Golden Knights: Consider February, Trade Winds, and Expiring Contracts.
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As the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights had a prosperous first 50 games of their inaugural regular season. The season began with everything going smoothly for the Golden Knights, who needed 13 games to lose their first game of the regular season. Adin Hill, Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, Zach Whitecloud, Nicolas Hague, and William Karlsson’s injuries slowed the momentum. The Golden Knights are second in the Pacific Division with 64 points, but it’s important to note that the Edmonton Oilers have a marginally higher points percentage (.656) than the Golden Knights (.640).
Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, the Oilers and Golden Knights will square off.
Regarding injuries, the Golden Knights provided encouraging information. All indications point to William Karlsson playing again against the Oilers on Tuesday. He is currently practicing in a regular jersey. During practice, Tobias Bjornfot is wearing a standard jersey. Ben Hutton is wearing a non-contact jersey during practice. After serving a rehab assignment with the Henderson Silver Knights, Daniil Miromanov has rejoined the Golden Knights. William Carrier, Shea Theodore, and Jack Eichel are skating alone.
Points That February Must Be Banked
The Golden Knights play 10 games in February, five of them at home and five away. The Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, and Toronto Maple Leafs are the Golden Knights’ home opponents. Given that the Golden Knights are 18-5-2 at T-Mobile Arena, getting points at home has been simple. The Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Maple Leafs are the Golden Knights’ road opponents. Since the Golden Knights are 11-10-4 away from T-Mobile Arena, points have not been as easy to come by on the road.
The Golden Knights need to win both their home games against the Wild, Hurricanes, and Predators as well as their away games against the Coyotes, Sharks, and Senators in order to earn the 12 points on the schedule for February. That leaves the Golden Knights with four games remaining to grind out points against: the Oilers, the Maple Leafs (twice), and the Bruins.
To challenge for the Pacific Division in February, the Golden Knights must earn 14 or more points.
Following this season, Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, Michael Amadio, and William Carrier become unrestricted free agents. It is reasonable to assume that following this season, none of the five players will still be with the Golden Knights. What is the million-dollar question? Which players? Since the beginning, Marchessault has been a fan favorite and incredibly reliable. Marc Andre Fleury and Reilly Smith, who were traded out of the Golden Knights, were also. Stephenson, whose current salary cap hit of $2.75 million, has prepared himself for a raise. Amadio will fetch a season salary of over $762,000. Although William Carrier has displayed moments of brilliance, his risk of injury limits his potential.
Martinez is a complex individual. The 36-year-old has three options: sign a shorter contract to remain in Vegas, pursue free agency, or retire.
Kelly McCrimmon, general manager of Trade Winds, is frequently busy around the trade deadline. Notable players that contributed to the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup victory the previous season were Jonathan Quick and Ivan Barbashev. Alec Martinez and Robin Lehner were acquired prior to the 2020 trade deadline. Acquired prior to the 2019 trade deadline was Mark Stone. Acquisition of Tomas Tatar occurred prior to the 2018 trade deadline.
Presumably, McCrimmon is kicking tires with multiple players. How he plans to make any trades with the Golden Knights in light of the salary cap is the more important question. The Golden Knights have almost no salary cap space available when they are healthy. It will be fascinating to observe what McCrimmon believes the Golden Knights need to work on. The route taken to get there will be more fascinating. Is there a player who has a contract that is about to expire?
