The Golden Knights will be a team to watch as NHL Trade Deadline draws near
The Vegas Golden Knights always seem to find a way to upgrade their roster ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline, and this season, it sounds like that will be no different.
Vegas entered the 4 Nations Face-Off break tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the division lead in the Pacific, and GM Kelly McCrimmon is expected to have his eyed peeled on the trade market, leading up the deadline March 7.
With limited cap space, no first-round pick until 2027, and a questionable prospect pool, any work to improve their lineup could be some of McCrimmon’s best work.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed what to expect from the Golden Knights leading up to the NHL’s trade deadline.
Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about one other team in the west that I want to hit on really quickly, and that would be the Vegas Golden Knights. Obviously, that ties into the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a bit, because Shea Theodore got hurt in Canada’s opening game. He only played half of that game against Finland.
Frank, Shea Theodore potentially on LTIR until the playoffs, so what do you think Vegas is going to do, and does it change how aggressive they can get in the days, and weeks leading up to the deadline?
Seravalli: Oh, it does for sure. I mean, you’re talking about a significant potential salary that you have at your disposal. I don’t know exactly what Vegas is up to, we know that whatever is on the market, they’re likely to have made calls on, because they are always chasing the big shiny toy on the market.
More often than not, if feels like they end up landing that guy. So, whether it was Hanifin and Hertl, or, whoever it might have been in the last number of years, they’ve gone out and made unbelievably big trades. So, they should be considered in the mix for everything, and I wonder – let’s just say a player like Mikko Rantanen becomes available, and the Carolina Hurricanes are going to flip him. Well, he’s already had half of his salary retained, he fits right in that window.
So, I would imagine that even for a guy that’s a pending unrestricted free-agent, to maybe take one more run at a Stanley Cup, how much would that change the complexion of the bracket in the West, if they were able to add someone like that. And then, what would the Colorado Avalanche be feeling knowing that he’s now back in your world.
For more on the latest buzz on the trade market, and all the very latest from around the NHL, watch the full episode below.