3 Trades That Could Fix the Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are broken.
When the season began, the fifth-year franchise had championship aspirations, and while those dreams aren’t dead yet, there is significantly more work to be done in Sin City than originally expected.
The issues in Nevada have been amplified in the last week, as the team has now dropped three consecutive games, all in regulation. One of those games was against the Buffalo Sabres, while another was against the Philadelphia Flyers. Vegas has scored four goals in those last three games, including one in each contest against the two struggling teams mentioned above.
The power play struggles, goaltending slumps, and injury woes have all contributed to the lackluster campaign in Vegas. With that in mind, what can the Golden Knights do as the NHL Trade Deadline creeps closer and closer?
How can the Golden Knights turn things around at the deadline?
It won’t simply be about adding the best players possible, a strategy that the Golden Knights have seemingly embraced since their inception. Instead, Vegas’ deadline agenda will require a lot of creativity and should feature the departure of some players that the team may not necessarily want to give up.
I also don’t expect any deadline deals in Vegas to revolve around becoming cap-compliant. The way that the Tampa Bay Lightning have worked the system by bringing injured players back for the playoffs, thus technically playing over the cap, has been widely discussed lately, and the Golden Knights are on track to do that this year.
With captain Mark Stone on the long-term injured reserve, the door seems open for Vegas to bring him back at a time that will be convenient for them.
Instead, the following trades enable this team to find only the cap space necessary to fix the roster as it attempts to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since its inaugural season in 2018.
Without further ado, here are three trades to get the Vegas Golden Knights back on track before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
Trade Evgenii Dadonov to the Columbus Blue Jackets
As noted on the first slide, the most talked about issue for the Golden Knights is the salary cap situation and how the team can’t afford all of its players when they’re all healthy. Before doing anything else, Vegas has to find some flexibility in that department.
Let’s begin by moving a player that they never should have been acquired in the first place: Evgenii Dadonov. It’s not that I don’t like him as a player, but the Golden Knights used the money freed up in the Marc-Andre Fleury trade to bring him in, and that seemed like a waste.
The 32-year-old winger has not been bad as a member of the Golden Knights, as he has recorded 23 points (11 goals and 12 assists) in 58 games this season. That point total is ninth among Vegas skaters.
However, his 23-point effort this year and his 20-point effort from last season (in 55 games with the Ottawa Senators) is a far cry from the 47 points he scored in 69 games in his final campaign in Florida. He eclipsed the 65-point mark in consecutive seasons during his time with the Cats, but it appears as though those days are over.
What makes him even more expendable is the fact that he’s tallied only five power play points all season for a bad Golden Knights unit. Vegas is 26th with the man-advantage, scoring only 17.6% of the time.
If Dadonov’s scoring is nonexistent in one of his team’s weakest areas, and it’s down overall, then I see him as adding little value to a club that has no shortage of players that have demonstrated an ability to score in their careers.
This move would be a cap-clearing move only, so the Golden Knights will not get anything substantial in return. When they acquired him from Ottawa, the Knights gave up a veteran player and a third-round pick, but now that Dadonov is still not scoring despite playing on a wildly talented team, his value should go down.
Further, Vegas will be limited in its ability to trade him as a result of their well-documented cap constraints and Dadonov’s limited say in his destination.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be an ample partner in this trade, because they have the financial flexibility to take on Dadonov’s $5 million cap hit. In addition, the Jackets are on the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and they’ve shown a willingness in the past to go all-in this time of year, so a deal like this could happen.
In the end, the Golden Knights gain flexibility, and the Blue Jackets add an NHL veteran for a potential playoff push.
The trade:
Acquire Claude Giroux From the Philadelphia Flyers
It’s rebuild time for the Philadelphia Flyers, and that means saying goodbye to captain Claude Giroux. One would certainly imagine that Vegas is among the destinations to which he would be willing to go, and it would certainly aid the Golden Knights’ quest for a more versatile offense.
This would by no means be an easy move for Vegas, as Giroux not only carries a tremendous amount of value, but also a cap hit of $8.275 million. For a team that desperately needs to find cap space, this is not ideal. Nevertheless, we know that the Golden Knights love to make big moves, so this could be on the table.
With the money cleared in the Dadonov trade, Vegas has the flexibility to bring in the long-time Flyers captain. Giroux would be yet another incredible talent to join the Vegas roster, plus he would bring not only important depth at the center position, but he’d also be an upgrade on the power play.
As noted previously, the Golden Knights power play is among the worst in the NHL, so adding Giroux and his 12 power play points this season would be helpful. Those 12 points are even more assuring when you consider how poor the Flyers have played (30th ranked power play).
His numbers are down overall, but he has mustered 30+ points with the man-advantage in five of his seasons, so the ceiling is high in that regard, and that’s precisely what the Golden Knights need.
Beyond just his power play numbers, Giroux is a great offensive weapon, having reached the 100-point mark as recently as the 2017-2018 season. He went over a point per game only three seasons ago and has been within striking distance of that feat in each season since, even on a struggling team.
On the season, he’s recorded 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 54 games with the last-place Flyers.
From Philadelphia’s standpoint, Vegas has to make an offer that is worth it to them, as they have one of the biggest names among those that are potentially available. In my view, assets that will impact the future have much more value for the Flyers, so the Golden Knights can make this trade happen without giving up overwhelming portions of the active roster.
Vegas does not have a first-round pick to give away this season, and the condition attached to the previously traded pick complicates the Golden Knights’ ability to move next year’s first-rounder. As a result, the Flyers get a first-round choice in a couple of years and a high pick this year to hold them over.
In terms of players, Vegas will have to surrender one young player to satisfy Philadelphia’s bid to begin anew, while also reluctantly saying goodbye to one of the members of its inaugural team to add value and shed salary.
This trade yields the Golden Knights one of the deadline’s largest prizes, while the Flyers get several pieces to help launch a rebuild in the City of Brotherly Love.
The trade:
Address Needs by Getting Jake DeBrusk, Linus Ullmark From Boston
The Boston Bruins could help the Golden Knights improve in two areas: the power play and in goal.
Starting with Jake DeBrusk, the Golden Knights get a young, reasonably priced player who is looking for a change of scenery. The two-time 40-point scorer will again add some depth to Vegas’ offensive attack.
The power play is where Vegas would really like to upgrade with this move, and while DeBrusk has only three power play points this season, he has 36 in five seasons, including two years with double-digit points.
It’s not a perfect solution in terms of the man-advantage, but he has proven to be helpful in that capacity before, and he should be useful offensively either way.
The more important piece of this deal for the Golden Knights is the addition of netminder Linus Ullmark. He has been solid in his first year in Boston and had found success with the Buffalo Sabres (which says something) prior to coming to Boston.
He would be a great compliment to Robin Lehner, who has not been as sharp this season, in part because of various injuries that he’s been nursing. Perhaps Ullmark will even be a replacement for Lehner as time goes by, depending on the severity of his injuries. Either way, having him in the mix will be good for Vegas.
On the Bruins side of things, trading DeBrusk makes sense, because he asked for a trade out of Beantown. In addition, Ullmark, though he’s been good, has taken a backseat to Jeremy Swayman, who is having a breakout season and figures to be the future of Boston goaltending.
DeBrusk wants out and Ullmark is making $5 million to be the backup to the man you know will be your guy for the foreseeable future. It makes total sense to see these players go.
In terms of acquisitions, Boston is able to get a goalie back to replace the departing Ullmark, plus the Bruins would acquire a member of the inaugural team in Vegas, William Karlsson.
With the addition of Giroux at center, as well as the recent insertion of Jack Eichel at the same position, Karlsson becomes an expensive third-line center that is expendable for Vegas.
The original idea was that this trade would involve the Dallas Stars, with forward Joe Pavelski being the focal point of the deal. However, after Friday’s contract extension for Pavelski, it seems as though he is off the table.
As it stands, this trade helps Vegas improve its goaltending while also adding some scoring depth that can hopefully aid the power play. Boston rids itself of a player that wants out and a player that has become expensive and less impactful.
The trade:
Those three trades for the Golden Knights can address some of the team’s biggest needs and get the club back on track after things have gone sideways lately. A team once projected by many to win the Presidents’ Trophy is now fighting for its playoff life, so I expect the team to be busy in the coming days.
More. Can Jack Eichel Save Golden Knights’ Championship Hopes?. light
The next week and a half will be full of trades, and for the Vegas Golden Knights, they need to be a part of that action, or they’ll risk 2022 becoming a lost season.