Golden Knights Pieces Most Likely To Be Traded

The Vegas Golden Knights are almost certainly going to make a trade at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. We have written extensively about names the VGK could try and acquire such as Timo Meier, Noel Acciari, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jesse Puljujarvi. But trades are a two-way thing.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon will have to make a tough gamble on the trade market. Gambling on the Golden Knights is already legal in Nevada, but now our Boston readers will soon get a taste as FanDuel Massachusetts is expected to launch in the Spring.

 As we inch closer to the trade deadline what can the Golden Knights offer on the NHL Trade Block?

Cap Space

Given the unfortunate status of captain Mark Stone, the Golden Knights are in a unique position with cap space. The VGK will likely place Stone on long-term injured reserve to free up an additional $9.5 million in cap space towards the deadline, giving the VGK roughly $10.6 to work with.

So for perhaps the first time ever, the Golden Knights don't have to worry entirely about cap space whilst trading.

It wouldn't be ideal, but this added cap space could allow them to take on the full contracts of players like Patrick Kane ($10.5 million) or Vladamir Tarasenko ($7.5 million) if the Golden Knights go that route. 

If the Golden Knights add just $4 million at the deadline they will become the first NHL team to surpass the $100 million mark in contracted players. $23 million of that would all be going toward LTIR players in Stone, Nolan Patrick, Shea Weber, and Robin Lehner.

What could throw a wrench in this whole operation is the possibility of Stone coming back in the regular season. This would mean the $9.5 million in LTIR cap space would no longer exist compared to if Stone was injured until the playoffs where the cap is lifted. According to head coach Bruce Cassidy, there is an "opportunity" for Stone to return in the regular season. 

Laurent Brossoit

We're now over halfway through the season and Laurent Brossoit has still not seen a game of NHL action. The Golden Knights have not needed to call up the former backup goaltender as the tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill has worked well. 

In the AHL Brossoit has played in 23 games with the Henderson Silver Knights after coming off of off-season hip surgery. He has a .916 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against-average. 

Given that he was on waivers earlier in the season and nobody claimed him, Brossoit's trade value is likely very low. But he could be moved to free up an additional $2.325 in cap space as he is a pending free agent. A team could lose a goalie to injury and call on the Golden Knights for Brossoit.

Pending Free Agents

The other pending free agents on the Golden Knights are Phil Kessel ($1.5 million, UFA), Brett Howden ($1.5 million, UFA), and Adin Hill ($2.175 million, UFA). It doesn't make any sense for the VGK to trade any of these three players, in our eyes.

Hill has been a reliable backup goaltender all season and it makes no sense for the Golden Knights to trade him, especially if they decide to move Brossoit. Howden is just coming back from injury and will likely not get moved nor does he have any trade value right now, and Kessel's recent production on the third line voids from any trade speculation as well.

Alec Martinez

The Golden Knights have an already strong defensive core with guys like Daniil Miromanov and Kaedan Korczak knocking on the door. This has led many people to think that someone like Alec Martinez and his $5.250 million AAV contract could be traded for additional cap space.

While there is definitely some merit to this thinking, the Golden Knights will want the veteran Martinez on their team for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Martinez has rebounded nicely after missing 56 games last season. This year he leads the NHL in blocked shots with 154 and has been a veteran anchor on D for the Golden Knights alongside Brayden McNabb and Alex Pietrangelo.

With Zach Whitecloud returning last game, the Golden Knights just got back their ideal top-six defensemen rotation and it wouldn't make sense for them to shuffle that up yet again. If he is traded, it will likely be in the offseason as then he will have only one year remaining on his contract heading into 2023-24.

Prospects

So with the likelihood of no roster players being traded, general manager Kelly McCrimmon will have to resort to his prospect cupboard if he wants to add at this year's trade deadline. The Golden Knights have six picks in the upcoming 2023 Draft: a 1st, 3rd, 3rd (BUF), 5th, 6th, and 7th. 

They also have all of their picks in the 2024 and 2025 Drafts except for a fourth-rounder in 2024.

Zach Dean, Brendan Brisson, and Lukas Cormier are the flashiest prospects in the Golden Knights system as they are all talented players drafted in the top three rounds of the draft. They have also had their name brands rise in things such as the Frozen Four, the Olympics, and World Juniors.

Verdict

If Stone is out for the regular season, or even until the trade deadline, the Golden Knights could use their added cap space to trade for a player at the deadline. Given that no players on the current roster seem likely to be traded Laurent Brossoit, prospects, and draft picks are the most likely to be traded.