The Golden Knights have agreed to send forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the contract of injured defenseman Shea Weber.
Weber fought through multiple injuries in 2020-21 leading him to miss the entirety of the 2021-22 season. He is not expected to ever be healthy enough to play again.
Thus, Weber’s salary of $7.85 million which was acquired by the Golden Knights will be placed on long-term injured reserve. (This means a few things for VGK of which we will explain in an upcoming article.) The contract runs through 2025-26, or the next four seasons.
In exchange, the Golden Knights clear $5 million of (more useable) cap space by shedding Evgenii Dadonov.
According to multiple reports, first reported by Kevin Weekes of ESPN, the Golden Knights are set to make Bruce Cassidy the team’s newest head coach. The team has confirmed.
Cassidy, who was fired from the same position with the Boston Bruins eight days ago, will become the Golden Knights’ third head coach as they head into their sixth season in the NHL.
Cassidy boasted a .672 winning percentage in his six years with the Bruins with a record of 245-108-46. He led his team to the playoffs in all six of his seasons in Boston and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2018-19, ultimately falling in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. His overall record in the playoffs is 36-37 and his series record is 6-5.
In 2002, Cassidy was given his first chance as a head coach by George McPhee and the Washington Capitals. He lasted just 110 games and was let go after an 8-18-1-1 start in his second year.
The Golden Knights are very pleased to have Bruce come in to coach our team. His success in Boston over six years is extremely impressive. His teams have had a clear identity, having been among the very best in the NHL in terms of goals for, goals against, goal differential and special teams. This is the right coach for our team at this time. -Kelly McCrimmon in press release
I am excited to join an organization that shares my commitment to winning and can’t wait to get to work with the talent that has been assembled in Vegas. It’s been impressive to watch the city embrace the Golden Knights from afar, and my family and I look forward to becoming a part of that. -Bruce Cassidy in press release
The Golden Knights announced today Pete DeBoer has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the team.
After lengthy discussions over the last two weeks, we believe that a new coach will put us in the best position to succeed next season. -Kelly McCrimmon in press release
DeBoer led the Golden Knights to a regular season record of 98-50-12 in his two and a half seasons behind the bench. He won four playoff series and compiled a record of 22-17 in the postseason.
GM Kelly McCrimmon is expected to meet with the media to discuss the decision at 1 PM today.
However, he was placed in an unwinnable situation. He kept a battered team afloat (1st place on Feb 14) for much longer than expected and was handed a cap-strapped nightmare the entire year; a roster void of depth and continuity. Which was completely beyond his control.
DeBoer has taken the fall for a collection of missteps by everyone. From players to coaches to management to ownership, most were not good enough in 2021-22.
Injuries can fairly excuse why the Golden Knights missed the playoffs, but they cannot excuse the fact a presumed Cup contender turned out to be fool's gold.
We have our scapegoat, but I'm not certain we yet have the true solution.
The NHL released a statement confirming that the trade of Evgenii Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks has been cancelled.
The National Hockey League announced today that it has invalidated Monday’s trade of Player Evgenii Dadonov from Vegas to Anaheim. The trade could not be concluded because Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with. -NHL
The Vegas Golden Knights recognize the league’s decision and welcome Evgenii back to our club. #VegasBorn
I will remain steadfast in saying the likelihood that VGK are primarily at fault for this situation is still low. (This does not mean they are blameless. They aren't.)
There's no denying, however, how awful it looks for them and they won't be escaping it now or any time soon.
Vegas has acquired Eichel and a 3rd round pick in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick.
The 1st round pick is top-10 protected, meaning if the Golden Knights select outside of the top-10 in 2022, the selection will go to Buffalo, if Vegas selects inside of the top-10, they will keep the 2022 pick and send a 2023 1st to the Sabres.
Eichel is currently injured and unavailable to play with a neck injury that will require surgery. He will undergo an artificial disc replacement surgery in the coming days and is expected to be able to return to play in about 3-5 months.
The Golden Knights have extended the contract of defenseman Zach Whitecloud. The new contract is six years, $16.5 million for an average annual value of $2.75 million. Whitecloud is now tied to the Golden Knights through the end of the 2027-28 NHL season.
The Golden Knights have traded Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks for prospect Mikael Hakkarainen.
Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, quickly tweeted a response to the trade.
While Marc-Andre Fleury still hasn’t heard from anybody with the Vegas Golden Knights, he has apparently been traded to Chicago. Marc-Andre will be taking time to discuss his situation with his family and seriously evaluate his hockey future at this time.
The Golden Knights did not retain any salary in the trade.
Hakkarainen has spent each of the last two seasons playing in both the AHL and the ECHL. He has not registered an AHL point in his 14 appearances. Kelly McCrimmon confirmed that Hakkarainen will remain with Chicago and likely play for the Rockford Ice Hogs.
With their 1st round pick in the 2021 Draft the Golden Knights have selected forward Zach Dean from Gatineau Olympiques from the QMJHL.
Dean is a 6’0″ 176 pound forward who has played both center and wing at the Junior level. Dean’s most known for his speed, hockey sense, and compete level.
When asked which NHL player he compares his game to, Dean said Mathew Barzal.
This is the first time the Golden Knights have selected a player from the QMJHL with their 1st selection in a draft, it is the 3rd player selected from the Q joining Xavier Bouchard (2018, 6th) and Lukas Cormier (2020, 3rd).
The great thing about Dean is he doesn’t need to put points on the board to have an impact in the game. His effort level in all three zones is second-to-none; Dean has an impact in each zone and has a very strong two-way game. He’s not the biggest player but competes hard on the ice; he’s involved along the boards and already plays a mature, pro game. He has a very good stick to win puck battles along the boards and always seems to be around the puck. He keeps his feet moving, he’s always involved in the play and his off-the-puck effort is good, too. –2021 NHL Black Book
Dean plays at a breakneck pace, stacking his skill as a handler and a passer on top of his skating ability to make plays without a moment’s hesitation. His hands work independent of his feet, with his top arm free from his side, pushed out well in front of him to grant him as much manoeuvrability as possible. If you get open, he’ll get you the puck. It’s just that simple. -EliteProspects 2021 NHL Draft Guide
In the second deal right before the Expansion Draft roster freeze the Golden Knights have acquired 23-year-old center, Brett Howden, from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 4th round pick in 2022 and Nick DeSimone.
Howden is a former 1st round pick (2016, #27 overall) who is 6’3″ and 200 pounds. He’s a center that has shown limited scoring prowess in his 178 career NHL games. Last season he scored just one goal in 42 games but was able to score nine in 70 and six in 66 the previous two seasons.
Right before the rosters freeze for the Expansion Draft the Golden Knights pulled off a trade four years in the making. The former #6 overall pick, and the first in Vegas history, Cody Glass, has been traded for the former #2 overall pick, Nolan Patrick.
Patrick has played 197 NHL games for the Philadelphia Flyers and scored 30 goals with 40 assists. He struggled in 2021 posting a -30 rating while tallying just nine points in 52 games.
Glass will head to the Nashville Predators as part of a pair of trades that included defenseman Ryan Ellis going to Philadelphia.
