arizona Coyotes also have 54 points. And right behind them are the Edmonton Oilers (53 points), Calgary Flames (53 points), and Vancouver Canucks (50 points).
So the Golden Knights don’t have too much breathing room. It should come as no surprise that the team is looking to fix their defensive issues, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic (subscription required).
Their blueline has been inconsistent all season long. Nate Schmidt has merely been good instead of great, which has thrown the Knights’ blueline out of whack. Even the emergence of Shea Theodore hasn’t been able to save them. The Golden Knights desperately need some help defensively, and that’s going to have to happen from outside the organization.
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Even if Schmidt improves (and I’m not a betting man but if I were, I’d bet on him bouncing back), adding a defenseman would help make things easier for everybody. The difference between winning the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs could be minuscule. No team has pulled away yet, which means it’s likely going to be a contested race until the end.
That said, it’s going to be tough for the Golden Knights to trade for a defenseman because they don’t have much cap space. Granger notes in his article that they have merely $109,629 of cap space right now. Though the Knights will have a little bit more by the trade deadline in February, it won’t be consequentially more. This means Vegas will have to move out salary to bring in just about anyone.
So which defensemen should the Knights be looking at? Who should they be hoping to get at the trade deadline? Which defensemen make the most logical sense for them? Let’s take a look at three defensemen they should trade for.