On the 22-game road to glory, the Golden Knights were able to maintain remarkable consistency with their lineup. From Eichel, Marchessault, and Barbashev on the 1st line to Carrier, Roy, and Kolesar on the 4th, Vegas rolled out a similar-looking set of forwards throughout the entire two-month run.
Heading into 2023-24, as they look to defend their title, it’s unlikely Bruce Cassidy will be able to lean on the similar lineup that brought home the Stanley Cup, unless the team adds another forward.
The trade of Reilly Smith leaves a fairly significant hole in the middle of the Vegas lineup. While the Golden Knights do have a number of capable options to step in and play in Smith’s place, none of them are truly a like-for-like option to Smith.
The two leading candidates to take the place are Paul Cotter and Pavel Dorofeyev. Both have shown they are able to play at the NHL level but neither would be considered a defensive stalwart the way Smith was. Simply replacing Smith with either Cotter or Dorofeyev makes the roster look much different, as the third line no longer carries the identity of a shutdown line the way it did with Smith and Karlsson.
A roundup of all the signings, rumors, and rumbling surrounding the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights as free agency opens in advance of the 2023-24 season.
*This article will be updated throughout the day as more information rolls in.*
Adin Hill has been re-signed to a two-year contract with $4.9 million AAV (Source: @FriedgeHNIC)
Reilly Smith has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a 2024 3rd round pick, VGK’s original selection (Source: @KevinWeekes)
Ivan Barbashev has agreed to a five-year contract extension with $5 million AAV (Source: Golden Knights)
The Golden Knights have tendered qualifying offers to RFAs, Brett Howden, Jiri Patera, and Pavel Dorofeyev (Source: Golden Knights)
VGK have not tendered offers to Nolan Patrick, Connor Corcoran, or Maxim Murushev (Source: @JesseGranger_ & @PuckReportNHL)
Jonathan Quick is expected to sign with the New York Rangers. (Source: @KevinWeekes)
Silver Knights captain Brayden Pachal has signed a two-year two-way contract with an NHL salary of $775,000 AAV. (Source: Golden Knights)
Teddy Blueger signed a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks worth $1.9 million. (Source: @Canucks)
Laurent Brossoit signed with the Winnipeg Jets for one-year at $1.75 million. (Source: @reporterchris)
VGK has signed defenseman Mason Geertsen to a two-year two-way contract with an NHL league minimum value. (Source: @PuckPedia)
Mason Morelli has signed a two-year two-way contract with the Golden Knights at the NHL league minimum. (Source: Golden Knights)
Jiri Patera has signed a one-year two-way deal with VGK. (Source: @PuckPedia)
Gage Quinney has signed a two-year two-way contract to remain with the Golden/Silver Knights. (Source: @PuckPedia)
Former VGK players
Mattias Janmark has signed a one-year contract worth $1 million to remain in Edmonton. (Source: Edmonton Oilers)
Dylan Coghlan has been extended a qualifying offer by the Carolina Hurricanes. (Source: @WaltRuff)
Ryan Reaves is expected to sign a multi-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs (Source: @TheFourthPeriod)
Reaves has signed a three-year deal with $1.3 million AAV. (Source: @DarrenDreger)
Erik Brannstrom signed a one-year contract worth $2 million to remain with the Ottawa Senators. (Source: @Senators)
Evgenii Dadonov signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.25 million with the Dallas Stars. (Source: @DallasStars)
Erik Haula re-signed in New Jersey for three years at $3.15 million AAV. (Source: @KevinWeekes)
Oscar Dansk returns to the Calgary Flames on a one-year two-way contract for the league minimum. (Source: @NHLFlames)
Colin Miller was traded to the New Jersey Devils for a 5th round pick. (Source: @NJDevils)
Max Pacioretty has signed with the Washington Capitals for one-year at $2 million plus $2 million in bonuses. (Source: @frank_seravalli)
Patrick Brown has signed with the Boston Bruins for two years at $800,000 AAV. (Source: @FriedgeHNIC)
Cody Glass has re-signed with the Predators for two years at $2.5 million (Source: @FriedgeHNIC)
Malcolm Subban has signed a one-year two-way contract with St. Louis for the league minimum.
Ryan Carpenter has signed with the Sharks on a one-year two-way deal worth the league minimum.
Jimmy Schuldt has signed a one-year two-way contract with Seattle for the league minimum.
Simplified Salary Cap Tracker
VGK are approximately $3,576,683UNDER the salary cap with a 19-man roster (11 F, 8 D, 2 G)
Qualifying Offers – Howden^ ($1,500,000), Dorofeyev ($874,125), Patera^ ($787,500)
Expected LTIR – Lehner ($5,000,000)
^Arbitration eligible
**This is an inexact salary estimation designed to give a rough outline of how much cap space the Golden Knights have to operate with. For exact up-to-date salary cap information, visit PuckPedia.com.**
Golden Knights rookies spent the weekend in Phoenix competing in three games against fellow rookie squads from the Coyotes, Sharks, and Kings. A total of 25 players suited up for Vegas, here’s are my observations on every single one of them.
Peyton Krebs (2 games, 1C, 1C)
Literally 15 seconds into Game 1, Krebs made the best move of the weekend by any Golden Knight, carrying the puck over the blue line, stopping on a dime, and stickhandling through a defender’s legs to set up a Grade A scoring chance. His compete level is always on display and it really kicked up in the third game when it was clear he took a leadership role both on and off the ice. He came away from the two games without much to show for on the scoresheet but his impact was obvious.
The first thing you’ll always notice about Pavel’s game was once again on full display, and that’s his ability to hold the puck and create space for himself and his teammates. He had a few really dangerous scoring chances but wasn’t able to slot one home. He and Marushev looked good together, but there’s no doubt Dorofeyev was at his best in Game 3 playing with Krebs and Dugan.
Maxim Marushev (3 games, 1RW, 1RW, 3RW)
Marushev plays a simple but effective game. He’s reliable with the puck on his stick and he’s always in quickly on the forecheck. He hit the post on a 2-on-0 shorthanded chance and was both creating chances for others as well as collecting them himself all weekend. For a 7th round pick, there’s not much to dislike about his game.
No one’s stock raised more in my book this weekend than Primeau’s. His skating looks very good for a player of his size and his hands were worlds better than what we saw a while back when he was in Development Camp at City National Arena. Primeau was constantly making plays all over the ice. Some helped generate scoring chances but more often we’d see plays along the wall, in the neutral zone, or exiting the offensive zone that relieved pressure for his teammates. Officially, he goes down in the books with just one assist, but there was another goal clearly created off his play in the D-zone and a bundle of chances he was in on that weren’t finished.
When it comes to prospects, we’re always on the hunt for information, trying to differentiate between players who have an NHL future and those who are simply along for the ride.
Rookie camp, and especially rookie games, are crucial in that sorting process as they stand as one of the rare times a large collection of Golden Knights prospects gather and compete on the same sheet of ice. Comparing Lukas Cormier’s 54-point QMJHL season to Kaedan Korczak’s five-game stint in the AHL playoffs only offers so much, but when they step on the ice together and compete against the same competition, much more can be gathered.
Most of that information comes from what we see on the ice. However, every once in a while we get some crumbs that give us a look into how the organization views these players, which will massively affect their chances of becoming future Golden Knights.
One such crumb was shared by this weekend’s coach, and Henderson Silver Knights head coach, Manny Viveiros.
Management and the scouting staff, they’ll put the lines together for us cause they’ve seen these kids over the last few years. They’ve been a big help in that part by putting who they want to see together including the d-pairs as well. So we’re going to decide who’s playing this weekend and with who and we’re going to go out there and support the kids and coach them on the bench. -Viveiros
This means every lineup we see being put out on the ice this weekend offers a look into the minds of the front office.
Pavel Dorofeyev and Maxim Marushev playing with Peyton Krebs on the top line tells us something about the two Russian standouts. While Mason Primeau playing on the wing of 2021 1st round pick Zach Dean and the more experienced Jack Dugan speaks volumes to where they feel the career of the 6’5″ 20-year-old who spent a portion of last year in the ECHL is headed.
Every player, every position, every decision is done with a purpose and there’s a reason behind every purpose.
Here’s the lineup the Golden Knights used in their first rookie game against the Coyotes, one they dropped 5-2 in a bit of a sloppy, penalty-filled affair.
This is just one lineup of three we’ll get to examine this weekend. With them, we’ll get more information on players like Layton Ahac, Marcus Kallionkieli, Jermaine Loewen, Zack Hayes, Jonas Rondbjerg, and Peter DiLberatore.
In the end, it’s just a weekend, and placement in the lineup, as well as subsequent performances, will always be just a piece of the puzzle to how the Golden Knights view each prospect moving forward.
But it’s neat to get a peek behind the curtain a bit, now that we know where to look.
The Golden Knights entered with nine picks in the 2019 Draft. Here’s a quick rundown of what we know about each player selected by the Golden Knights in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Krebs is an elite talent who tore his Achilles tendon in early June. He was projected as a potential top-five pick but fell all the way to #17. Krebs is a 200-foot player that is a playmaker and described as a “constant difference maker.” He’s a two-way center who played on one of the worst teams in the WHL, yet he still put up 86 points.
Krebs is an excellent passer who has terrific vision as well. He’s a high-end skater who has very good speed and good burst. He’s also described as a player with excellent creativity.
Krebs was the captain of his WHL team the Kootenay Ice. He was also the captain of the Team Canada U18 team. Krebs led both teams in points.
Vegas was one of the meetings that I came out of and I felt really good about. They felt like family from the get go and so happy to be picked by them. -Krebs
I absolutely love Krebs game. I’ve said thi all year long. He drives the bus. He’s a line driver. Think Turcotte light. #NHLDraft
He’s a very mature kid. He does everything possible off ice to make himself better. He goes full out effort all the time on the ice. He’s skilled, he can skate, he can make so many plays. I expect him to be an explosive top-six forward in the NHL. –James Patrick, Winnipeg Ice coach to The Athletic
"I wanted to go to a place where I get the shivers every time I walk in the building. So, I think Vegas will do that. I'm pretty pumped." – Krebs on his excitement to play in Vegas. #VegasBorn
— Ryan The Hockey Guy (@RyanHockeyGuy) June 22, 2019
Krebs was ranked in the top five of all prospects by @grantmccagg of https://t.co/VUkebW830Y for Best Playmaker (4th), Best Sense (4th), Best Defensive Forward (4th), and Most Competitive (4th).
Only 1 other player was listed in 4 of the 8 categories, that's Jack Hughes.
A well-rounded defenseman who skates well for his size. He’s steady in all areas and is considered one of the best defensive defenseman available in this Draft. He’s a 6’3″ right-handed defenseman who is very strong physically.
The Golden Knights traded up, ahead of Minnesota and Chicago to select Korczak forfeiting one of their 3rd round picks to make the deal happen.
"Just a steady reliable guy on the back end. I’ll take guys like him every year." -NHL Scout "No real weakness and I think he's just scratching the surface. I see a lot of room to grow.” -NHL Scout
(These quotes were published in the @ScoutingService Black Book)
Dorofeyev is a skilled forward with a deadly shot. He is said to be very calm with the puck and has the ability to create time and space while holding the puck. He has a sneaky release on his shot which can be deceptive to many goalies.
He’s listed at 167 pounds, becoming the lightest forward the Golden Knights have ever selected.
