The Vegas Golden Knights have been bold since their inception. They’ve been aggressive in pursuing high impact players and taken a unique approach to the salary cap, often shedding cap in the summer and adding in-season.
When I last looked at the Golden Knights back in April, they had just locked up Noah Hanifin to a long term extension. Hanifin, of course, was acquired during a set of bold deadline moves by the Knights where they also added Tomas Hertl. The moves looked designed to set up another non-traditional offseason and perhaps turn over the older portion of their roster to extend their contention window. I noted in April’s post that if they could find a way to replace the impact of their departing UFAs with the cap space they had available, they could look like a Pacific Division favorite by training camp once again.
Based on where the team was at in April and the Golden Knights’ history of bold moves, we could identify a couple of priorities for the 2024 offseason:
- Priority #1: Turnover a portion of the veteran cohort on the roster to avoid negative group aging effects and create additional cap space.
- Priority #2: Acquire NHL ready players to fill the holes created by departing players to extend the contention window.
Priority #1: Turnover the Veteran Cohort
The Golden Knights certainly did create some turnover within the veteran portion of their roster, although it was less bold than we’ve seen in previous seasons. There were no cap dump trades like we’ve seen in years past with Marc-Andre Fleury or Reilly Smith getting shipped out of Sin City.
The Golden Knights did have a large contingent of UFAs though. In perhaps an appropriate Golden Knights fashion, they quietly made the boldest move available and let the entire group walk. There were no deals signed out of loyalty or to avoid ‘losing a player for nothing’. They let other teams overpay for their late prime players, like Seattle’s 7 year, $43.75MM deal with Chandler Stephenson. Alec Martinez (36), Jonathan Marchessault (33), Chandler Stephenson (30), William Carrier (29) and Anthony Mantha (29) are all gone. What remains is a roster where Alex Pietrangelo (34), Brayden McNabb (33) and Mark Stone (32) are now the elder statesmen.
Priority #2: Backfill the NHL roster
The Golden Knights offseason was actually rather dull when we look at the players they acquired. A draft weekend trade with the Devils was the most interesting, bringing them Akira Schmid and Alexander Holtz in exchange for Paul Cotter and a 3rd round pick. The addition of Schmid allowed them to move on from Logan Thompson before he hits UFA status next summer, however Holtz is the interesting piece in the deal.
Holtz was selected 7th overall in the 2020 draft by the Devils and he’s seen NHL action in parts of the past three seasons, including a full 82 game campaign in 2023-2024. He wasn’t able to cement himself into a top six role in New Jersey, however there may be more opportunity for him in Vegas with a freshly depleted forward group after this summer’s free agent departures. Holtz didn’t see much ice time in his first NHL season over 20 GP, but he was productive in his minutes. The change of scenery seems like a smart bet by Vegas to take a chance on a player in prime position for a breakout season.
The Golden Knights did the rest of their heavy lifting at the trade deadline with the Hanifin and Hertl acquisitions. Hanifin’s addition made Martinez expendable, while Hertl did the same for Marchessault or Stephenson.
Looking Ahead
The Golden Knights didn’t make any moves that were worthy of a murmur through the crowd this summer. Instead, they made their bold acquisitions at the deadline and quietly let an entire class of UFAs depart this summer rather than overpay to retain their services.
Could there still be a bold move by the Knights before the puck drops in October? There’s always a chance with this team. But their cap sheet looks like one that’s ready for the regular season. They’re up near the cap with a full NHL roster.
Did Vegas do enough to offset the loss of their UFA class and remain a Pacific Division contender? That may be more of a question than we’re used to asking. They look like a solid playoff team, but they aren’t in the top quartile for projected point percentage next season. Playoff team? Yes. Pacific Division favorite? No.
Little about the Golden Knights roster building approach has been traditional since their inception. They made moves at the deadline that helped keep their core in or near their prime, with what looks like the foresight that they would let some of their established players walk in free agency. With a depleted prospect pipeline, the options are thin for backfilling from within. We could see more bets like the one on Holtz from the Knights as they aim to restock their lineup with younger impact players to continue to extend their contention window.
I came to view signing Hanifin not so much to replace
Martinez but as redundant to Theodore setting up the possibility to trade him in the off season for a top line right winger to replace Marchessault. Getting a bit late for something to happen but with this team anything is possible. We all saw the Mitch Marner rumors.