Golden Knights: Ways The VGK Can Open Can Space During 2024 NHL Offseason
I think we’re all finding out just how good this Vegas Golden Knights team really is. They won the Stanley Cup last year and just went toe-to-toe with a Dallas team that’s absolutely loaded. At the end of the day, the VGK just didn’t have enough time to get the new parts to all gel together.
Heading into the 2024 NHL Offseason, Vegas has some crucial decisions to make. It’s quite literally impossible to keep the entire band back together. It’s just a scenario where bringing 90% of it back just might be good enough to win another Cup.
Vegas currently has $7.59 million in cap space. That’s with Robin Lehner’s money being moved to LTIR. With that money, the team will be tasked with re-signing Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Anthony Mantha. Obviously, not enough to keep everybody.
The Golden Knights will be tasked with opening up cap space to retain as many of these guys as they can. Well, with the one exception of Anthony Mantha who predictably stunk during his time with the team. Marchessault (who wants to be a Knight for life) and Stephenson are the clear priorities. How do we ensure both return?
I went over a number of these scenarios already in the video I did following the Tomas Hertl trade. However, we’re going to revisit that now. What are the best ways the team can open up cap space in order to win another Cup? There are three pretty obvious paths going forward.
Adin Hill
Adin Hill is a Stanley Cup winning goalie who went on a hell of a run last year. Don’t forget, this is the same guy who the Knights acquired from the Sharks for a 4th round pick. He was thought of as nothing prior to landing in Vegas. Playing with that D core in Bruce Cassidy obviously has a lot to do with his success.
However, I’d argue now is the time to sell. Hill has just one year remaining on his contract and likely will want another raise to stick around. That’s probably not a path the VGK should go down. The smart teams are recognizing that goalies are the running backs of the NFL. It’s far more important to invest those resources in the offensive line, or in hockey terms the blue line.
We started to see the warts on Hill last year. He’s been hurt a lot and started just 35 games for the team during the regular season. His SV% also dipped to .909 and he’s constantly a guy that has to be managed. He’s enormous at 6-foot-6, but you can tell the way Sean Burke has him play the positioning of his game often time determines his success.
Has anyone seen the free agent goalie options this offseason? It’s non-existent. Hill will have value on the trade market. Plus, Logan Thompson can carry the load as one half of a tandem. Thompson made the All-Star team in 2023 and has been than Hill during stretches of the 2024 season.
Can Vegas trade Hill’s $4.9 million cap hit while turning the keys over to Thompson to handle the starting load? That feels like the best possible solution. Then sign someone like Laurent Brossoit back for cheap? Trading Hill would bring the cap space up to $12.49 million. Enough to likely bring Marchessault and Stephenson back.
It seems like the most no-brainer decision of the offseason. I just hope Kelly McCrimmon is smart enough to see that. Keep in mind, Vegas also has a hot goalie prospect on the way in Carl Lindbom.
Zach Whitecloud
Zach Whitecloud is a very serviceable third pair defenseman. The problem is this VGK blue line is so good that I’m not sure he even cracks the lineup. Kaedan Korczak was fantastic in limited playing time this past year and he probably needs to be in the lineup. Ben Hutton is probably the better player too. That’s not to mention that Whitecloud has had his fair share of injuries too.
The Bemidji State product carries an AAV of $2.75 million on a contract that expires in 2027-28. That’s a very reasonable contract for a productive third pair guy. It’s also a nice boost to opening up cap space. Moving that money ups the cap space to roughly over $10 million.
Brett Howden
I think Cassidy likes Howden. He’s got a nice stick on the defensive side of the puck. He just provides basically zero offense and the VGK are loaded with left wing options. Ivan Barbashev, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Paul Cotter should be three of the options next year. That’s not including Hertl or Stephenson whichever one doesn’t play center. That’s not including former first round pick Brendan Brisson who plays that spot too.
There just isn’t any room for Howden. That is unless you think he can fill that role on the right side instead and you’re saying goodbye to Amadio. Trading Howden would clear up $1.9 million.
Before I close, it’s important to note that Hill and Whitecloud would command returns. Howden probably not so much. Trading some combination of this group should be enough to bring back Marchessault and Stephenson, which should be the goal this offseason.
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