Vegas Golden Knights re-sign Brett Howden to two-year contract with $1.9 million AAV

The Vegas Golden Knights have re-signed center Brett Howden to a two-year contract with a $1.9 million cap hit.

Howden, 25, was a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his one year, $1.5 million contract that he signed last offseason. The two parties were scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 24th, so the signing prevents them from having to go down that avenue. Howden’s cap hit comparables for his new contract are Washington Capitals winger Sonny Milano and Vancouver Canucks winger (and former Golden Knight) Teddy Blueger.

Howden is coming off of one of his least-productive seasons, with just 6 goals, 7 assists, and 13 points in 54 regular season games. However, he benefitted from an increased role in the playoffs alongside Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone, and got 5 goals, 5 assists, and 10 points in 22 games as the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Howden was the 27th overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2016 draft, and despite not quite living up to expectations, he still ranks 23rd in scoring among players in that draft. He never played a game for the Lightning, as he was dealt to the New York Rangers at the 2018 trade deadline as part of the return that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Lightning. He then spent three seasons with the Rangers before he was dealt to the Golden Knights in the 2021 offseason.

The Golden Knights have had a quiet offseason, mostly just looking to keep as much of their Stanley Cup-winning team together as possible. They did have to move on from original Golden Knight Reilly Smith, sending him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick, but it did allow them to re-sign Howden, Ivan Barbashev, and Adin Hill. They currently find themselves more than $3.3 million over the salary cap at the moment, but that also includes Robin Lehner’s contract, who seems like a likely candidate to spend the season on long-term injured reserve.